Plans to introduce a workplace parking levy or clean air zone in Reading have been scrapped after investigations found there would be “limited environmental and financial benefits”.
The council conducted parking surveys of businesses within Reading to consider options for a Workplace Parking Levy and conducted initial business case work to investigate the environmental and economic case for developing a clean air zone.
The Workplace Parking Levy is a charge on employers who provide parking at work, while a clean air zone charges high-polluting commercial vehicles to travel into the centre.
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A Reading Borough Council (RBC) report discussed at Wednesday’s Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport (SEPT) committee found improvements in air quality from a clean air zone would be “marginal”.
It found just one of the 13 air quality receptors that currently exceed limits would improve sufficiently and almost 100 per cent of vehicles would be below the threshold for a clean air zone ban by 2026/27.
The council has also conducted “high-level analysis” of possible options to help address the issue of ‘rat-running’ through Reading.
However, the council found insufficient data was currently available due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the idea should be revisited once traffic flows and behaviours return to a “new normal”.
Councillor Tony Page, lead member for Environment, Planning and Transport, said the council is very seriously looking at a flat rate charge that would charge every vehicle that drove from Oxfordshire through Reading without stopping.
He also slammed the government’s “mishandling of the electrification programme” which means diesel trains continue to come in and out of Reading.
Lib Dem councillor Ricky Duveen questioned the decision to scrap the clean air zone and workplace parking levy proposals and called for an air quality committee to make a greater dent in tackling air quality.
“We have an issue with air quality in the town and I don’t think we can simply delay matters for another five years and essentially ignore the problem.
“Maybe ignore is a strong word but we’re not paying enough attention to it.”
He said traffic pollution is causing hundreds of cases of asthma in the town.
In response, Cllr Page said air quality is “of top concern” and the council is committed to “a whole range of measures” that will improve air quality.
And he said the SEPT committee is already focused on air quality and another committee is not needed.
Green councillor David McElroy says dramatic change will be needed to get the town where it needs to be and urged the council to “approach this challenge with courage, commitment and resolve in seeing it through” and encouraged the council to “ditch any nervousness and hand-wringing”.
He said rat running “is the real problem all over Reading”, including places such as Christchurch Road and Cemetery Junction and said future plans to reduce air pollution should involve “fewer cars, not more roads”.
In response, Labour Cllr Gul Khan launched a tirade, suggesting it is not possible to control how clean air is and calling for people to “for god’s sake, be realistic”.
The council also approved a new flood reduction scheme in west Reading, which you can read more about here, and £10 million of carbon-cutting plans at the meeting.
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