Plans for a controversial charging CAZ (Clean Air Zone) in Coventry have been scrapped in a move the Road Haulage Association (RHA) described as a victory for common sense.

The UK government has backed Coventry City Council’s alternative plans to improve air quality, which avoid charging hauliers and other road users.

New measures including improved road networks and investment in cleaner air technologies have won ministers over after they’d ordered local officials to implement a CAZ to bring emissions down to within legal limits.

RHA Chief Executive, Richard Burnett, said the decision was a victory for common sense and challenged other local authorities to follow suit.

“Ministers have made the right choice backing moves to improve air quality which avoid charging road users. But it’s taken a bold approach from Coventry to win the argument. They recognise that imposing a CAZ would be disastrous for their city as have officials in Southampton, Nottingham and Derby.”

Meanwhile, Chris Yarsley, Policy Manager for the Midlands at the Freight Transport Association (FTA), commented, “A charging CAZ would have been the very worst option for Coventry; it would have damaged the local economy while failing to deliver long-term improvements to the city’s air quality.”

“The government is right to rule that other solutions – including intelligent road design, installing fleets of electric buses and investment into cycling routes – can deliver quicker, more sustainable improvements to air quality without penalising hard-working local businesses.”