It began as a cross-party proposal which gained broad backing among the majority of Aberdeen’s local authority members five years ago.
As of June 1, anyone who drives a vehicle which does not meet strict emissions criteria in the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) will be hit with a fine. Automatic number plate recognition cameras have been installed across the zone, which will scan every vehicle entering the area.
The scheme was launched in Glasgow last year and is being extended to Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen and, while the latter’s LEZ is relatively small and only 14% of vehicles have been estimated as non-compliant, there’s no doubting the anger among many car users and retail outlets adversely affected by other restrictions.
The installation of controversial bus gates in the city centre and ongoing refurbishment work on Union Street have led to a sharp decrease in footfall in a once-thriving shopping centre – and many believe the LEZ will simply be another nail in the coffin.
‘We wanted it to work for city’
SNP representative Michael Hutchison is among those who supported the initiative when it was introduced by the former Labour/Tory/Independent administration.
He explained: “I was an opposition councillor in 2018 when the council first started its work on a Low Emission Zone.
“I remember, in 2019, hearing Conservative finance convener Douglas Lumsden [who is now an MSP at Holyrood] talking of the need ‘for society to become environmentally responsible’, and how Aberdeen’s ‘ambitious’ LEZ would be a part of the council’s ‘contribution to this global issue’.
“The scheme proposed a range of exemptions, including for blue badge holders and emergency vehicles, and access was maintained to all the city centre car parks.
“We worked constructively with the then-administration to find the right balance and to make sure this would work for our city.
‘City centre is open for business’
“The committee that signed off the LEZ in 2021 had a Conservative convener, a Labour vice-convener, and support from the SNP, Liberal Democrats and Independents.
“There was a shared understanding that air quality in the city centre wasn’t good enough. It impacted on the health of those living in the city centre, and seeing diesel fumes belching out of the back of buses made it difficult to sell Aberdeen as the Net-Zero capital that we need it to become.
“Our city centre is open for business today and investment in Net-Zero tomorrow.”
He added: “Since the scheme was announced we’ve already seen a big improvement in air quality as people and businesses have invested in meeting the LEZ standards. The likes of First Bus and Stagecoach will have spent millions of pounds to make their buses LEZ-compliant, and that investment happened on the back of certainty from the council. Alongside the council’s own investments, we are making sure our city centre remains open for business and that it’ll be a breath of fresh air when you get here.”
However, the revelation earlier this month that at least half a million fewer people have visited Aberdeen city centre since new bus gates were unveiled last August has sparked fears that the public is fed up with transport problems blighting their retail experience.
And M Taqueer Malik, the leader of the Labour group, told the Press & Journal he was concerned that Aberdeen’s loss might be Aberdeenshire’s gain in the future.
‘We need to think about the people’
He said: “When the LEZ was first proposed, it was seen as a huge benefit to the city, given we had areas within the city that had poor air quality.
“Now that we have a city centre masterplan which is about people, we really should reflect on the merits or otherwise of the proposed LEZ.
“The reality of it, coupled with bus gates, brings about the perfect storm where motorists are not sure of where they are allowed to go without being fined, so they just don’t bother coming to the city centre.
“The way things are going, the real beneficiaries are Westhill and satellite towns such as Stonehaven, Banchory and Inverurie where bus gates and LEZ simply don’t exist.
“I really do think that the council has to think again because measures such as this do look good in practice, but, in reality, they are barriers to business and, right now in a cost-of-living crisis, we should be supporting businesses in our city centre.”
Tory MSP Liam Kerr has witnessed issues such as low emission zones cropping up frequently on his constituent visits. And he added the majority view seems to be the centre of Aberdeen will lose out while footfall spikes in retail parks outside the city.
LEZ has raked in millions in Glasgow
He said: “The public are rightly worried that this idea is simply income-generation at a time when council budgets are being slashed, rather than evidence-related.
“And it’s no surprise why, when almost £4 million has been raked in from fines in the first year of the Glasgow LEZ.
“In Aberdeen, a survey of 3,200 people found more than 90% were against the plans.”
“I have spoken to several businesses, including in the taxi trade who believe these proposals will threaten their livelihood.
“Concerns have also been raised on the impact on those motorists with older vehicles who can’t afford to replace them.”
Only time will tell whether Aberdeen’s low emission zone deters more people from taking their cars into Union Street and elsewhere. But critics fear this is, quite literally, a case of the road to hell being paved with good intentions.