Edinburgh deserves a more ambitious Low Emission Zone

SNP and Labour councillors have again backed a city centre-only Low Emission Zone (LEZ) that could push more polluting traffic to other parts of the City, while Lib Dems call for an Edinburgh-wide LEZ covering goods vehicles, buses and coaches.

This comes after Edinburgh Councillors oppossed the plans last June which would only include a small part of the City Centre council ward.

Commenting on the proposals, Edinburgh Lib Dem Transport spokesperson Councillor Kevin Lang said;

“The decision of the transport committee to reject the administration's LEZ plan offered a chance to develop a better scheme and one that really tackles air pollution right across the city.

“Instead, the administration is recycling its same old scheme, a plan which is too timid in its ambition and too slow in its implementation. It will leave too many communities with unacceptably low levels of air quality and could even make the situation worse in areas around the planned city centre zone.

"This is a wasted opportunity to think again and do better, something the Council will look back on and regret in the years to come.”