Edinburgh residents and businesses offered incentives to scrap polluting vehicles ahead of Low Emission Zone

Low-income residents and small businesses are being offered cash help to scrap vehicles which will fail to qualify for Edinburgh's planned Low Emission Zone.

The Capital's LEZ is due to come into effect by May 2022

Grants of up to £2,000 are available as an incentive for low-income households within 20km of an LEZ to to take older petrol and diesel vehicles off the road. “Travel Better” vouchers of up to £500 will also be available for up to two adults in the household to purchase a bike, e-bike or public transport voucher. Families must be in receipt of specific means-tested benefits to qualify.

And businesses with nine or fewer employees and sole traders can apply for £2,500 per non-compliant car or van to scrap it, replace it with a compliant vehicle or to invest in alternative transport like an e-cargo bike.

The money is available through the LEZ Support Fund, administered by the Energy Saving Trust.

And £1m is available in the current financial year to support the retrofitting of light goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicles and taxis through the LEZ Retrofit Fund for businesses with a workforce of nine or under.

Edinburgh’s proposed LEZ involves a two-tier scheme, under which cars, buses and lorries that fail to meet pollution standards would be banned from the city centre, while a zone for the wider city will exempt cars.

The zone was originally due to be in force by the end of 2021 but the date has now been postponed to May 2022.

Transport convener Lesley Macinnes said: “We’ve experienced an extremely unsettling year which has impacted on every aspect of our lives, including travel choices. We’re still committed to introducing an LEZ in Edinburgh and realising the many benefits it will bring to air quality, our health and quality of life.

“Of course, the need to comply with the LEZ will affect many people, especially those living near or operating their business in the zone. That’s why I’d urge those who are eligible to apply for the funding on offer, which will support them to comply with the rules once they come into force, and help us to reduce air pollution across the city.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.