Dundee business ‘have nothing to fear’ from Low Emission Zones

Martin Goodfellow is sales and marketing director for Goodfellow and Steven, which has 12 shops in the east of Scotland.

He said: “I’m not against the principle of reducing emissions and improving air quality, but I don’t believe this policy is going to do that.

“It was one of the factors which made us decide to close our shop in Union Street in Dundee.

“Dundee City Council have used a sledgehammer to crack the nut of the problem.”

He said some motorists, who cannot afford to buy compliant vehicles, will be “literally driven out of town”.

He said: “Dundee is not a wealthy town and a lot of people do not have the ability to buy new cars to comply with the LEZ.

“Combine that with an inadequate public transport system and draconian parking charges and they’ll just choose to shop elsewhere.”

The zone is an area only accessible to vehicles that meet minimum emission standards.

Vehicles that breach the emission standards will be issued a fine for entering the zone.

Some exemptions included blue badge holders, motorbikes, mopeds and emergency vehicles.