A BLANKET ban on diesel vehicles in Oxford could cause serious damage to the British bus industry, a former Government advisor has warned.

It comes as traders in central Oxford expressed fear that their businesses would suffer under proposals by the city and county councils to ban all petrol and diesel taxis, cars and buses from six central streets, including Queen Street, from 2020 as part of plans to create a 'Zero Emission Zone'.

Under the plans all petrol and diesel vehicles would be banned across the whole city centre in 2035.

But Professor David Begg, visiting professor at Plymouth University and former chairman of the Government’s Commission for Integrated Transport, has called on local authorities to target diesel cars, while suggesting newer diesel buses could still be allowed to operate.

He said:"While local government rightly tries to take dirty diesel vehicles off the streets, there is a danger they will demonise and penalise a new generation of independently-tested clean diesel buses that are in fact part of the solution, not the problem, to excessive air pollution.

“We must be aware of unintended consequences of waging war on diesel.

"Instead, we need to tackle the older diesel cars and vans that are clogging up our streets.

"A ban on diesel buses will have devastating consequences for parts of the UK bus manufacturing sector.

"It will result in orders for certified clean Euro VI buses drying up which will lead to the closure of at least one of our domestic manufacturers."

The councils launched a six week consultation on the plans on October 16, which closes on Sunday, November 26.

In the new year they will then announce whether or not they will go ahead with the plans.

Traders at the Covered Market have expressed concern that they are right at the centre of the zone and fear trade could be harmed from 2020.

Angela Carroll, who runs Fresh clothing store in the Covered Market, said: "A lot of traders are very concerned about the effect of the new zone on trade – the market is right in the centre of it."

Dave Brook, assistant manager of Bonners fruit and veg stall in the market, said investing in an electric vehicle for deliveries 'could be costly'.

Sandie Griffith, secretary of the Covered Market Tenants Association, added: "Market Street is one of the six streets involved in the ban for 2020 and that is where are deliveries come in, so it could cause real problems for traders."

But Oxfordshire County Council said Prof Begg did not understand the proposals properly.

Spokesman Paul Smith said: "The county council has been clear throughout the drafting of this proposal and the launch of the consultation that the proposed ZEZ is dependent on technology being sufficiently developed.

"That is key to everything.

"The views that have been expressed can only have been made without that key information having been understood.”

The plan was introduced as part of a drive to improve air quality standards in Oxford which in many streets are breaching EU legal levels regarding nitrogen dioxide, which is mostly produced by diesel vehicles and has been linked to respiratory and other health problems.

Oxford Bus Company managing director, Phil Southall, called for a 'sensible, staggered approach' to avoid the problems raised.

He said: "We agree with the ambition of the proposal, as one of our core values is being socially responsible to the people we serve and the environment we all share.

"However, it needs to done in a collaborative and realistic way, with a sensible staggered approach, to avoid the real issues Prof Begg has put forward."

Prof Begg’s warning came as a bus sector coalition led by Greener Journeys, the sustainable transport campaign, urged local decision-makers to recognise the economic, environment and social benefits of the new generation of clean British diesel buses, technically known as Euro VI buses, and put them at the heart of their plans to improve local air quality.

Claire Haigh, chief executive of Greener Journeys, said: "If local authorities are serious about tackling air pollution, they must put this new generation of clean British diesel buses, and buses retrofitted to the same low-emission standard, front and centre of their plans."

To comment on the consultation visit oxford.gov.uk/zez