Transport chiefs will now pay MORE for stickers on out-of-date Clean Air Zone signs... after already forking out £3million

The cost of putting stickers on hundreds of out-of-date Clean Air Zone (CAZ) signs will not be covered by the £3m contract paid for by Greater Manchester.

Transport bosses have confirmed that the £3m contract for signage awarded to McCann in September will not cover the cost of the 1,194 stickers needed.

It comes after the Clean Air Zone which was due to come into effect in May was paused as the deadline to meet air quality standards moves to 2026.

READ MORE: The 1,194 Clean Air Zone signs across Greater Manchester which give wrong date

Greater Manchester has until July to submit a new scheme to the government.

However, of the 1,309 CAZ signs which have been installed across the city-region so far, 1,194 reference the original opening date of May 30, 2022.

Stickers must now be installed on all of the signs referencing the wrong date – but this work will not be covered by the original £3m contract for CAZ signage.

A Clean Air Greater Manchester spokesperson said: "Following a competitive tender, McCann and Company Limited was awarded a £3.04m contract for services related to signage in support of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone.

"Stickers were not part of the original requirement of the contract and work is ongoing to finalise the costs for installing the stickers on the affected Clean Air Zone signs. This work is due to start in the coming weeks.

"Greater Manchester is now working on a new plan for clean air with the government and it is important that people understand that charging will not take place as originally planned from 30 May 2022."

Daily charges for lorries, buses and taxis which are not licensed locally were due to start later this year with more vehicles to be charged from June 2023.

But the