TRAFFORD is sixth in the list of boroughs with the most Clean Air Zone signs, according to figures obtained by The Messenger.

The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show 100 signs had been installed in the borough up to January 2022.

Overall, 1,309 signs had been installed in Greater Manchester and its surroundings to alert motorists to the controversial scheme, which is on hold after the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the government agreed to a delay.

Manchester (205), Stockport (168), Oldham (153), Wigan (149) and Bury (144) had more than Trafford.

Transport for Greater Manchester was unable to break down the cost of the 1,309 signs by borough, but revealed the combined cost of the signs themselves and their installation in Greater Manchester and its surroundings was £1,309,316.

Assuming an average of around £1,000 a sign, this suggests a cost of around £100,000 in Trafford alone.

All of this was paid to McCann, which was awarded the contract for the Clean Air Zone last September.

But it does not include the £186,000 understood to be paid to the same contractor for 'under review' stickers to cover the now incorrect start date of May 2022 on 1,194 of the signs.

Metro Mayor Andy Burnham and the 10 council leaders within the Greater Manchester Combined Authority have until July 2022 to set out to the government how the region will be brought within the legal limits for air pollution by 2026.

They are calling for a non-charging Clean Air Zone, in which non-compliant vehicles are identified by cameras and the drivers are signposted to support to upgrade to compliant vehicles.

In March, a Greater Manchester Combined Authority spokesperson said: "The government has agreed to lift a legal direction requiring the implementation of a charging Clean Air Zone in Greater Manchester and, therefore, charges will no longer apply from May 2022.

"Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities now have until July 2022 to work with the government to develop a new plan. All costs associated with the new plan, including the essential requirement to update existing signage, will continue to be funded by the government."