Green Party candidate for Manchester backed calls for ‘car-free’ Sundays

A Green Party candidate for Manchester mayor has backed calls for “car-free” Sundays.

Geraldine Coggins, a Green Party candidate hoping to replace Andy Burnham as Mayor of Greater Manchester has previously backed proposals for car-free Sundays.

She also wanted to charge residents to park outside their own homes.

The Trafford councillor, who was unveiled as the Green mayoral candidate this week, served on a council taskforce that developed a series of recommendations aimed at reducing car dependency across the borough.

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The taskforce, on which Cllr Coggins sat from January 2023 to February 2024, recommended Trafford council explore "the feasibility of introducing car-free days and pedestrian high streets on Sundays".

It also called for the introduction of parking charges in residents' zones, car parks and pay-and-display bays, with costs increasing according to the size of a vehicle or its engine.

Further recommendations included a sweeping rollout of 20mph speed limits, reductions on rural roads from 60mph to 40mph and narrowing roads to create wider pavements lined with trees every 25 metres.

The group also suggested the council promote cargo bikes through its website and social media, presenting them "as a norm" for everyday travel.

Cllr Coggins argued new housing developments should be built with fewer parking spaces, saying developers should "decouple housing from parking”.

She said developments with limited parking could succeed where there were "really good ways of getting around without cars — or at least without so much parking”.

Cllr Coggins left the taskforce before its report was formally presented to the council's executive but had spent more than a year helping to shape its recommendations.

She was announced as the Green candidate with a pledge to "prioritise people and planet over profits" and deliver a "world-class transport system" for Greater Manchester.

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The Greater Manchester mayoral election is scheduled for July 30 and is being watched as one of the first major tests of whether Green Party leader Zack Polanski can convert the party's recent polling success into actual votes at the ballot box.

Transport is expected to be one of the defining issues of the campaign.

Reform UK has stood in opposition to traffic restrictions, low-traffic neighbourhoods and parking charges, making it a central argument of its local campaigns across the country.

Labour has sought to distance itself from accusations of pursuing a "war on motorists", aware of the political sensitivity of transport policy in a region heavily reliant on cars outside the city centre.

Polling last week showed Labour and Reform separated by just three points in the race.

A FocalData survey conducted for campaign group Hope Not Hate put Labour on 33.2 per cent for first-preference support and Reform on 30.1 per cent.

The Greens were third on 12.5 per cent, followed by the Conservatives on 11.1 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on 7.6 per cent.

Labour has selected Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council and deputy mayor of Greater Manchester with responsibility for the economy, business and inclusive growth, as its candidate.

Mr Craig became leader of Manchester City Council in December 2021, succeeding long-serving Sir Richard Leese.

Labour has highlighted her record of attracting international businesses to the city region and overseeing the construction of affordable housing.

Reform closed applications for its candidate on Wednesday with an announcement expected on Monday, with 2024 candidate Dan Barker understood to have put his name forward again.

The revelation about Cllr Coggins's previous positions on car usage is likely to become a campaign issue, particularly given the political climate around motoring costs and restrictions following years of debate over low-traffic neighbourhoods and clean air zones.

The Green Party defended its candidate, saying Cllr Coggins made "no apology for campaigning to keep people safe on our streets when there are more than 1,000 people killed or seriously injured each year in Greater Manchester".

A party spokesman added: "Geraldine is passionate about making it easier to get around — better public transport would have the benefits of reducing the cost of living and inequality and give us cleaner air."

The mayoral contest takes on added significance given Mr Burnham, who held the role since 2017 and built up a substantial personal vote, has now returned to Westminster.

He comfortably won the Makerfield by-election on June 18, paving his way to mount a leadership challenge to Sir Keir Starmer.

Labour figures had privately raised fears the party could lose the Greater Manchester mayoralty in Mr Burnham's absence, given the scale of his personal following in the region.

The election on July 30 will be an indicator of whether the political realignment seen in local elections earlier this year, which saw Reform make sweeping gains, continues to translate into votes in high-profile regional contests.

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