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Hauliers will not have to pay the Manchester congestion charge while a study into its impact on freight is carried out.

The 12-month concession came about after feedback from the industry during the consultation process and pressure from the Road Haulage Association (RHA). Geoff Dunning, northern director at the RHA, has been  working with the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) and managed to get an agreement that trucks are not the same as cars.

"At the outset we were told that cars and trucks are all traffic and would be treated the same. Getting Manchester to recognise trucks are different and react to different issues is a positive step."

Last week AGMA decided to defer payment for trucks for the first year of the scheme should it get the go-ahead following a referendum next month.

James Wilkinson, managing director at Austin Wilkinson & Sons, says that trucks "not only in Greater Manchester but all over country" should be supported to "promote a reduction of general inflation whereas another tax, no matter how it is imposed, only puts up the price of goods for the consumer".

Mike Lyons, group finance  director at AK Worthington, adds: "AGMA has said the reduced congestion would improve our journey times by 15-20%, but there is no evidence of that."