WIGHTLINK has called for the Isle of Wight to have special consideration in light of Portsmouth's planned clean air zone.

Portsmouth City Council plans to charge commercial vehicles ­— taxis, lorries and coaches without the latest efficient engines ­— up to £50 a day to enter part of the city.

Under the plans, owners of older vehicles registered before 2006, or diesel vehicles registered before 2015, would be charged to drive into the zone.

The plans have been submitted as part of a bid to meet a government directive on air quality.

Wightlink chief executive, Keith Greenfield, said: "Wightlink is completely in favour of plans to reduce carbon emissions ­— we're in favour of the direction ­— but the proposal is deeply flawed.

"All we're going to do is increase emissions by shunting the problem to Southampton ­— the route will be longer.

"Heavy goods units on the Island need time ­— a year isn't long enough.

"It puts the Island economy at risk, and it's a fragile thing that we need to protect.

"Portsmouth to Fishbourne is the fastest route to and from London ­— to impose a charge on that route is a risk to the Island.

"Coaching groups that use the route often might well decide to go to Devon instead.

"Effectively, it's targeting a small group of road users in an unfair way."

The plan could be implemented in 2021.

Malcolm Gibson of Steve Porter Transport, said: "Most of our vehicles are already Euro 6, but for those with the old stock, it really will be a problem.

"And, of course, it will cause a lot more congestion through Southampton, which is interesting, because Southampton dropped its plans to charge high-polluting vehicles last year.

"You also have to wonder, once the vehicles have all been replaced, what will happen to all that infrastructure ­— all that investment.

"We're fairly proactive, so we shouldn't be caught up in it.

"Our policy for the last 20 to 25 years has been to lease rather than buy our vehicles, on four to five year contracts."