Clean Air Zone to launch on 1 June 2021

Birmingham's Clean Air Zone will launch on 1 June 2021, after the government agreed a new start date for the scheme, which was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The date was confirmed after meetings between the city council and the environment minister Rebecca Pow and transport minister Rachel Maclean.

How the zone will work

The zone will cover the area inside the A4540 Middleway ring road. Once it is live, owners of the most polluting vehicles, which make up around a quarter of the vehicles on the city's roads, will have to pay a daily charge to drive into or through it.

The council is offering a range of exemptions and financial incentives, worth around £35 million in total, to help residents, city centre workers and businesses prepare. Applications and expressions of interest for all of the schemes are now open through the Brum Breathes website.

A public health risk

Poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK. Clean Air Zones aim to tackle sources of pollution, including nitrogen dioxide, and reduce the public's exposure to it.

In Birmingham, the council has estimated that poor air quality contributes to around 900 premature deaths every year, and diesel vehicles are a major source of the nitrogen dioxide that causes most concern in the city centre.

"Most drivers will not need to pay"

Councillor Waseem Zaffar, cabinet member for transport and environment, said the council had worked closely with ministers and the government's Joint Air Quality Unit to agree the date.

"Poor air quality remains a public health risk and a Clean Air Zone provides the city with an effective tool for tackling this issue in the shortest possible time," he said.

"The majority of drivers on Birmingham's roads will not need to pay the daily charge but if you do then you may be eligible for an exemption or one of the financial incentives. So, I would encourage everyone to check the Brum Breathes website today."

He added that everyone could still help to improve the air by cutting down on short car journeys.

A long road

The zone has been several years in the making. The council was required by the government to bring nitrogen dioxide levels down to legal limits in the shortest possible time, and the government approved the city's plans in March 2019, along with funding to put the scheme in place and support those affected.

The zone was originally due to start in January 2020, then in the summer of this year. It was postponed again when the pandemic hit, as traffic fell sharply during the lockdown and businesses struggled.

The proposed daily charges set out in the council's plans are £8 for cars, taxis and vans that do not meet the standards, and £50 for lorries, coaches and buses. Exemptions are available for some groups for a limited period, including people who live inside the zone and lower-paid workers.

With the start date now fixed, drivers and businesses have eight months to check their vehicles and apply for support.