Clean Air Zone: All you need to know�
Birmingham 's Clean Air Zone came into force this week.
Under the new rules, vehicles travelling on roads within the A4540 Middleway Ring Road, but not the Middleway itself, that do not comply with set emissions standards will be subject to a daily charge.
However, Cllr Waseem Zaffar this morning confirmed that Birmingham City Council will not be seeking any Clean Air Zone payments for the first two weeks that the zone is in effect.
Most diesel cars manufactured after 2015 (Euro 6 standard or better) and petrol cars after 2006 (Euro 4 standard or better) along with motorbikes, mopeds, electric and hybrid vehicles will not be impacted.
Non-compliant cars, vans and taxies will be charged £8 per day for entering the zone and non-compliant HGVs, buses and coaches will see a £50 a day charge.
Payment must be made up to six days before or after the journey.
There are a number of exemption permits available for low income individuals working in Birmingham City Centre, residents of the Clean Air Zone and businesses with non-compliant commercial vehicles registered within the zone (subject to meeting certain conditions).
You can find out if your vehicle will face a charge by using the license plate checker tool, register a business account, pay a fine and apply for an exemption or support via www.brumbreathes.co.uk
The Clean Air Zone was originally due to be implemented at the start of the year, however, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Birmingham City Council put the start date back to June 2021.
A Clean Air Zone is being implemented in Birmingham under direction and advice from Government as a result of Birmingham 's poor air quality. It is estimated poor air quality contributes to 900 premature deaths a year in the city.
Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) has undertaken a significant programme with Birmingham City Council to help engage and prepare businesses on the city 's Clean Air Zone (CAZ). It has also worked with the BCC on bringing forward several of the support measures now in place.
Henrietta Brealey, the GBCC 's chief executive, said: “At the heart of it, this is about improving air quality but we are very aware of the challenging position many local businesses currently find themselves in as a result of the pandemic and the questions and concerns they may have.
“Over the past two years, the Chamber has worked hard on behalf of its members to ensure that businesses were aware of the Zone but also lobbied vigorously on their behalf to ensure the financial support structures were in place to help those firms most affected.
“Over the next few weeks and months, we will continue to monitor feedback from businesses to understand any immediate and longer term impacts, and if we find that there are firms that are being adversely affected, we will work closely with Birmingham City Council to lobby Government to try and get the support they need.
“Anyone still unsure on how the Zone might impact their business should take a look our Business Toolkit, which contains a raft of information on how to check whether your vehicle is compliant with the new rules, information on accessing financial support, implementing travel plans and how to upgrade vehicles if necessary.
“The GBCC has undertaken a significant programme of business engagement on the Clean Air Zone over the past two years, including holding briefing events and roundtables for over 500 participants. ”
Click here to access the GBCC ”s Clean Air Zone Business Toolkit and click here to view the Clean Air Zone page on the Chamber website.