QUOTE OF THE WEEK
I couldn’t believe a race happened in my home town. Those images just blew me away’
SUPERPRIX PROJECT DIRECTOR ANDY SMALLMAN ON WHY THE RACE WAS SO IMPORTANT TO BIRMINGHAM.
Next year’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in Birmingham will seriously damage the finances of a volunteer-run classic car charity venue, its management say.
Transport Museum Wythall (TMW)’s grounds, which clubs use extensively, also hosts a historic bus scheme, known as the 750 Service, into and out of Birmingham city centre. Visitors, who fund admissions to keep the museum running, use the buses to commute to and from car shows and the museum itself.
Organisers argue that losing the 750 service, run for 11 days every year, would seriously damage its income and therefore its viability as a classic car venue.
Transport Museum Wythall is calling on Birmingham City Council to exempt its buses from the £50 charge it will otherwise have to pay every time its 750 service heads into the Clean Air Zone – a fee organisers say that the museum can currently ill afford.
It has started a petition aimed at raising awareness of the issue – and has garnered support from the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs and National Association of Road Transport Museums in the process.
TMW press officer, Denis Chick, said: ‘The 750 service will have to be withdrawn unless an exemption is introduced. Birmingham City Council has decreed that the service is being operated commercially, but all income is ploughed back into restoring and maintaining its heritage vehicle fleet and running the transport museum.
‘The council refuses to recognise this fact and also appears not to appreciate the work of the heritage sector, the value it brings to the city and its positive effect on tourism.’
The City of London and several other UK local authorities have already recognised the benefits of transport heritage and legislated for concessions to similar vehicles in their emissions zones.
Classic cars that are more than 40 years old will be exempt from Birmingham’s CAZ pricing scheme when it begins next year.