City Clean Air Zone makes £54m in profit for the council

Fines and charges bring in £100m over last three years

BIRMINGHAM’S Clean Air Zone (CAZ) has rasied over £100 million in charges and fines since its controversial launch three years ago.

Over £73 million has been raked in from fines alone since the low-emission zone was set up in 2021, as of the start of this year.

Drivers in higher polluting vehicles which do not meet requirements for the zone have paid £37.7 million through daily charges.

The city council said it had made an overall profit of £54 million from the CAZ.

Details were handed to the Post following a Freedom of Information request.

Council bosses say all money made from the CAZ is invested back into “projects that promote greener travel and cleaner air”.

The zone, which stretches across a large area around the city centre, has proved unpopular with many motorists.

The launch in 2021 signalled a major change in what certain drivers were allowed to do.

Owners of vehicles which don’t comply with emissions limits must pay the £8 daily charge to pass through the zone.

Those who fail to pay are hit with fines of £120, cut to £60 if paid within 14 days. Around 45,000 drivers are still being fined every month for failing to pay the daily charge.

It has previously been revealed how half a million motorists had ‘refused to pay’ penalties, denying the council a significant chunk of cash.

While the zone remains a contentious issue, it is largely achieving the aim it was intended to.

The average compliance rate – that is vehicles which meet the emissions requirements and don’t have to pay a charge – is 94.4%.

A Birmingham City Council spokesman said: “The CAZ was introduced to reduce the levels of the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide in the city centre.

“The percentage of the most polluting vehicles entering the zone has reduced from 15.2% in June 2021 to 4.9% in January 2024, which means a significant number of people have changed their behaviours as a result of its introduction and the overall levels of nitrogen dioxide have reduced.

“All revenue generated by the CAZ is reinvested back into projects that promote greener travel and cleaner air.

“Projects funded to date include a trial of hydrogen buses, upgrades to the University train station and improvements to stations on the Camp Hill line, as well as a number of projects within the Cross-City Bus scheme.

It has also paid for the expansion of the Car Free School Streets programme, and development of the next phase of the Birmingham Cycle Revolution. CAZ revenue is also funding the ‘Brum Breathes Fund’, which is providing more than £4 million to support projects in every part of the city.”