Heading to Birmingham? Please be aware of the new ‘Clean Air Zone’ charges that will come into place from tomorrow (1st June 2021).
On 1 June 2021 Birmingham will launch a Clean Air Zone.
It will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The charges will be applied daily. A non-compliant vehicle driving in the Zone will pay once for the day, then may drive in the area without limit on that day.
You can find out if you will be charged by inputting your vehicle registration details into the Government vehicle checker.
Where is Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone?
Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone will cover all roads within the A4540 Middleway Ring Road but not the Middleway itself. This includes the A38 and tunnels.
The zone will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The charges will be applied daily.
Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone, which is everywhere within the A4540 Middleway (but not the Middleway itself) will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
More than 300 signs will be installed on the road network surrounding the boundary to inform drivers they are approaching the zone. Vehicles that do not meet the emission standards for the zone will be detected by an ANPR camera (automatic number plate recognition).
Charges
The charges for vehicles which do not meet the emission standard will be:
- Cars, taxi and LGVs: £8 per day
- Coaches, buses and HGVs: £50 per day.
A ‘day’ is classified as midnight to midnight, not 24 hours from when you enter the zone. During that midnight to midnight timeframe, you can enter and leave the zone numerous times and only incur a single charge. However if you cross the midnight threshold you will be charged for two days.
Payment window
Once the payment system goes live, you can pay:
- six days in advance of the day of your visit
- the day of your visit
- six days after the day of your visit
This gives a a total payment window of 13 days. Payments can be paid online using the Government’s payment system or over the phone by calling 0300 029 8888 (Monday – Friday, 8am – 4:30pm). Businesses can set up a fleet account by watching a demonstration video.
If you do not pay within that timeframe, you will be issued with a £120 Penalty Charge Notice. This will be reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.
The onus is on you as the driver to:
- know if your vehicle is subject to the charge
- be aware if you have driven within the zone
- make payment within the allocated payment window.
You will not receive a notification or a reminder to inform you that you have driven through the zone in a non-compliant vehicle and need to make payment.
Money raised from the charges and subsequent fines will be used to fund sustainable transport-related measures such as walking and cycling routes and public transport, as set out in the Charging Order.
Parking in the Clean Air Zone
Your vehicle is only chargeable when in motion. The ANPR cameras record vehicles when they are moving, so you would receive a charge for each individual day the vehicle in question is picked up by the cameras. Therefore if you drive into the zone on a Monday, leave your vehicle parked up all week and exit on a Friday, you would only be required to pay the charge for Monday and Friday (not Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday).
Your vehicle does not have to be registered as SORN (statutory off-road notification) with the DVLA to avoid charges whilst being stationary.
FULL DETAILS – Charges and operation | Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone | Brum Breathes
