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Birmingham Clean Air Zone
White cloud symbol with a letter D, on a light green circle
Birmingham Clean Air Zone traffic sign symbol
LocationBirmingham
Launched1 June 2021 (2021-06-01)
Technology
ManagerBirmingham City Council
CurrencyPound sterling
Retailed
  • Online
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Websitewww.brumbreathes.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata

Birmingham Clean Air Zone is an area of central Birmingham, England where traffic is restricted to reduce air pollution. It became the third UK Clean Air Zone, after London and Bath, when it launched on 1 June 2021.[1][2] A study of the zone’s effectiveness, published in 2023, found mixed results, with "modest, but significant reductions" in nitrogen dioxide but "no detectable impact in the concentrations of fine particles... the air pollutant with greatest health effects".[3]

Implementation

The Birmingham Clean Air Zone is the area inside the A4540 Middleway ring road (yellow), not including the road itself.

The zone covers the urban area inside the A4540 Middleway ring road, excluding the road itself, but including the Jewellery Quarter, the Chinese Quarter, the main shopping district, the area around Birmingham New Street railway station, and the rest of Birmingham city centre.[1][4] Noncompliant vehicles that enter the zone are charged £8 per day (for private cars, taxis and vans) or £50 per day (for HGVs, coaches, and buses), with no charge for other vehicles.[5] Compliance is defined according to European emissions standards, with the Birmingham scheme adopting class D of the A–D classification system.[5]

Main article: Clean Air Zone

History

The idea of road pricing in the United Kingdom dates back to 1964, when the Smeed Report proposed that road users should pay the costs roads impose on society.[6] After the London Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) was introduced in 2003, around 30 other local authorities were expected to follow suit, although most, including Birmingham, failed to bring forward firm proposals at that time.[7] In an interview with The Guardian that year, transport writer and commentator Christian Wolmar suggested this was because councils feared a backlash from motorists and lobbying groups.[7]

The scheme gained new momentum in 2017 after the European Commission warned Birmingham City Council to reduce air pollution by 2020 or face a £60 million fine.[8]

In 2018, the Council published a business case for its plan, then costed at £68.7 million.[5] The plan was backed by the British Heart Foundation, which said "In order to protect everyone living in Birmingham, it is vital that bold action is taken on air quality. A Clean Air Zone in the city will be a crucial step forward, as this is the most cost-effective way to tackle polluted air and minimise the damaging effect that it has on people’s heart health."[9] Opponents launched a protest group, Campaign Against Birmingham Clean Air Zone Charges, in 2018, arguing the scheme would "turn the city into a ghost town".[10]

The British government approved the plan in 2019,[8] but the scheme was delayed the following year by the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] An opinion survey of 8000 Birmingham residents published by the Council in June 2020 found "Nearly 80% were in favour of measures to reduce car emissions, with 63% not wanting to return to the levels of pollution we had prior to the pandemic.... [and] 71% of... respondents backing the introduction of Zero Emission Zones to discourage high-polluting cars from entering cities".[12]

Although some businesses and local councillors called for a further postponement of the scheme during the pandemic, Birmingham City Council leader Ian Ward refused, noting: "The government has made it crystal clear it will not tolerate any further delay".[13] When the plan was put forward again, businesses still recovering from lockdowns expressed concern about its potential economic impact.[11][14]

According to a report in The Guardian, shortly before the scheme was implemented in 2021, opponents published Facebook advertising urging people to oppose what they described as a "war on motorists" and a "travel tax",[15] while the Birmingham Mail noted how a local MP had branded it a "tax on the poor".[2]

The scheme was finally launched on 1 June 2021.[1]

Impact

In the month after the introduction of the charge, the number of the most polluting vehicles entering the zone each day dropped from 18,787 to just over 11,000, and compliance rose from 73.8% to 80.4%.[16] Around 40,000 drivers a month were fined for non-compliance at the start of 2023 (down from approximately 50,000 a month a year earlier), though around 10,000 drivers in total have successfully appealed their fines.[17]

According to Birmingham City Council, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels fell by 13 percent during the first six months of the scheme's implementation, with a halving of the number of polluting vehicles driving through the city centre.[18] However, a Birmingham University study published in August 2023 found the zone had produced more "modest, but significant reductions in NO2 of up to 7.3%", but "no detectable impact in the concentrations of fine particles, PM2.5 – the air pollutant with greatest health effects".[3]

In the first two years of the scheme's operation, Birmingham City Council raised £79 million from it in fees and penalties.[19] Some of the revenue raised from the scheme was earmarked for green transport projects, including car-free school streets, improvements in cycle paths, and expansion of 20mph zones.[20]

In August 2023, The Telegraph reported that the scheme "is piling extra costs onto small businesses", quoting "local entrepreneurs" and residents affected by higher delivery costs and linking the issue to what it described as a wider backlash against anti-pollution policies, including London's expanded ULEZ scheme.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Birmingham Clean Air Zone: What you need to know". BBC News. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Air We Go! Birmingham Clean Air Zone Launch Day". Birmingham Mail. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Clean Air Zone reduces air pollution levels in Birmingham - study". University of Birmingham. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  4. ^ "A clean air zone for Birmingham". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Council publishes Full Business Case for Birmingham Clean Air Zone". Birmingham City Council. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  6. ^ Laverty, Anthony A; Vamos, Eszter P; Panter, Jenna; Millett, Christopher (November 2020). "Road user charging: a policy whose time has finally arrived". The Lancet Planetary Health. 4 (11): e499–e500. doi:10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30244-8. ISSN 2542-5196. PMID 33159872.
  7. ^ a b Tempest, Matthew (28 November 2003). "Congestion charge fails to catch on". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Birmingham clean air charges approved". 12 March 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  9. ^ "BHF backs plans for Clean Air Zone in Birmingham city centre". August 2018.
  10. ^ Bentley, David (27 April 2021). "Clean Air Zone 'will turn Brum into a ghost town' campaign launched as scheme to start in june". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  11. ^ a b Murray, Jessica (30 May 2021). "Birmingham launches clean air zone for private cars". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  12. ^ "The results are in – Birmingham wants cleaner air". The Birmingham Blog. Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Birmingham Clean Air Zone: Delay 'not tolerated'". BBC News. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  14. ^ Johnson, Becky (31 May 2021). "'Shockingly bad': Businesses condemn timing of introduction of Birmingham clean air zone". Sky News. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  15. ^ McIntyre, Niamh (4 September 2021). "Revealed: how Tory politicians fought plans to tackle air pollution". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  16. ^ "New car tax changes which charges cars £8 per day is 'successful' but has 'some issues'". Daily Express. 9 October 2021.
  17. ^ Guttridge, Richard (6 June 2023). "Two years of the Birmingham Clean Air Zone - the controversies, fines and millions made". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Clean Air Zone: Birmingham reports drop in emissions". BBC News. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Birmingham rakes in £79million through fees and penalties from Clean Air Zone". ITV News. 23 August 2023.
  20. ^ Cardwell, Mark (17 March 2022). "Projects to be funded by Birmingham's Clean Air Zone revealed". Wolverhampton Express and Star. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  21. ^ Almeida, Lauren. "Birmingham's version of Ulez 'increasing delivery costs for businesses'; Low-pollution zone criticised as pressure grows on Labour following Uxbridge defeat". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
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