by team dodd, BBC News, UK
![PA Media Signs in Birmingham City Center informing road users of the Clean Air Zone initiative.](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/60fb/live/63f03000-0d1e-11ef-b866-cfda8dde1362.jpg.webp)
Clean air zones in England had raised more than £150 million for local authorities by the end of last year, according to a BBC investigation.
Clean Air Zones (CAZs) were designed to reduce pollution by charging drivers to enter certain zones and have not been without controversy.
From 2021, CAZ will begin operating in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside.
A further £163 million was raised in London, which has been a Low Emissions Zone since 2008 and an Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) since 2019.
The idea is to encourage people to use public transportation or drive new, less polluting cars or electric vehicles.
But detractors say CAZ is penalizing people who can't afford low-emission cars.
So where is the council using the money raised through the Clean Air Zone and is it benefiting local residents?
transport
![bristol sidewalk](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/323c/live/30c40680-1371-11ef-83f9-51268683e1ae.jpg.webp)
The Transport Act 2000 requires local authorities in England to reinvest any excess revenue from clean air zones into local transport schemes.
Bristol City Council estimates it will have invested more than £6.6 million in road and footpath repairs and improvements by the end of the 2023/24 financial year to encourage walking and cycling and reduce traffic congestion.
available to residents Free bike and e-bike trials, adult bike training, and tasting bus and train tickets.
Bradford Metropolitan District Council has used £1.7 million of proceeds from the scheme to fund a range of transport improvements, including a green vehicle and electric vehicle charging network for the council.
The council says it now has the cleanest licensed taxi fleet in the country.
Bath and North East Somerset Council has spent £30,000 on a series of bicycle hangars to provide safe storage across the region.
clean air school activities
![A Bradford Council woman uses an air quality monitor next to a Bradford city school.](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/3495/live/b0ff57f0-2717-11ef-b2a2-8dd2c3838cf1.jpg.webp)
Bradford Council has allocated £1.1 million to the Clean Air Schools Programme, which provides funding to help schools implement emissions reduction measures on site.
These include the deployment of custodians to raise awareness of idling prevention outside schools and projects such as walking buses, bicycles and scooters, air filtration systems and natural green screens using plants to protect play areas.
Similarly, in Bath & North East Somerset, the council has committed £250,000 to the School Streets Pilot scheme to improve air quality and reduce traffic during school drop-off times.
Break-even point
Many councils have used the funds raised so far to pay for the introduction and operation of the CAZ system.
The final estimated costs to deliver the expanded ULEZ in London are as follows: It is expected to fetch between £145-155m..
Newcastle City Council, which runs Newcastle and Gateshead CAZ, raised £2.4 million. Portsmouth City Council, which raised £1.3 million, both said the money was used to cover operating costs.
Local authorities are also securing funding for disposal areas that are no longer needed. This predicts that drivers will increasingly move to uncharged vehicles.
Bath & North East Somerset Council's deputy director Sarah Warren said there were currently no intention to decommission but CAZ would cover costs such as removing signage, cameras, cables, ducts and power once it ceased operating on the reserve. Consumables and software system deactivation.
Fines for evading charges
![The launch of PA Media Birmingham's Clean Air Zone has been delayed due to vehicle inspection software issues and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/bde5/live/3dbbbe70-136a-11ef-bbd0-896f649a5a64.jpg.webp)
A significant portion of the net revenue generated by clean air districts comes not from fees but from fines that drivers face if they do not pay.
As of the end of 2023, Bradford Metropolitan District Council had collected more than £3.8 million in daily rates, but received almost double that in fines, to around £7 million.
Newcastle City Council said daily charges to drivers had amounted to around £1.1 million for more than a year, while fines amounted to almost £1.3 million.
Bath & North East Somerset Council said it had increased fines by £8.7 million and levies by £6.4 million between March 2021 and the end of 2023.
These combined revenue streams provide money that councils can use to cover the day-to-day running costs of the scheme, transport planning or reserves.
arguement
![Jean Wall Jean Wall and her business partner, Andrea Davey, were standing outside their mobile sandwich van.](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/7dfb/live/9f2c43e0-23f6-11ef-8907-376ff8d07cb6.jpg.webp)
Clean air zones have been criticized by people who say they disadvantage people who can't afford newer vehicles and have a negative impact on businesses.
Last year in London ULEZ expansion challenge bid failsThis is because people need more time to replace their vehicles with compliant ones.
Meanwhile, in Greater Manchester, the CAZ launch has been put on hold from February 2022. Opposition from business owners who say they cannot afford the costs.
Jean Wall, 53, from Bradford, runs a mobile sandwich business and said the business had been negatively affected by the city's CAZ.
To get your vehicle from your business to the main road, you must enter a toll zone. That means you'll have to pay £9 every time you need ingredients or fuel.
Ms Wall said the business initially received immunity from the charges from the council, but was canceled after her business partner, who drives the van, moved to Leeds, reopened and later canceled again.
“It’s disappointing,” she said. “It’s just bureaucracy, and it drives you crazy!”
She said the impact of fees has also led to fewer events offered by the company.
“It’s frustrating to get a call from a mystery person in Congress saying, ‘That’s our decision,’ when you have members of Congress who aren’t listening to your concerns,” she said.
A Bradford Council spokesperson said it could not comment on individual cases, but said: “It is the responsibility of the vehicle keeper to take into account any changes in circumstances that may affect the grant or exemption.”
“If Congress changes the subsidy distribution and waiver allocation procedures, the government would have the right to recover misdistributed subsidy,” they said.
The council added that its clean air team would be happy to discuss any cases where there are unusual circumstances to find solutions.