Clean Air Zone: Sheffield City Council reveals huge amount raised from drivers in first year

Sheffield’s controversial Clean Air Zone raked in more than £7m in its first year, new figures show.

Drivers coughed up £2.4m in fees and double that in fines - some £4.78m - to create a grand total of £7.18m.

The pollution-busting measure was introduced on February 27, 2023, after years of wrangling. Now Sheffield Council is drawing up plans to spend its new income stream.

The first project will see £1m ploughed into improving air quality around schools.

Councillor Ben Miskell said he thought people would be supportive.

He said: "I think people in Sheffield will support a direct link between paying and investing in protecting the most vulnerable in society."

The CAZ charges certain, older diesel vans and taxis £10-a-day to travel on, or within, the inner ring road. Older coaches, buses and lorries are charged £50-a-day.

In the last year, 25.7m vehicles entered the CAZ and 284,014 were charged, according to council figures. Some 65,733 penalties for non-payment were issued. They start at £70 but the amount jumps if they go unpaid.

The government gave the council £24m to cover installation costs and to help businesses upgrade vehicles.

The authority said set up costs were £4.3m and it has made more than 2,000 grant awards worth £4.2m with more in the pipeline.

It also says air pollution contributes to 500 deaths a year and the biggest cause is transport, especially diesel vehicles. 

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Coun Miskell added: "Since the launch, the number of non-compliant vehicles has reduced by nearly two-thirds, showing that people are making the switch to cleaner vehicles."

He added: "Through our Clean Air Investment Plan, we’re investing a million pounds to go even further to provide projects that will enable us to improve our air quality. But we can’t do that on our own. We need central government to help us complete the job, including delivering zero emission buses to Sheffield."