Clean Air Zone Sheffield: Drivers cough up almost £2m in first five months

Drivers paid almost £2m in the first five months of Sheffield’s Clean Air Zone, shock new figures show.

They coughed up £867,675 in charges and £1,082,924 in fines between February 27 and the end of July - a total of £1,950,599. The zone is run by Sheffield City Council.

A spokesperson said: “Income will be used to run and maintain the zone. Any surplus has to be put towards other sustainable transport schemes in the city.”

The CAZ launched amid controversy over its impact on business and has been dogged errors. At the end of July the authority revealed it was refunding almost £500,000 due to a printing mistake on 4,700 fines.

In June, minibus firm boss Ky Moynihan, of Ky’s Executive Travel, says he has racked up more than £5,000 from 28 fines from trips taking children to school - which he claims are exempt. But all his appeals have been rejected “without explanation".

Meanwhile, letters from Sheffield City Council are taking up to two months to arrive, so a £50 charge comes with an automatic £230 fine for 'non-payment', he says.

The city council states 500 people in Sheffield die prematurely each year due to air pollution. 

A spokesperson said recently: “Hundreds of people in Sheffield die prematurely each year due to air pollution. It impacts health at every stage of life, including unborn babies. Introducing any new measure like the Clean Air Zone comes with challenges.

“We care about businesses and want to see them thrive and look at the concerns and find a suitable solution.”

Reacting to the new figures on X, formerly known as Twitter, Adrian Hirst asked whether “robust, long term air quality figures” showed an improvement.

Steve Batty wanted to know if there had been a “reduction in the number vehicles in the city centre or an increase in air quality".

Val Ball added: “But just as important, where are the figures on air quality? Anyone know or brave enough to announce it?”