More than 44,000 Clean Air Zone non-payment fines issued

More than 44,000 people have been fined for non-payment of a city's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) charge.

The zone in Birmingham, introduced in a bid to reduce air pollution, officially launched last month.

Birmingham city council said it had issued 44,106 non-payment penalty charge notices (PCN) since 21 June after charging started on 14 June.

It said it expects the number of people receiving fines to reduce as they adapt to the system.

The daily charge for vehicles that do not meet standards is £8 for cars, vans and taxis, or £50 for HGVs and coaches, unless a valid exemption is in place.

Anyone who fails to pay within six days after entering the zone faces a £120 fine.

Figures show nearly three million vehicles were logged by cameras in June, with the daily charge and fines once paid set to generate £1.5 million, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

But the data, released on Wednesday, shows only a quarter of drivers - 10,464 - who failed to meet the charge, have so far paid the subsequent fine.

The council said it is implementing a "soft enforcement" plan to the end of July, giving drivers a chance to pay the original CAZ fee amount instead of the penalty.

It added the proportion of highly-polluting cars entering the CAZ has dropped from 18 per cent to 12 per cent in the first month, which Councillor Waseem Zaffar, cabinet member for transport and environment, said is "good to see".

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