Bradford Clean Air Zone generates £4.5m in six months

Cash raised will be spent on further schemes to cut emissions

Bradford's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) has generated almost £4.5m in charges and fines in its first six months.

Money raised can only be spent on projects to reduce emissions, the council said.

The CAZ, which began on 26 September, aims to cut pollution and reduce its impact on people's health.

The charge applies to taxis, lorries and vans that do not meet emission standards, but drivers of private cars and motorbikes do not need to pay.

The daily fees for commercial vehicles entering the area range from £7 to £50 and those that do not pay can be fined £120 plus the original fee.

Some business owners have said it has caused confusion among customers and added to price rises.

"It has had an impact in terms of it's an increased cost which we have to pass on," said Keith Wildman, who owns city centre bar The Record Cafe.

He said it was not ideal given other rising costs and said one brewery had passed the charge for entering the CAZ directly to him adding 20p to a pint of beer.

Bar owner Keith Wildman said the charge was being passed to customers

Mr Wildman said people visiting from outside the city were often confused about whether they had to pay.

"We're all for clean air and all for a healthy lifestyle, there probably just needs to be a better thought out way where it doesn't impact smaller businesses as much," he added.

Haulier Lesley O'Brien said her firm was lucky as its fleet complied with the required emission standards.

"For operators who don't have Euro Six vehicles it is a nightmare, it's a cost."

She warned the zone could move the pollution and congestion elsewhere.

Council figures to the end of March show it received £2,031,269 in payments from vehicles entering the zone, of which it had paid the government £410,800 for the cost of services it provides.

A further £2,468,218 was received from Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) associated with the zone.

The council said 58,776 PCNs had been issued since September.

A spokesperson said the government did not allow them to use the revenue generated by the scheme to fund normal council services.

"Revenue from CAZ charges is mandated to be reinvested in further programmes in the district to reduce harmful emissions," they said.

Those schemes could include further support for zero-emission buses and help for residents and businesses to upgrade vehicles.

You can see more on this story on Politics North from 10:00 BST on Sunday 30 April on BBC One in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire or on the BBC iPlayer afterwards.