Further delay to Sheffield's Clean Air Zone plan

All of Sheffield city centre would come under the Clean Air Zone

Plans to charge polluting commercial vehicles entering Sheffield city centre have been delayed again.

The intention was to start charging drivers of taxis, vans, buses, coaches and lorries that do not meet Euro 6 Diesel or Euro 4 Petrol emission standards later this year.

But the council now says it will be next year at the earliest before the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) can be introduced.

Smaller vehicles will be charged £10 a day and larger ones will pay £50.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the update on the scheme was buried more than half way down a council document after repeatedly and recently telling the public it would be implemented no later than the end of this year. 

The CAZ was first announced in 2018. It was delayed in 2020 due to Covid-19 and then a new date of 2022 was given.

Sheffield has been in breach of the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide levels since January 2010, the council has previously said.

The government ordered the council to reduce its traffic emissions to legal levels as soon as possible and "by 2021 at the latest".

Drivers would be charged to enter the Clean Air Zone, which starts on the Sheffield Parkway and goes around the city

In a briefing document, seen by the LDRS, councils officers said "failure to implement the mandated CAZ charging scheme within the prescribed deadlines imposes a serious risk to the council and gives rise to potential legal challenges by way of judicial review".

The report added: "There is also the risk that any grant funding already provided to Sheffield City Council such funds could be recovered by the government, by way of clawback."

The scheme will be submitted to the government in April for consideration.

Commenting on the delay, Tom Finnegan-Smith, head of strategic transport, sustainability and infrastructure, said: "The early 2023 'go live' date for the CAZ takes into account up to date timescales associated with the installation of infrastructure, mobilisation and testing to ensure a successful launch. 

"The programme is subject to regular review and we will be in a position to announce a specific launch date later in the year."