Sheffield clean air zone will rid city of dirty vehicles - councillor

The clean air zone is set to come in on 27 February

A Green Party councillor has said a new clean air zone (CAZ) in Sheffield will rid the city of "old, polluting vehicles" when it comes into force.

Douglas Johnson said air quality levels in parts of Sheffield had improved but were still at "illegal" levels.

Drivers of taxis, vans, buses, coaches and lorries that do not meet Euro 6 Diesel or Euro 4 Petrol emission standards will be charged.

The scheme starts on 27 February and will not include private cars.

Smaller vehicles will be charged £10 a day and larger ones will pay £50, the council said.

Douglas Johnson said the zone will encourage drivers and companies to upgrade their vehicles

Mr Johnson, who represents the City ward, said central government required the council to act due to poor air quality levels.

He claimed pollution contributed to "500 early deaths a year, just from Sheffield".

"Newer vehicles are much cleaner than old, polluting vehicles. So the move is to get those old vehicles off the road, and that benefits everyone," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

He stressed that private cars and motorbikes would not be charged, nor would the council try to charge them in future as air levels in the city were generally improving.

Frank Hayes, from Sheffield Motorcycle Centre, said his business is not in the CAZ, but the only way to access their car park was by using a chargeable road.

"We in the dealership and the car park are not in the clean air zone, the only road into our dealership, which is 120 yards (110m), is in the CAZ," he said.

"I'm considering, do I need to be in Sheffield? Shall I just go out to somewhere like Doncaster, maybe Rotherham, maybe Chesterfield, where the council actually think small businesses need to be supported."

He added including the inner ring road was a "revenue earner" for the council as it would affect more vehicles getting around the city.

Where will vehicles be charged?

The clean air zone boundary will cover Sheffield city centre

Offending vehicles would be charged when they enter the A61 ring road and streets in the city centre.

Cameras would read number plates with drivers asked to pay their charges online, according to signs.

Hackney Carriage taxis licensed with the council will not be charged until 5 June, Sheffield City Council said.

However, Mr Johnson said charging private cars could have been an option, arguing businesses were bearing the brunt of the CAZ.

"People like me have been saying, 'maybe we should be charging cars, because why are we penalising businesses that work in the city centre, when people can drive in from the Peak District in their Range Rovers and park in the city centre, no charge at all?'," he added.