How much Bradford Council has earned from the clean air zone

More than £11.5m has been collected in payments and fines since Bradford’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was introduced, the Telegraph & Argus can reveal.

A Freedom of Information request by T&A revealed that Bradford Council has received payments of more than £5,549,780.30 so far.

The large amount – paid by drivers who enter the zone with non-compliant vehicles – was accumulated between September 2022 and March 31, 2024.

Of this amount, £1,148,484 will be reimbursed to Central Government to cover the cost of its services associated with CAZ.

Over the same period, total payments received from Penalty Notices associated with Bradford CAZ reached £6,132,570.

But a large number of vehicles have been caught entering the zone and have yet to pay fines or multiple penalty notices.

204,726 drivers were timed for driving through CAZ without paying the clean air zone fee.

The figure includes vehicles that have been impounded more than once and received multiple penalty notices.

Councilor Debbie Davies (Conservative, Baildon) has previously raised concerns about the accuracy of the CAZ system.

Responding to the latest figures, the deputy leader of the Bradford Conservative group said: “I am shocked that the amount of revenue from fines continues to be substantially higher than that from non-compliant vehicles entering the area.

“It needs to be made clearer so drivers are aware there is a charge to pay and I suspect those who are caught are probably not local and haven’t thought to check before traveling to Bradford.”

A sign warning motorists that they are entering the Bradford Clean Air Zone (Image: Mike Simmonds)

A Bradford Council spokesman said the CAZ had “significantly reduced air pollution”, with automated monitoring stations recording the lowest level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the area.

Across the area, NO2 fell to levels lower than those seen during the 2020 lockdown, when traffic was reduced by 50%.

NO2 is linked to increased mortality and hospital admissions for respiratory disease – one of the key reasons for introducing CAZ in Bradford.

Bradford Council said there had been big reductions in non-compliant vehicles driving in the area and Bradford businesses and residents had switched to cleaner, less polluting vehicles.

When T&A asked if CAZ had a positive impact on people’s health, a council spokesman said: “Early indications suggest a reduction in asthma attendances at A&E, the Council is working with health researchers at Born In Bradford to quantify the extent of health status. improvement that Bradford gained from the area.

“Born In Bradford is working on the CAZ impact analysis for low birth weight and cardiovascular and respiratory health, which will be published later this summer.”

Money from CAZ can only be reinvested in schemes and measures that improve air quality.

When asked for examples of recent investment, the Council said its £1.1m Clean Air Schools Program has now started.

It targets parents and carers who stand idle outside gates with uniformed guards targeting drivers at school drop-off and pick-up times.

An engagement program will help students learn about air pollution with portable analyzers.

A total of 48 schools in Bradford have received grants worth more than £440,000 to improve air quality in their schools.

Projects include buses, bicycles, scooters and shelters, classroom air filtration systems and green screens – using planting to protect play areas.

Bradford’s licensed taxis are the cleanest fleet in the UK, the Council has claimed, with government funding and CAZ revenue being used for grants.

The grants are designed to help taxi drivers go fully electric.

When T&A spoke to TikToker and taxi driver Yasar Aziz, known to many as Disco Dave, last December, he said more needed to be done to help taxi drivers afford the initial costs of electric cars or hybrids.

Yasar Aziz, pictured (Image: UGC)

After starting CAZ, he paid £7 a day to drive his Skoda around the area.

To meet the expenses, he decided to sell his car and lease a hybrid.

Yasar said: “If they could give me the financing, I could buy one, but you have to already have a car.

“The condition is that you must already be driving a hybrid.”

The council said it received 873 applications for EV taxi grants and paid out 103 grants.

Another 439 applications are in various stages of the process.

The council also held an electric heavy vehicle trial with building materials supplier Joseph Parrs on Manchester Road.

When will Bradford’s clean air zone be lifted?

Bradford Council previously said the government would lift the order once Bradford’s air quality returned to legal levels and that government officials were confident they would remain at those legal levels.

Late last year, the local authority suggested the CAZ could be lifted by the end of 2026.

The Government’s order for the borough to improve air quality can be lifted two years after Bradford proved it had reached legal levels – and the Authority’s director of air quality programmes, Andrew Whittles, believes the borough will reach that level in 2024.