The delayed Birmingham City clean air zone (CAZ) will be launched on 1 June 2021, the city council has confirmed. The move will see non-Euro 6 trucks, buses and coaches charged £50 a day to enter the zone, which lies within the A4540 ring road. Non-compliant cars will be charged £8 a day.

The scheme had originally been due to be enforced from July 2020. However, a fault with a new government website and the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic pushed the zone's introduction back to next summer.

The scheme, which will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, was delayed after a glitch with the government's online vehicle checker system was discovered as it was being trialled, with the system registering some compliant vehicles entering the zone as non-compliant.

In a statement issued last week, the city council confirmed the new start date.

"Following meetings with Rebecca Pow MP, the under-secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs and Rachel Maclean MP, the under-secretary of state for transport, it has been confirmed that the government-mandated clean air zone for Birmingham is now scheduled to launch on 1 June 2021," it said.

The council also confirmed that £35m worth of financial incentives will be made available to support businesses, residents and city workers to adjust to the new changes - with applications for the funding already open.

Councillor Waseem Zaffar said: "We have been working closely with officials at the Joint Air Quality Unit and ministers to agree a new launch date for the government-mandated clean air zone.

"Poor air quality remains a public health risk and a clean air zone provides the city with an effective tool for tackling this issue in the shortest possible time.

"The majority of drivers on Birmingham's roads will not need to pay the daily charge but if you do then you may be eligible for an exemption or one of the financial incentives."

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