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Birmingham's Clean Air Zone charging of vehicles begins

Birmingham's Clean Air Zone charging of vehicles begins

BIRMINGHAM'S Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was officially launched on June 1 and drivers of a vehicle not meeting emission standards will be charged with a fee.

However, there was a two-week delay to charges as time was given for motorists to adjust to the new rule.


BBC reports that the daily charge for vehicles that do not meet standards is £8 for cars, vans and taxis, or £50 for HGVs and coaches, unless a valid exemption is in place.

The zone is enforced using Automatic Number Plate Recognition, which records the registration plates of vehicles travelling within the ring road. Anyone who fails to pay within six days after entering the zone would face a £120 fine.

"The Clean Air Zone will help us to address the single biggest environmental risk to public health and I have been clear from the beginning of the scheme that we wanted to make its introduction fair and reasonable," Waseem Zaffar, Birmingham City Council's cabinet member for transport and environment, was quoted as saying.

About 75 per cent of cars will not be charged a fee, but drivers were urged to check their vehicles online before travelling.

The local authority of Birmingham had previously said air pollution contributed to 900 premature deaths a year in the city and it faced a £60m fine if it failed to implement the zone.

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Martin Parr death at 73 marks end of Britain’s vivid chronicler of everyday life

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Martin Parr, who captured Britain’s class divides and British Asian life, dies at 73

Highlights:

  • Martin Parr, acclaimed British photographer, died at home in Bristol aged 73.
  • Known for vivid, often humorous images of everyday life across Britain and India.
  • His work is featured in over 100 books and major museums worldwide.
  • The National Portrait Gallery is currently showing his exhibition Only Human.
  • Parr’s legacy continues through the Martin Parr Foundation.

Martin Parr, the British photographer whose images of daily life shaped modern documentary work, has died at 73. Parr’s work, including his recent exhibition Only Human at the National Portrait Gallery, explored British identity, social rituals, and multicultural life in the years following the EU referendum.

For more than fifty years, Parr turned ordinary scenes into something memorable. He photographed beaches, village fairs, city markets, Cambridge May Balls, and private rituals of elite schools. His work balanced humour and sharp observation, often in bright, postcard-like colour.

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