Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

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.

More For You

Lakshmi Mittal

Mittal's exit comes as Rachel Reeves prepares a fresh tax raising budget aimed at balancing the government's finances

Getty Images

Lakshmi Mittal quits Britain for Switzerland and Dubai over inheritance tax concerns

Highlights

  • Lakshmi Mittal, worth over £15 bn, has moved his tax residence from UK to Switzerland with plans to spend most time in Dubai.
  • Inheritance tax concerns, not income tax, drove the decision of the "King of Steel" to leave after 30 years in Britain.
  • The departure marks another high-profile exit as chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares major tax rises in the coming Budget.
Lakshmi Mittal, one of Britain's wealthiest men, has ended his three-decade association with the UK, relocating his tax residence to Switzerland and planning to base himself in Dubai. The 74-year-old steel magnate, worth approximately £15.5 bn according to the Asian Rich List 2025, is the latest prominent entrepreneur to leave Britain amid Labour's tax reforms targeting the super-rich.

The Indian-born billionaire built his fortune through ArcelorMittal, the world's second-largest steelmaker, in which he and his family hold nearly 40 per cent ownership. Since arriving in London in 1995, Mittal became a prominent figure in British business, acquiring expensive properties including a £57 m mansion on Kensington Palace Gardens known as the "Taj Mittal."

An adviser familiar with Mittal's family plans told The Sunday Times that, inheritance tax was the decisive factor in the decision. "It wasn't the tax on income or capital gains that was the issue, the issue was inheritance tax."

Keep ReadingShow less