The Sheffield Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will go live on 27 February 2023. With it will come a £50 daily charge for coaches and buses that do not meet or exceed Euro VI standards.
The CAZ will capture Sheffield city centre and inner ring road. Sheffield City Council (SCC) says that financial support to help eligible businesses to upgrade or replace affected vehicles will start to become available from 12 December in the form of either a grant, an “interest subsidised loan,” or a mix of the two.
From the same date in December, the local authority will reveal details of local exemptions to the CAZ. It has consulted on such measures, and cautions that special cases in Sheffield may not be the same as those in other cities where a CAZ applies already or will do so in due course.
However, a draft proposal issued in October 2021 shows that accessible coaches are likely to be offered case-by-case local exemptions. Coaches used on educational trips are also proposed to benefit from individual, case-by-case exemptions, although the draft proposal says in the latter case, they will be “purchased” in advance.
The Class C CAZ does not capture private cars. SCC says that earlier work established that a Class C approach “continues to be the model most suited to achieving compliance within the shortest time.”
Speaking about confirmation of the go live date, Co-Chair of Sheffield City Council’s Transport Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee Cllr Julie Grocutt says: “The Clean Air Zone is a necessary intervention to protect current and future generations in our city from the effects of exposure to NO2 emissions.
“We understand that this scheme will affect people and businesses in a variety of ways, and we have successfully pressed government for extra financial support… recognising the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on our city. As a result, we have secured one of the best financial packages of any local authority.”
In March, SCC said that the maximum grant towards achieving compliance with a coach or bus would be £16,000. Eligible businesses will be able to retrospectively apply for such funding for vehicles that have been upgraded since 26 October 2021.
