Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone was introduced on June 1, 2021, to improve air quality by discouraging the most polluting vehicles from entering the city centre—with Birmingham City Council recently discovered to have issued more than £470,000 worth of fines to itself, ‘around 20 times the number paid by any other UK council’.
But it’s not just BCC own vehicles that are failing to meet these low-emission standards. According to Freedom of Information data obtained by finance experts at Fast Loan UK, 407,633 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) were issued during 2025/26. That equates to 1,117 fines every day, almost 47 every hour, or one every 77 seconds.
How does the Birmingham Clean Air Zone work?
Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone operates 24/7 on all roads within the A4540 Middleway. If your vehicle (motorbikes and mopeds are exempt) does not meet the emissions standard, you will be charged for driving in the CAZ. Cars and vans must pay a daily fee of £8, while larger vehicles are charged £50. You may get a £120 penalty if you fail to pay within 28 days.
What are Birmingham’s top CAZ fine hotspots?
Corporation Street at Aston Road is Birmingham’s biggest Clean Air Zone fine hotspot, with 57,165 PCNs recorded against the council’s highest-ranking inbound entry. That’s equivalent to an average of almost 157 fines every day and more than six every hour. The location alone accounts for 14% of all Clean Air Zone PCNs issued.
Another Corporation Street location took second place, with 34,712 PCNs issued at Corporation Street at Legge Street for outbound traffic. Summer Hill Road at Spring Hill was Birmingham’s third-biggest hotspot, with 20,980 PCNs issued to inbound vehicles.
Bath Row at Islington Row Middleway followed with 19,379 PCNs, while Bristol Street at Belgrave Middleway completed the top five with 19,187 against one of the council’s inbound enforcement entries. Together, the five highest-ranking enforcement locations accounted for 151,423 PCNs, equivalent to 37.1% of all Clean Air Zone notices issued in Birmingham.
