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Council chiefs are facing calls to exempt mosque and church worshippers from Clean Air Zone charges while they pray or mourn their dead - or risk accusations of discrimination.

Birmingham's Central Mosque - the biggest in Europe - attracts around 5,000 Muslim worshippers every week, rising to around 25,000 at Eid.

But the mosque falls inside the charging zone set up to try to combat air quality issues in the city, meaning any visitor whose car does not meet strict anti-pollution criteria faces a daily £8 fee.

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

It's the biggest of some 30 religious institutions whose congregations could be adversely affected when the CAZ comes into force next year, the city's transport and environment overview & scrutiny committee heard. (Wednesday)

Councillor Muhammad Afzal, speaking in his role as chairman of Central Mosque, said the impact of the new charges on people of faith could affect attendance for prayers and funerals.

"This will affect thousands of people who attend the mosque every week. During Ramadan around 25-30,000 people attend prayers.

"We also have many funerals where people come from a wide area, from Bradford, London, all over."

Coun Majid Mahmood (Lab, Bromford and Hodge Hill) said a way to exempt worshippers attending prayers needed to be considered, as otherwise the council could risk being discriminatory towards those with a protected characteristic under the Equalities Act.

(Image: Handout)

Worshippers attending evening prayers often had 'no choice' but to travel by car to stay safe, he added.

But Coun Julie Johnson (Lab, Weoley and Selly Oak) said the area included many religious institutions but also many people with no faith "whose rights needed to be protected too."

While Phil Edwards, assistant director, transport and connectivity, said the issue of exempting those who followed particular or all religions would be problematic and difficult to enforce.

(Image: Graham Young / BirminghamLive)

The issue was raised during a fraught meeting as simmering tensions over the rights and wrongs of the Clean Air Zone resurfaced. (Wednesday)

Committee chair Liz Clements (Lab, Bournville and Cotteridge) twice threatened to suspend the meeting as frustrated councillors tried to make points that she repeatedly ruled were outside the scope of the meeting or not relevant.

At one point she told Coun Mahmood to be quiet and urged 'silence' as councillors persisted.

"You can't not allow us to make our points," he told her - while she retaliated: "It's important to discuss the issue in hand and stick to that."

'Sheriff of Nottingham' instead of Robin Hood

Coun Mahmood has lobbied for the council to reconsider the Clean Air Zone proposals, claiming a city wide resident parking scheme, workplace levy and other measures would do more to combat pollution. He said charging residents was never a requirement of the clean air zone recommendations.

He told the meeting: "We are being seen less like Robin Hood and more like the Sheriff of Nottingham imposing taxes on the poor."

Coun Tim Huxtable (Cons, Hall Green South) said he opposed the whole idea of charging private residents to enter the Clean Air Zone.

"It is not just the mosque that will be affected. There are also all three major cathedrals, churches, synagogues, NHS services including the Children's Hospital."

The council intends to use some of the money raised from charges and penalty fees to pay for Controlled Parking Zones both inside and on the edge of the zone.

It has also arranged a series of mitigation measures for disabled drivers, taxis, local residents and other groups.

The Clean Air Zone was originally due to start in January 2020, and covers an area enclosed within the A4540 ring road, including the city centre, Jewellery Quarter, Digbeth, Highgate, Hockley and Ladywood.

Under the charging order, all vehicles which fail to meet strict low pollution guidelines will be charged daily to drive in the zone.

Non compliant cars, vans and taxis face an £8 charge, while lorries and buses will be hit with a £50 daily fee, all payable online.

Failing to pay a charge due would result in a £120 fine.

The Zone proposal was created in response to demands from central Government for the city to take urgent action to address its high air pollution levels.

It is one of a series of measures organised to address the city's climate emergency, said Coun Zaffar, cabinet member for transport and environment.

Launch of the Zone has been delayed until at least July next year because of delays in the development of a vehicle checking system and charging arrangements.

This week's meeting was hastily arranged to consider a call-in request submitted jointly by Cllr Malik (Labour, Balsall Heath West) and Cllr Mahmood (Bromford and Hodge Hill) after the city's Cabinet agreed the formal charges for the zone.

The order gives legal authority to introduce charges and collect fines.

The two councillors claimed the order had not been subject to sufficient consultation, was a controversial issue, and appears to give rise to issues in a particular district, namely Balsall Heath West, so further scrutiny was needed.

Coun Mahmood said the order also did not sufficiently address the needs of disabled people as it imposed charges on the drivers of hackney carriage taxis whose numbers were predicted to fall off when the zone started.

Coun Malik said the area he represented in Balsall Heath was on the edge of the zone and would face a detrimental impact when the zone came into force, yet he had not been part of a working group looking at residents' concerns.

He said he was worried that residential streets around the zone would be congested with cars looking for parking before getting a bus into the city centre.

The call in request was defeated, so will not be subject to further debate.

Held in 'private'

Coun Mahmood had earlier voiced his concern that the meeting was, unusually, being held in a private part of the council building and was not being filmed for live webcast, which means it could not be watched by residents at home or reviewed at a later date.

The council later said this was due to a lack of available rooms at a time when committee members could meet and was a very rare occurrence. They also said escorts were on hand to direct members of the public and press to the meeting.