Fury as Glasgow City Council hammers drivers with £4.3M in Controversial Low Emission Zone Fines

Business owner blasts council for milking motorists with outdated data

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EXCLUSIVE By Gary Fanning

A livid business owner who took Glasgow Council to court is fuming after discovering from The Splash that the council has dished out more than £4million in fines from its controversial Low-Emission Zone.

Outraged William Paton, owner of Patons Accident Repair Centre in Townhead, pictured below, blasts the council for milking motorists with outdated data and hitting the city's most vulnerable hardest.

Our investigation shows hard-pressed drivers have been clobbered with a whopping £4.3 million in fines since Glasgow’s Low Emission Zones (LEZ) kicked off last year.

Additionally, our investigation reveals that from the June 1, 2023 until August 2024, 70 council vehicles were hit with £60 fines for entering LEZ.

And during that period, one driver of a council vehicle was fined £120 for entering twice.

The controversial scheme, aimed at slashing air pollution and improving public health, has left tens of thousands of motorists out of pocket and sparked a heated debate over its fairness and effectiveness.

From last June to June 2024, 46,843 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) were issued to drivers whose vehicles failed to meet LEZ standards.

Mr Paton has long argued that improvements in Glasgow City Centre's air quality had already been achieved before the LEZ was implemented.

He dropped his legal challenge against the council after the Court of Session last October ruled in favour of the LEZ scheme.

In an exclusive interview with The Splash, Mr Paton declared: “The fact that they have now given out more than £4m in fine just shows that it was nothing more than a way to make money out of people coming into the city.

“It has hammered the night-time economy, the hospitality industry, and us.”