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Driving in

Driving in Leicester

Leicestershire, England. What is different here rather than what is the same everywhere.
383,116
Population, Leicestershire
Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)
No zone
Charging or low emission zone
Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)
LE
Postcode areas
Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)

Checked on 30 June 2025.Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)

No charging zone here

Leicester has no clean air zone, low emission zone or congestion charge. Nothing about the age or fuel of your car changes what it costs to drive into the city, and the only motoring charges that apply are the national ones.

What is different about driving in Leicester?

Very little, in charging terms. Leicester runs no zone, so the national rules are the whole story. What is local is the shape of the fleet and the charging network, which the figures below describe.

Local figures for Leicester

  • 33.0% of Leicester households had no car or van at the 2021 census, roughly ten points above the England figure of 23.5%.
  • About 134,000 licensed cars were recorded in the Leicester council area at the end of March 2026.
  • Leicester has no clean air zone. England has seven, and only the Birmingham and Bristol zones charge private cars at all.
  • The city had 356 public chargers at 1 April 2026, or 91.7 per 100,000 people, which is low for a city of this size.

The numbers behind those lines

Official statistics for Leicestershire
MeasureFigure
Vehicle fleet33.0% of Leicester households had no car or van at the 2021 census, roughly ten points above the England figure of 23.5%.
Public chargingLeicester has no clean air zone. England has seven, and only the Birmingham and Bristol zones charge private cars at all.
Car ownership33.0% of Leicester households had no car or van at the 2021 census, roughly ten points above the England figure of 23.5%.

Common questions

Is there a clean air zone in Leicester?
No. Leicester has no charging or low emission zone, so no daily charge applies to driving there. The nearest zone, if any, is in a different authority area.
What does a car pay to drive in Leicester?
Nothing. There is no zone charge in Leicester. The only motoring charges that apply are the national ones: vehicle excise duty, fuel duty and any local parking scheme.
How many public chargers are there in Leicester?
Leicester has no clean air zone. England has seven, and only the Birmingham and Bristol zones charge private cars at all.
Are motoring rules different in England?
Vehicle tax, speeding penalties and licensing are set nationally, so they are the same everywhere in Great Britain. What varies locally is whether a charging zone applies and what it costs.

Sources

Related pages