Local parking guide

Parking in Sheffield

What a parking ticket costs in Sheffield, which zones apply, what it costs to park, what a resident permit costs, who enforces it and how to challenge one.

Sheffield City CouncilSouth YorkshireEngland

Sheffield has a Clean Air Zone, and if you are driving a private car it costs you nothing. That is the first thing to know, because the words "Clean Air Zone" have come to mean a charge on ordinary drivers in some cities and here they do not. Sheffield's zone is Class C: vans, taxis, private hire vehicles, lorries, buses and coaches pay if they do not meet the emissions standard, and cars and motorcycles are outside it altogether. If you do drive something that is charged, the zone covers the inner ring road and everything inside it, the charging day runs midnight to midnight, and you can pay from six days before your journey to six days after. The parking itself is ordinary Band 2, but two details are worth having. Charging runs seven days a week until 8.30pm, so an evening or a Sunday in the city centre is not free — though both are cheaper than a weekday. And a second resident permit costs exactly twice the first, in every zone that has one.

Sheffield City Council South Yorkshire England

Band 2Penalty charge band
NoFree on Sundays

Sheffield names its permit zones individually — around thirty of them, from the City Centre to Hillsborough — rather than publishing a total, and their hours differ from zone to zone.

Sheffield's live parking pages publish the evening and Sunday rates but not a current daytime hourly rate. The most recent published daytime table is a traffic order from April 2024, whose evening and Sunday figures have since changed — so we do not restate its daytime ones as if they were current.

What a ticket costs in Sheffield

Sheffield City Council issues penalty charge notices at Band 2.

LevelFull chargeIf paid early
Higher level £70 £35
Lower level £50 £25

What the higher and lower levels mean, and every stage if you do not pay →

Clean Air Zone: class C

A class C zone charges buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, heavy goods vehicles and vans. Anything not on that list is not charged for entering the zone at all.

Ultra low emission vehicles with significant zero emission capability are exempt from charges across all classes.

GOV.UK, Annex A to the Clean Air Zone Framework for England

Other charges you can get in Sheffield

Not every notice you get is a parking ticket. These are issued under different powers, and some of them cost more.

ChargeAmountIf paid earlyNotes
Clean Air Zone daily charge — van, lorry-derived van, taxi or private hire vehicle £10 Payable for each day a non-compliant vehicle is driven inside the zone. Not a penalty: pay it and there is nothing further. Larger campervans and motorhomes pay this discounted rate rather than £50.
Clean Air Zone daily charge — bus, coach or heavy goods vehicle £50 Same rules, five times the price.
Bus lane penalty charge notice £70 The council's guidance gives £70 for bus lane contraventions, the same as a higher-level parking ticket, but does not state the discounted figure alongside it.
Resident permit, City Centre Inner zone £328.50 A year — more than five times the standard permit.
Resident permit, City Centre Outer zone £164.30 A year.
Resident permit, Kelham Island and Neepsend, first vehicle £118.25 A year. One permit per household. The council may consider a second permit (£236.55, twice the first) for properties in Neepsend, but says it would not issue more than one to properties in Kelham Island.

Paying by phone

Sheffield City Council accepts PayByPhone. Check the sign in the bay for the location code before you start a session — it is the code, not the street name, that decides what you are charged.

Controlled parking zones

ZoneHoursDaysNotes
City Centre 8am to 8.30pm Monday to Sunday The only zone that runs all seven days at the long hours.
Botanical 8am to 8.30pm Monday to Saturday
Kelham Island and Neepsend 8am to 8.30pm Monday to Sunday Permits here cost twice the standard rate.
Sharrow Vale Centre 8am to 8.30pm Monday to Saturday
Broomhill, Endcliffe, Highfield, Hillsborough and most other zones 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday The common pattern outside the centre.
Broomhall and The Groves, Crookesmoor, Fawcett Street, Grange, Meadow Street, Napier, Porterbrook 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday Weekdays only — free at the weekend.
Netherthorpe, St George's, Vaughton Hill and the flats car parks 24 hours Every day Permit required at any hour.

On-street tariffs

AreaPer hourMaximum stayNotes
City centre, daytime Not confirmed None stated Charging runs 8am to 8.30pm seven days a week, but the council does not publish a current daytime hourly rate on its parking pages. Read the machine.
City centre, evening (4.30pm to 8.30pm), Monday to Saturday £1.55 None stated Or £2.10 flat for the whole evening, which beats the hourly rate beyond about ninety minutes.
Zone 1, Sunday £1.55 None stated Or £2.10 flat for up to four hours.
Zone 2, Sunday £1.10 None stated Or £2.10 flat for up to four hours.

Resident permits

First vehicle£59.15
Second vehicle£118.25
Valid for12 months

That is the standard rate, and the second permit is exactly twice the first — a pattern the council repeats in every zone. The city centre and Kelham Island zones charge more; see the table below. Up to two permits a household in most zones, and the council will sometimes consider a third.

The codes you will see on a ticket here

Every penalty charge notice carries a contravention code. It tells you what you are accused of, and whether the charge is at the higher or the lower level.

CodeWhat it meansLevel
01 Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours Higher
02 Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force Higher
05 Parked after the expiry of paid for time at a pay and display bay Lower
06 Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay and display ticket or voucher Lower
12 Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place without a valid permit Higher
19 Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place displaying an invalid permit Lower
23 Parked in a parking place not designated for that class of vehicle Higher
25 Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading Higher
30 Parked for longer than permitted Lower
34 Being in a bus lane Higher
40 Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without displaying a valid disabled person's badge Higher

Park and ride

  • Meadowhall · Free. 328 spaces, on the tram and the rail network.
  • Nunnery Square · Free. 371 spaces, some temporarily unavailable.
  • Middlewood · Free. 319 spaces.
  • Valley Centertainment · Free. 205 spaces.
  • Halfway · Free. 197 spaces.
  • IKEA Sheffield · Free. 167 spaces.
  • Dore and Totley station · Free. 130 spaces.
  • Malin Bridge · Free. 96 car spaces and one for a motorcycle.

Who enforces, and where to appeal

Sheffield City Council enforces on-street parking, bus lanes, moving traffic contraventions and the Clean Air Zone. Four different notices, all called a Penalty Charge Notice — read which one you are holding before you pay or write.

Sheffield is outside London, so an appeal goes to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal after the council rejects your representations. The law allows 14 days from service to pay at half rate for a parking ticket; a camera-issued notice gives 21.

How to challenge a ticket, step by step →

Related rules

Other cities

Common questions

Do I have to pay to drive into Sheffield's Clean Air Zone?
Not in a private car, and not on a motorcycle. Sheffield runs a Class C zone, which charges vans, lorry-derived vans, taxis, private hire vehicles, buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles that do not meet the emissions standard — and leaves cars out entirely. A compliant vehicle of any type pays nothing either.
What does the Clean Air Zone cost if my vehicle is charged?
£10 a day for a van, taxi or private hire vehicle, and £50 a day for a bus, coach or HGV. Larger campervans and motorhomes pay the £10 rate. The charging day runs from midnight to midnight, and you can pay from six days before your journey until six days after it.
Where does the Clean Air Zone start?
It covers the inner ring road and every road inside it. The ring road itself is in the zone, not a boundary you can drive around, so check the council's map rather than assuming.
What does a parking ticket cost in Sheffield?
Sheffield issues at Band 2, the higher of the two bands available outside London. The amounts are in the table above, and the law allows 14 days from service to pay at half the rate. A bus lane or camera notice gives 21 days instead.
Is parking free on Sundays or in the evening?
No, but it is cheaper. On-street charging runs 8am to 8.30pm seven days a week. From 4.30pm the evening rate applies, and there is a flat price for the whole evening that works out cheaper than paying by the hour beyond about ninety minutes. Public holidays are free.
What does a resident permit cost in Sheffield?
£59.15 a year in a standard zone, and £118.25 for a second — exactly double. The city centre is far dearer: £328.50 for the inner zone and £164.30 for the outer. Kelham Island and Neepsend sit in between at £118.25. Most zones allow two permits a household.
Is park and ride free in Sheffield?
Yes, at all eight sites — Meadowhall, Nunnery Square, Middlewood, Valley Centertainment, Halfway, IKEA, Dore and Totley station and Malin Bridge. You still pay for the tram or train.

Sources

Figures last checked 9 September 2026