The launch of a new charging scheme aimed at reducing pollution in Birmingham city centre has been put back by six months.
The new Clean Air Zone, which would see non-compliant vehicles charged up to £50 to enter the city centre, was due to come into force in January.
But city council chiefs have now revealed that it will not launch until at least July 2020 after encountering problems with its implementation.
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Drivers of higher-polluting cars, taxis and while lorries and buses which do not meet the council's criteria will be hit with a £50 charge.
The council has blamed the Government for the delay, saying a vehicle-checking tool being supplied by Whitehall would not be ready until December, two months later than planned.
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There also appears to be a wrangle about which body will be responsible for collecting payments generated by the scheme.
Birmingham City Council said the Government had pledged to deliver a system but now expected local authorities to do it instead.
The city is one of five across the country instructed to implement charges aimed at reducing pollution caused by motor vehicles.
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But the plan has been met with opposition from Birmingham’s taxi drivers about the costs which have brought the city centre to a standstill.
Cllr Waseem Zaffar, Birmingham's transport and environment boss who has been a huge champion of the planned Clean Air Zone, said: "The council has been fully on track to implement the Clean Air Zone from January on the basis of assurances from the Government that the vehicle checker would be in place by October this year.
"However, the delivery of this essential online tool has now been delayed to December which means we are unable to go ahead with our Clean Air Zone in January as planned.
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"To do so would be completely unfair on residents, businesses and visitors to the city who would only have a matter of weeks, if not days, to make key choices about their travel behaviour or upgrade their vehicles.
"This is simply unacceptable.
"While this does mean people will have longer to make these changes, it will also delay Birmingham in achieving air quality compliance, leaving our city exposed to dirty air for longer than anticipated.
"However, despite these challenges, we will continue to work closely with the Government and other cities to achieve compliance in the shortest possible time because our priority remains ensuring that the people of Birmingham have access to clean air, as is their basic human right."