A holidaymaker who had not driven into Bristol for around five years was surprised when he received two penalty fines for going through the Clean Air Zone on his way to and from Bristol Airport. Frustrated Colin Gunney said he followed signs from the M5 heading to the airport and back in April.
He received two penalty notices, one week after another, around six weeks after returning home from a holiday in France. The Swindon resident said: “I understand there are no grounds to appeal.
"You come off the M5 following signs to the airport and if there are signs for the Clean Air Zone, I didn’t spot them. If you haven’t seen them, you get no option but to pay the fee. It was at least five years since I drove into Bristol.
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“I thought I can’t go back and check. I am annoyed that the first I knew about the CAZ was when I received the notices so had no opportunity to pay the fee,” he said.
Mr Gunney, who paid both fines as his car was non-compliant, suggested there should be signage advising on optional routes to the airport - where a driver would either go through the CAZ or a second route to avoid it. It's a complaint that has been previously made by other Bristol Airport passengers, with one saying he "felt mugged" after being directed off the M5 and into the CAZ.
While most of Bristol's roads and road signage is overseen by the city council, larger roads like the M32 and M5 are overseen by National Highways. A spokesperson for the organisation said: “The Department for Transport (DfT) and National Highways have jointly developed clear guidance on the appropriate use of signs in local areas. This advises against unnecessary sign clutter to ensure directions remain clear for drivers.
“In this case Junction 18 of the M5 is several miles from the Clean Air Zone and signs are already appropriately placed on the A4 before the zone begins. Any changes to the number of signs on the strategic road network for Bristol’s Clean Air Zone will be a matter for the local authority to discuss jointly with National Highways.”
Bristol Airport’s website does offer advice about the CAZ under the section “Driving to the airport”. It includes a map which shows the CAZ borders in Bristol.
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: “Bristol’s Clean Air Zone emissions standards will ensure that the city meets the requirement from government to bring air pollution within legal limits in the shortest possible time. We have always been clear that drivers should use the vehicle checker before travelling to find out if they need to pay a charge for their chosen route.
"Payment plans are available to help people manage Penalty Charge Notice payments if they are facing financial difficulty. Those who think they have received a Clean Air Zone PCN in error or have mitigating circumstances can submit an appeal and each appeal will be assessed based on its own merit," said the spokesperson.
400 signs
The council confirmed there are more than 400 individual signs placed around the city to warn motorists of the CAZ in operation and has confirmed if specific issues are identified, a review of signage would take place at those locations. In December, the council confirmed that it had asked National Highways and the Department for Transport to consider the signage on the M5 with specific regards to Bristol Airport, but ‘our request was declined’.
In was in response to a complaint from another driver to Bristol Airport who said the M5 signage directs motorists into the CAZ. When exiting the M5 at junction 18, drivers head down A4 Portway and it is on this road, that the first CAZ signs appear warning motorists they are approaching a Clean Air Zone.
There are limited options to leave Portway or to turn around. At the time, Cheltenham resident Bill Martin said he felt “mugged” by the lack of signage when he had travelled to the airport to collect passengers in December.
He said: “This signed route makes no mention of the route channelling vehicles to go through the CAZ zone and hence a payment of £9 is required to use it. There is a perfectly acceptable route on the opposite side of the river which goes via Ashton Gate and misses the zone."
Read next:
- Driver racks up almost £1,000 in Clean Air Zone fines in friend's car without realising
- Bristol's Clean Air Zone branded 'outrageous' because it can't tell drivers if they should pay or not
- Bristol Clean Air Zone driver hit with fine claims key area has no ‘advanced warning signs’
- Number of Bristol Clean Air Zone fines a mystery as council boss refuses to confirm figures
- Bristol Clean Air Zone driver was fined six times before he realised commuter road was in zone
