Bristol's long-awaited Clean Air Zone will launch in exactly a month's time. The scheme - which the council is legally required to introduce to cut harmful air pollution from vehicles driving in the city centre - will be launching over a year late and will enable Bristol to meet its clean air targets by 2023.
The CAZ has been controversially delayed several times since the Government first ordered the council to reduce the city’s toxic NO2 levels to within legal limits as quickly as possible back in 2017. Bristol was among 24 local authorities ordered to improve air quality by the government.
The CAZ start date of November 28 will mean that from that date anyone driving a vehicle that is deemed too polluting will have to pay a fee. Bristol City Council estimates that around 29 per cent of vehicles in Bristol will attract the charges - which have been set at £9 a day for private cars and other smaller vehicles such as taxis but rise to £100 for HGVs, coaches and buses.
Read more: Bristol Clean Air Zone timeline: The story so far as start date finally announced
No vehicles will be banned in the CAZ, but initial proposals back in 2019 could have seen Bristol become the UK's first city to ban diesel vehicles from entering parts of the centre. In April 2020, Bristol was given the go-ahead for a CAZ - but the government stopped short of allowing a diesel ban.
At that point, the council was told they were expected to introduce the scheme with “additional measures” by April 2021 “at the latest”. However, different delays saw the date kept being pushed back.
Speaking today (November 28), Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees said: “We are committed to reducing air pollution in Bristol and continue to offer people support to consider alternative, more sustainable ways of travelling in our city. We want Bristol to be a healthier place for everyone to grow up, live and work, but recognise that this comes with challenges.
“We’ve been able to secure financial support of £42m from government for people and businesses to use, but now Bristolians need to make sure they’re getting ready. I want to remind people that there are several types of support which are open for applications before the Clean Air Zone launches in four weeks’ time.”
Bristol City Council also said it expects the number of compliant vehicles to increase after the launch of the CAZ. It said that, in Birmingham, who introduced a CAZ last June, the number of compliant vehicles increased from 79.8 per cent to 88.8 per cent by December.
You can find out more about which vehicles will be charged here, about when the charges will operate here, about what the fines will be here and you can view where the borders for the scheme will fall here. But here is a summary:
When will the charges operate?
The charges will apply 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Vehicles will only be charged once per 24 hour period, meaning that several trips through the CAZ in a single day will only result in one charge.
Which vehicles will be charged and exactly how much?
The charges will not apply to petrol vehicles that meet Euro 4, 5 and 6 emission standards (those dating from roughly September 2006 onwards) or to Euro 6 diesel vehicles (those roughly dating from September 2015 onwards).
The daily charges for vehicles that do not meet the zone’s emission standards are:
- Private cars £9
- Taxis £9
- Light Goods Vehicles £9
- Heavy Goods Vehicles £100
- Coaches £100
- Buses £100
Charges do not apply if a vehicle is parked in the zone but does not move.
How long do you have to pay the charges and how do you pay?
Charges must be paid within six days via www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones or by calling the Clean Air Zone support line on 0300 029 8888 (Monday to Friday: 8am to 7pm, Saturday: 8am to 2pm). Users of smart phones can also pay the charge using free-to-use apps like Caura, but the council is urging drivers to always make sure platforms are trustworthy before entering any personal payment information.
People will not receive written notification or any kind of alert that they have entered Bristol’s Clean Air Zone or that a payment is due. Individuals and businesses are fully responsible for managing this.
What will the fines be?
Failure to pay a charge may result in a Penalty Charge Notice of £120 ,which is reduced to £60 if it’s paid within 14 days.
What about exemptions?
A range of temporary exemptions are available to give eligible businesses and individuals time to prepare for the zone. The temporary exemptions for the scheme have been extended to the end of March next year.
The exemptions were originally due to finish at the end of 2022 - which would have meant they were only in place for just over a month. The temporary exemptions will be in place for certain eligible groups such as residents in the zone, people working within the zone and earning less than £26,000 a year as well as Blue Badge holders. Patients and visitors attending hospitals in the zone would also be covered by the exemptions.
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