It's already been two months (at time of writing) since Bristol's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was implemented in the city and, whether you're a visitor or a resident, you may have already been handed a Penalty Charge Notice. This would happen if your vehicle doesn't meet the CAZ's emission standards, unless you have an exemption.
But, sometimes errors can also occur, which begs the question - just what should you do if you need to appeal a charge? Well, before all else, it's worth using the government's checking tool to see if you are likely to be charged to use your vehicle in the CAZ.
We've compiled a simple guide for what to do if you're looking to appeal a PCN for Bristol's CAZ...
Read more: Council apologises for 'incorrect' Clean Air Zone advice which saw Asda shoppers fined
Bristol's Clean Air Zone charges
According to the gov.uk website, Bristol CAZ charges will not apply to:
- Euro 4, 5 and 6 petrol vehicles, roughly 2006 upwards
- Euro 6 diesel vehicles, roughly end of 2015 onwards
- fully electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
- modified or retrofitted vehicles registered with the Energy Saving Trust's Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS)
- motorbikes
Daily charges
The daily charges (listed as vehicle category and charge amount) are as follows:
- Private petrol cars - £9
- Private diesel cars - £9
- Taxis - £9
- Light goods vehicle (under 3.5t) - £9
- Heavy goods vehicle (over 3.5t) - £100
- Buses - £100
- Coaches - £100
Head to the Bristol Clean Air Zone daily charge page for information about how to pay the charge.
How to appeal a Clean Air Zone fine
If you think you have received a Clean Air Zone PCN in error, or have mitigating circumstances, you can submit an appeal online or via post. You have up to 28 days from the date of service (which you can find on the PCN), to make your appeal.
Once the authorities have received your appeal, your PCN will be placed on hold and the amount due will be frozen until a response is sent back to you. If you have received a Charge Certificate, you cannot appeal online, however if you think you have received this in error, you can fill in the PCN contact form here.
You can only appeal one PCN at a time and, if you do need to appeal more than one, you will need to fill in a separate form for each one. You must make your appeal in writing and you'll need your vehicle registration number and your 10 digit Penalty Charge Notice number, which will begin BS5 and can be found on your PCN letter.
You'll be able to see your case details online here.
Address for post appeals
Send your letter to:
Parking Services (PCN Appeals), PO Box 3399, Bristol City Council, Bristol, BS1 9NE.
What about refunds?
According to the official guidance, there are a number of rules around who is and isn't eligible for a refund when it comes to the CAZ. You won't be eligible for a refund if you failed to check if your non-UK vehicle was compliant and paid the zone charge to avoid getting a fine, but it turns out your vehicle was actually compliant.
You also won't be eligible for a refund if you paid the zone charge in advance but then didn't travel through the zone. Nor are you eligible for a refund if you have received a PCN - you have to go through the appeals process above to get this one sorted.
Here are some examples of reasons why you would be eligible for a refund:
- Your compliant vehicle is showing as non compliant in a CAZ checker and you paid the zone charge to avoid getting a PCN - this includes a compliant vehicle whose emissions records are recorded incorrectly, private or personalised registrations being put on or taken off which could change the compliance, non-UK vehicles, tax class changes and delays updating records from third parties like military, retrofit, taxi or private hire vehicle databases
- Your vehicle was diverted into the zone
- You've applied for an exemption
- You were unable to activate a Blue Badge Daily exemption
- You forgot to activate a Blue Badge Daily exemption
- You have a Hospital Visitor exemption
- You had a hospital appointment at the BRI complex
- You selected the wrong vehicle type
In order to apply for a refund, you'll need evidence of payment, your vehicle registration number, the date of travel and other supporting evidence required for your refund request. You can find out more information, including how long you have to apply, on the official web page here.
Read next:
- The 28 locations across Bristol where air pollution is illegal
- Where will the money raised by the CAZ go?
- Bristol Clean Air Zone covers Portway and Cumberland Basin to 'encourage change'
- Bristol Clean Air Zone petition sees thousands call for scheme to be scrapped
- Where the borders for the scheme will fall street by street
