Bristol Clean Air Zone to charge polluting vehicles

Bristol City Council has agreed its final proposals for a Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which is due to be implemented from October 2021.

A CAZ covers a small area of central Bristol and means older and more polluting vehicles will have to pay a daily charge (£9 for private cars) for travelling within the zone.

Petrol vehicles newer than 2005 and diesel vehicles newer than 2014 are mostly exempt. The council says that over 71% of vehicles are already compliant and so only a minority of vehicles driving in the CAZ will be charged.  

The Full Business Case details the mitigations and exemptions that the council have proposed to support those most likely to be impacted by the proposals. Individuals earning less than £24,000 a year and no more than £12.45 per hour will be able to apply for a one year’s exemption and there will also be exemptions for hospital visitors. The proposed exemptions are to allow time for people to take advantage of financial support to upgrade to cleaner vehicles.

Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees said: “we have a moral and legal responsibility to make our air cleaner and the submission of this Full Business Case is a significant intervention to improve public health.

“We recognise that these proposals will impact on individuals and businesses. We’re now calling on the Government to provide the funding needed to help us support these people.

“We’re grateful to the thousands of individuals and businesses who took part in our Clean Air Zone consultation and we want to continue working together on our journey towards a healthier city”.

“We cannot take on the task of delivering clean air alone - we need all of Bristol’s help if we are to protect each other from dangerous pollution and toxic fumes. We want everyone to look at the changes they can make to their own lifestyles.”