City’s clean air plan will see thousands charged
TENS of thousands of motorists will start being charged £9 a day to enter a Clean Air Zone in Bristol later this year if the council’s plans are approved by the Government.
Bristol City Council must have a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in place by October 29 and, after years of debate, it has decided to seek permission for a small zone in the city centre.
It said it had hoped to avoid forcing drivers of polluting vehicles to pay to enter a CAZ, but has calculated it must impose charges to meet its legal obligation to reduce the city’s traffic air pollution to within legal limits in the shortest possible time.
Its proposals include the closure of Bristol Bridge and Baldwin Street, and it plans to close Cumberland Road to inbound traffic.
Under plans it intends to submit to the Government next week, polluting private cars, taxis and LGVs will be charged £9 a day to enter a smallboot shaped zone in the central city.
Charges will only apply to diesel vehicles that are Euro 5 standard and below, so roughly 2014 and older, and to petrol vehicles that are Euro 3 and below, so about 2006 and older.
City mayor Marvin Rees said there were some exemptions and mitigations to protect certain groups.
People who live in the Clean Air Zone as well as Bristol-based Blue Badge holders will be able to apply for a one-year exemption before they have to start paying a fee.
People on low incomes will also be able to apply for a one-year exemption if they have to drive in and out of the zone to get to work. This group – individuals earning less than £24,000 a year and no more than £12.45 per hour – will also be prioritised for financial support packages under the council’s proposals.
The council is also proposing exemptions for people who have to go to hospital for admissions and appointments or to visit loved ones regularly.
Mr Rees said: “We’re looking at a scheme with hospitals for families that have to be frequent visitors to loved ones, particularly children, for example, in hospital.”
Most of the exemptions are for one year to allow time for people to upgrade to cleaner vehicles and take advantage of financial support and scrappage schemes.
Emergency service vehicles, disabled passenger vehicle tax classes 78 and 85, motorcycles and classic cars are automatically exempt under CAZ rules set out by the Government.
The council has estimated that, if traffic returns to pre-Covid levels, about 74,700 out of 258,000 vehicles registered in the city would be charged to enter Bristol’s CAZ each day – if they chose to drive into it – when the zone goes live.
It estimates around 27 per cent of private cars are not compliant with emission standards and will attract a clean air charge.
Similarly, it believes about 39 per cent of LGVs, 25 per cent of HGVs and five per cent of buses and coaches will have to pay a daily fee.
However, the council is asking the government for money to provide financial support packages for households and businesses to upgrade their vehicles.
Provided its plans are rubberstamped by the Labour cabinet next Thursday, the council intends to submit them to the Government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) the following day.
Mr Rees said: “We have a moral responsibility to deliver clean air, we recognise that, but never forget we have a legal responsibility [to deliver] compliant air in the shortest possible time.”