Bristol’s clean air zone to be introduced in summer 2022

They have been a long time coming but plans to improve Bristol’s toxic air are finally set to be implemented in summer 2022.

A clean air zone is at the heart of the new measures and will see the introduction of charges for non-compliant vehicles entering an area that covers the city centre, a portion of Old Market and just south of the river.

The government ordered Bristol City Council to reduce Bristol’s toxic nitrogen dioxide levels to within legal limits as quickly as possible in 2017.

Four years on and Westminster has backed the latest plans to tackle air pollution in the city and pledged £42m for a raft of measures.

These will help people adapt to the changes, from free bus tickets and electric bike loans to a freight consolidation project to support businesses switch to greener transport methods.

Confirming the plans have been given the go-ahead on Friday, mayor Marvin Rees described it as a “win, win” for the city.

“We are introducing one of the most wide-ranging clean air zones in the UK which will see us not only reduce air pollution but also help people change how they travel, delivering a cleaner, greener and healthier city for years to come,” said Rees.

“We are tackling a climate emergency, but we also have people facing financial crisis. We can’t look at these two things in isolation. We have taken our time to find a way to clean up our air while not adding huge financial strain to people that live and work in our city.”

Recently returned from COP26, the mayor told Bristol24/7 he is confident the funding package secured from the government will ensure the city reaches compliance by 2023 while ensuring individuals and businesses are not left paying the price.

Bristol clean air zone map – courtesy of Bristol City Council

Bristol City Council estimates around 71 per cent of vehicles in the city are compliant, so won’t have to pay to enter the zone. Charges for non-compliant vehicles will be set at £9 per day per car and £100 per day for HGVs and larger vehicles.

£32m from the government funding pot will be set aside for businesses to upgrade HGVs, LGVs, taxis and private hire vehicles, while £1.8m of loans and grants will be available to help people on low incomes, or those commuting into the zone, upgrade their vehicles to become compliant.

The council is setting aside £5.9m to help people switch to making more journeys by public transport, walking or cycling. Part of this funding will go towards covering free bus tickets. People will be able to apply for the free tickets and allocation will be prioritised by need.

It is not yet clear how long the free bus ticket scheme will run for but it is currently reliant on the finite pot of money from the government, which could also be used to cover free electric bike hire and cycle training.

Council bosses say they are keeping the allocation of the £5.9m pot flexible dependent on what people want.

£2m will go towards the freight consolidation project aimed at helping businesses switch to greener ways of transporting goods and meet the council’s target of 95 per cent of all city centre deliveries made by zero-emission vehicles within ten years.

A further £2.1m has been allocated to help local bus and coach companies upgrade vehicles.

£42m of government money has been allocated for a raft of measures to help people and businesses adapt to the changes – photo by Ellie Pipe

A range of exemptions will be available to give eligible businesses and individuals time to prepare for the zone. All residents in the zone with a vehicle that doesn’t meet its emission standards can apply for an exemption giving them until the end of 2022 to upgrade their vehicle.

Exemptions will be available for groups including:

• People on low incomes travelling into the zone for work.
• Patients and visitors to hospitals in the zone.
• Blue Badge holders and people with a disabled tax class vehicle or disabled passenger tax class vehicle.
• Community transport providers operating under a Section 19 permit.
• People with commercial vehicles subject to finance agreements.
• Council-funded buses, minibuses or coaches used as Home to School vehicles.
• Families who receive personal travel budgets who travel through the zone on their school route.

Main photo by Ellie Pipe

Read more: Bristol’s clean air zone will save lives and boost economy, says study

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