Bristol’s Clean Air Zone to launch in summer 2022

Bristol City Council has announced that the city’s clean air zone will be introduced in the summer of 2022, with citizens and businesses receiving a strengthened package of support to help them adapt to the changes to tackle pollution in the city.

The introduction of the zone will include support for citizens to upgrade to cleaner vehicles and more sustainable travel habits, while seeing older and more polluting vehicles charged to drive through the city centre as outlined in plans that were submitted to the government by Bristol City Council in February of this year.

The council says that the implementation of the zone meaning the city will remain on track to reduce pollution caused by traffic to within legal limits by 2023, a date that has been brought forward significantly since work started on the clean air zone. As many as 71 per cent of vehicles travelling into the zone are already clean enough and won’t be charged. This percentage is likely to increase when citizens and businesses take advantage of financial support from the council to switch to a cleaner vehicle or more sustainable form of travel.

More people will now be eligible for financial support after Bristol City Council raised its low-income threshold from £24,000 to £27,000 by early 2022 – 20 per cent higher than the Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculation of low incomes in the city.

Other support measures include over £32 million made available to help businesses upgrade to cleaner vehicles, free electric bike loans, cycle training, free bus tickets, discounted car club membership and support to buy electric cars and a one-year exemption for all residents inside the zone with a non-compliant vehicle to give them time to apply for financial support to switch to a cleaner vehicle or different way of travelling.

Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said: “I am delighted that by taking our time to work through the data in detail we have been able to bring forward the date we will reach compliance to clean Bristol’s air. The Clean Air Zone is a complex project. We’re working closely with government get it right and get the best deal for Bristol residents and businesses.

“We’ve gained valuable insight from the introduction of Clean Air Zones in other cities and I’m pleased we’ve been able to strengthen our proposals to provide a significant package of support and give people more time to prepare for the zone.

“We don’t want to charge people, we want to provide the opportunity to work with us – hopefully, switching to a cleaner vehicle and walking or cycling for shorter journeys as well as using public transport.

“The Clean Air Zone will clean up the vehicles on our roads and reduce traffic travelling into the city. Alongside ongoing initiatives, it will improve air quality in the city by encouraging more people to choose cleaner ways of travelling. We’re already seeing the benefits of recent changes, such as the closure of Bristol Bridge to traffic, the pedestrianisation of the Old City and the introduction of new bike lanes and widened pavements.”