Bristol’s delayed Clean Air Zone is to be introduced next summer, the city council confirmed today as it unveiled an improved package of support to help firms with polluting vehicles avoid paying fines to enter the city centre.
More than seven in 10 vehicles now entering the area that will become the Clean Air Zone would not be charged, the council said. 
And this was likely to increase as individuals and businesses take advantage of new financial support from the council to switch to cleaner vehicles or more sustainable forms of travel.
More than £32m will be made available to help businesses upgrade to cleaner vehicles.
Commercial vehicle owners in the zone with existing finance agreements will also be able to apply for a one-year exemption.
Some £2.1m is also being made available for bus and coach companies to help them buy cleaner vehicles or upgrade existing vehicles to meet the Clean Air Zone’s emission standards.
The loans and grants scheme to help them upgrade their vehicles will be launched this autumn.
The zone will include most of the city centre and stretch from Temple Meads to Hotwells and will Harbourside and Redcliff.
The council worked closely with the government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) to ensure the additional support.
These include:
- All residents inside the zone with a non-compliant vehicle will be offered a one-year exemption to give them time to apply for financial support to switch to a cleaner vehicle or different way of travelling.
- The plans also include £720,000 for a new cycle scheme through Old Market that will provide the missing link on one of the city’s key cycle routes between the new segregated Baldwin Street cycle lane and the Bristol to Bath Railway Path.
- Free electric bike loans, cycle training, free bus tickets, discounted car club membership and support to buy electric cars will also be available to encourage more people to travel differently and use cleaner more sustainable transport.
- Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) patients and visitors will be exempt from the Clean Air Zone charge.
- Blue Badge holders will be able to apply for a one-year exemption if their vehicle does not meet the zone’s emission standards.
- People with a disabled tax class vehicle or disabled passenger tax class vehicle are automatically exempt from the charge.
The introduction of the zone means 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. 
Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees, pictured, 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 to 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.”
He said 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, were already being seen.
“The Clean Air Zone will help us create a healthier city while ensuring we don’t adversely affect fewer wealthy communities and by minimising the impact on the most vulnerable,” he added.
“We have a moral and legal duty to deliver clean air in Bristol in the shortest possible time and we’ve always sought to do so in a way that also protects the most deprived households in our city.
“Our new plans will ensure that everyone that needs help on our journey to cleaner air, gets it.”
Clean Air Zone plans include restrictions on the use of private diesel cars in parts of the city centre between 7am and 3pm. Drivers of diesel cars straying into the area will incur fines of £9 a day.
