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Bristol mulls diesel car ban and charging Clean Air Zone

Bristol City Council is looking at two options to cut air pollution in line with legal requirements, including an eight-hour-a-day diesel car ban and a charging Clean Air Zone.

Bristol is looking at four different options for charging clean air zones as well as the potential for a non-charging zone.

Bristol is looking at two new options, covering  a charging Clean Air Zone and a part-time diesel car ban 

The council was one of 27 that were named in Defra’s 2017 clean air plans and told that they needed to undertake action to consider the best option to achieve statutory nitrogen dioxide limit values within the shortest possible time.

This included the requirement to undertake a feasibility study and identify options by 31 March 2018 and identify a preferred option by the end of 2018. But although the council came up with a number of possible options a year ago, it has missed deadlines to submit a preferred option, citing concerns over the impact of any scheme on low-income residents.

Now the council has published details of two new options which it says will allow the city to meet the Government-set targets for air quality improvement and which will be presented to Cabinet next Tuesday 18 June ahead of a six-week public consultation launching on 1 July 2019.

The first option covers a charging Clean Air Zone that would levy charges on buses, taxis, light goods and heavy goods vehicles but not private cars.

The second option would see all diesel cars banned from entering a specific central area for an eight-hour period (from 7am-3pm).

Both options would be accompanied by a package of non-charging measures, such as bans on highly polluted routes for heavy goods vehicles and bus priority measures, alongside a city-wide scrappage scheme and improvements to buses and taxis to ensure they are all within compliant emission standards.

Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said: “To successfully tackle serious and complex city challenges like poor air quality we must ensure environmental and social justice go hand in hand. We cannot and will not sacrifice our low income households by introducing widespread charges which will have a detrimental impact on them.

“These latest proposals could strike the right balance by targeting the most polluting vehicles within specific classes of vehicle and by considering a dedicated area outside our central Bristol hospitals including the children’s hospital, where we want to protect those most vulnerable to pollution.

“These options will allow us to meet Government air quality improvement targets, but we must and will do more to improve the air quality in our city for all citizens. I look forward to sharing a wider environmental plan soon, where we will commit to working in partnership with city partners for the benefit of all.”

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.

One Comment

  • Edward Handley13. Jun, 2019

    If Bristol, and many other cities, are serious about tackling pollution and improving air quality, the first thing they should do is tackle congestion. The main reason why so many cities have poor air quality is the traffic spends hours sitting in endless queues with engines ticking over or moving forward a few feet at a time. We go into the cities to work or shop so banning large groups of vehicles or restricting the hours they can be used is not going to solve the problems. I would not drive into Bristol for fun, it is no fun, and if I could not take my car I could not do my job so i would just decline any work in the city. Go by bus or taxi? Don’t make me laugh – I carry a boot full of kit and there is no way I can take that on a bus or even in a taxi!