Clean air zones in English cities

[ejmoore]

Our van is a 2016 T6 California Ocean; we changed from an older van in 2019 to meet the London ULEZ requirements as we live within the ULEZ zone. So I know the van is definitely Euro 6 compliant.

However, when I looked on the gov.uk clean air zone vehicle check recently, it said we would need to pay for Bristol (where we were heading), also Manchester etc, though not Bath & some other places. I queried this with Bristol CAZ support, who very quickly replied that they relied on the DVLA database for this, so I should query it with them. On Friday I filled in the online Clean Air Zone support form via the gov.uk website, explaining the situation and attaching a photo of the relevant page of the V% document.

This morning (Monday) I got an email saying:

Based on the information available on your vehicle's DVLA record, I can confirm that your vehicle is compliant with the minimum emissions standards for Clean Air Zones, and your vehicle is not subject to Clean Air Zone charges. I have requested for your record to be updated to reflect this. This will be updated within 2 working days. Please check back on the Vehicle Checker before your next journey into or within the Clean Air Zone. Please be aware, if you intend to drive into or within the zone before this has been updated, you will still need to pay for the journey. Local Authorities are responsible for all charging orders and refunds, if you have received a PCN, you should follow the instructions on the letter to complete a representation and use our email response as evidence of compliance. If you have already paid a charge you will need to contact the Local Authority and ask for a refund.

Checking the website again for our registration number, no charge is payable for any of the English cities. (I say English cities because apparently there are different arrangements for Scotland, which I haven't investigated; it also says London has separate arrangements.)

So, DVLA has clearly got something mixed up for some vehicles, but I would suggest that if you have a spare five minutes, it would be worth checking this and going through the process so you don't have to worry about it in future. They were very quick to respond and correct it. Presumably it would also enable you to get a refund on any charges you've already paid.

 

[ejmoore]

The point of mentioning this really is to note that DVLA have vehicles incorrectly registered for the CAZ charges, but it can easily be corrected. So don't bother trying to work out why your T6 or later vehicle might not be Euro 6 - it is Euro 6, it's DVLA who are wrong.

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

Anything with Adblue is euro 6, the new european thing is RDE2 but I've yet to see that applied over here

 

[RockinNRollin]

To give some context to the validity of that information, the Manchester CAZ was "placed on hold" 2 years ago, but seemingly has been abandoned forever, so any information source suggesting there are any "requirements" to enter any part of Manchester are out of date.

 

[ejmoore]

To give some context to the validity of that information, the Manchester CAZ was "placed on hold" 2 years ago, but seemingly has been abandoned forever, so any information source suggesting there are any "requirements" to enter any part of Manchester are out of date.

On the zones list, it says 'under review' for Manchester. Actually I couldn't remember the exact zones it was proposing to charge me for (except Bristol) because the list had already updated to 'no charge' for all of them.

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

Newcastle upon Tyne has a charge system in place but the California and my mercedes are exempt (euro 6), the smart (euro 4) isn't even though 85g of CO2 is an immeasurable amount, so DVLA rate it as an electric car but ULEZ charge it! Motorbikes are exempt even in Edinburgh

 

[RockinNRollin]

Newcastle upon Tyne has a charge system in place but the California and my mercedes are exempt (euro 6), the smart (euro 4) isn't even though 85g of CO2 is an immeasurable amount, so DVLA rate it as an electric car but ULEZ charge it! Motorbikes are exempt even in Edinburgh

In an old Top Gear episode, there was some remark when Clarkson "drove"! the Peel P50 into London it was liable for a charge whereas their big SUV they did the filming from didn't pay a penny. Sometimes the rules make little sense . . .

 

[Meoncoast]

Our T6 2016 shows as no fee required

 

[B J G]

Some early T6 Transporters were Euro 5 but if memory serves a previous thread on here said that all T6 Californias were Euro 6, as mention before Adblue is the confirming factor.

 

[TripleBee]

Anything with Adblue is euro 6, the new european thing is RDE2 but I've yet to see that applied over here

I don't think a 2013 Q5 with automatic gearbox (and AdBlue) is EURO6 compliant. They added AdBlue to them to meet the EURO5 standards with the automatic gearbox.
All from 2016 and up might be EURO6, but not before.

 

[1hipp]

I know that some cities like Sheffield rather than use emissions, charge by vechile type. So passenger cars are not charged, but vans are. And because of the weight of a VW California they are classed as vans by the Clean Air Zone system used by all cities. And will not change this.

 

[Alied]

A nice little earner for Bristol City Council

CAZ brings in £2.2m a month for council

Only Birmingham and London get more money from their low emission zones

www.bristolpost.co.uk

 

[flying banana]

I know that some cities like Sheffield rather than use emissions, charge by vechile type. So passenger cars are not charged, but vans are. And because of the weight of a VW California they are classed as vans by the Clean Air Zone system used by all cities. And will not change this.

My cali is eu 6 and not charged in Sheffield . Eu 5 would be charged.

 

[rod_vw]

Our previous T6 a LWB T32 140ps which was first registered in June 2016 (I think) is clear for all areas. This was purchased new as a Kombi and converted to a camper by me having had a Reimo high roof fitted. This van did NOT have Adblue.

 

[Dyddi]

Just to add to the confusion: I paid Bath CC £9 to visit with a 2012 Beach and they returned the money. I daren't drive into the centre of Bristol where they will charge.
Historically, Bath and Bristol have never agreed on anything so it's good to see standards are being maintained.

 

[Anthony1]

The whole business of 'clean air' zones is more about money than anything else. If it was about clean air and non-compliant vehicles would be banned. Not allowed to pay to pullute. It also makes a mockery of the MoT pullution limits etc.

Anyone know what happens to the money? Is it just put into the council pot to be wasted on 15 minute cities/LTNs or other vanity projects?

 

[flying banana]

The whole business of 'clean air' zones is more about money than anything else. If it was about clean air and non-compliant vehicles would be banned. Not allowed to pay to pullute. It also makes a mockery of the MoT pullution limits etc.

Anyone know what happens to the money? Is it just put into the council pot to be wasted on 15 minute cities/LTNs or other vanity projects?

i think clean air zones make the air in the uk worse as people avoid them by driving further. in sheffield they put a 60mph limit on the M1 for 18 months for 'clean air'. it bunched up the traffic and made the air worse but they don't want to talk about it. the speed limit is now 50mph and traffic is horrendous. when it was 70mph it flowed freely and quicker which to me means less air pollution.but hey,what do we know eh. i now doubt we wil ever do 70mph on the M1 up here ever again. as for paying money i agree,why is it ok to pollute if you pay a tenner ?

 

[soulstyledevon]

i think clean air zones make the air in the uk worse as people avoid them by driving further. in sheffield they put a 60mph limit on the M1 for 18 months for 'clean air'. it bunched up the traffic and made the air worse but they don't want to talk about it. the speed limit is now 50mph and traffic is horrendous. when it was 70mph it flowed freely and quicker which to me means less air pollution.but hey,what do we know eh. i now doubt we wil ever do 70mph on the M1 up here ever again. as for paying money i agree,why is it ok to pollute if you pay a tenner ?

It’s not ok.
The point being, if you’re a regular user of inner city limits. It makes more sense to convert to a cleaner emissions vehicle, such as EV.

 

[AdventureX]

Our van is a 2016 T6 California Ocean; we changed from an older van in 2019 to meet the London ULEZ requirements as we live within the ULEZ zone. So I know the van is definitely Euro 6 compliant.

However, when I looked on the gov.uk clean air zone vehicle check recently, it said we would need to pay for Bristol (where we were heading), also Manchester etc, though not Bath & some other places. I queried this with Bristol CAZ support, who very quickly replied that they relied on the DVLA database for this, so I should query it with them. On Friday I filled in the online Clean Air Zone support form via the gov.uk website, explaining the situation and attaching a photo of the relevant page of the V% document.

This morning (Monday) I got an email saying:


Checking the website again for our registration number, no charge is payable for any of the English cities. (I say English cities because apparently there are different arrangements for Scotland, which I haven't investigated; it also says London has separate arrangements.)

So, DVLA has clearly got something mixed up for some vehicles, but I would suggest that if you have a spare five minutes, it would be worth checking this and going through the process so you don't have to worry about it in future. They were very quick to respond and correct it. Presumably it would also enable you to get a refund on any charges you've already paid.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Just as a heads-up, Greater Manchester never commenced their ULEZ charging scheme. It was scrapped for alternative initiatives.

Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan | Clean Air Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan

cleanairgm.com

 

[aileron346]

Surely as the research came in on emissions (particularly particulate emissions) in urban conurbations, it was reasonable to do something to reduce them?

Yep… around the U.K. and continental Europe, I have to check the situation, get Critair sticker, and generally am disincentivised to enter urban areas. But given what we now know (and perhaps didn’t know enough years ago) on the health effects, I’m fine with it.

Money-making? I don’t think so. It’s a pay-to-pollute charge just like VED etc. Much better than a ban; it’s a nudge policy. As far as I’ve read, there are really good results in cities and that will feed into people’s health. These policies will always have quirks, anomalies and postcode boundary effects but broadly it looks balanced and effective to me.

 

[Markgray6.1ocean]

As you drive along throw cash out the window, as that’s basically what these fines are doing, to many people believe what they are told from politicians who have no clue .

 

[The Tall Luthier]

Surely as the research came in on emissions (particularly particulate emissions) in urban conurbations, it was reasonable to do something to reduce them?

Yep… around the U.K. and continental Europe, I have to check the situation, get Critair sticker, and generally am disincentivised to enter urban areas. But given what we now know (and perhaps didn’t know enough years ago) on the health effects, I’m fine with it.

Money-making? I don’t think so. It’s a pay-to-pollute charge just like VED etc. Much better than a ban; it’s a nudge policy. As far as I’ve read, there are really good results in cities and that will feed into people’s health. These policies will always have quirks, anomalies and postcode boundary effects but broadly it looks balanced and effective to me.

I’m broadly in agreement.

The shame of it all in the UK is that we don’t give the public viable alternatives.

For example. I can drive into Birmingham, pay for diesel, parking and a ULEZ charge and it is still considerably cheaper than the four of us getting into town by train. The bus services aren’t convenient at all.

Most systems work well with carrot and sticks. The UK lacks the infrastructure setup to provide any carrots.

 

[MarmiteBoy321]

Just to add to the confusion: I paid Bath CC £9 to visit with a 2012 Beach and they returned the money. I daren't drive into the centre of Bristol where they will charge.
Historically, Bath and Bristol have never agreed on anything so it's good to see standards are being maintained.

I live in Bristol/Bath area and have a 2014 T5 Cali, Euro 5 engine. Bristol has two zones, I'm fine in the outer one so can at least use the inner ring road (St Phillips Causeway etc.) without a charge. Bath has a single zone and I can enter for free. I think it's possibly, in part, due to the fact that Euro 5 (and others) through traffic in Bristol can use the inner ring road to skirt round city centre, whilst Bath has no options for through traffic so aren't so locked down on emissions (yet). I think Portsmouth is the same as Bath - no alternative routes for the 'less clean' vehicles. That's my theory anyway! (It'll all change if new Gov't bring back the 2030 deadline for sale of new diesels/petrol vehicles).

 

[flying banana]

Surely as the research came in on emissions (particularly particulate emissions) in urban conurbations, it was reasonable to do something to reduce them?

Yep… around the U.K. and continental Europe, I have to check the situation, get Critair sticker, and generally am disincentivised to enter urban areas. But given what we now know (and perhaps didn’t know enough years ago) on the health effects, I’m fine with it.

Money-making? I don’t think so. It’s a pay-to-pollute charge just like VED etc. Much better than a ban; it’s a nudge policy. As far as I’ve read, there are really good results in cities and that will feed into people’s health. These policies will always have quirks, anomalies and postcode boundary effects but broadly it looks balanced and effective to me.

couldn't disagree more. i drive an old car and if this comes to cars in Sheffield (which it will) then i am to be penalised for going to work.the public transport system is so sh1t i have no alternative for my shift times in the biggest city in south yorkshire. on night shifts i would be charged 5 times for 4 shifts. this goes for cleaners, porters bar staff etc, all who can't afford flash 40k electric cars, it's a disgraceful extra tax most people can do without AND it doesn't 'clean the air' ,it makes it worse for the uk as a whole

 

[Barnress]

Our van is a 2016 T6 California Ocean; we changed from an older van in 2019 to meet the London ULEZ requirements as we live within the ULEZ zone. So I know the van is definitely Euro 6 compliant.

However, when I looked on the gov.uk clean air zone vehicle check recently, it said we would need to pay for Bristol (where we were heading), also Manchester etc, though not Bath & some other places. I queried this with Bristol CAZ support, who very quickly replied that they relied on the DVLA database for this, so I should query it with them. On Friday I filled in the online Clean Air Zone support form via the gov.uk website, explaining the situation and attaching a photo of the relevant page of the V% document.

This morning (Monday) I got an email saying:


Checking the website again for our registration number, no charge is payable for any of the English cities. (I say English cities because apparently there are different arrangements for Scotland, which I haven't investigated; it also says London has separate arrangements.)

So, DVLA has clearly got something mixed up for some vehicles, but I would suggest that if you have a spare five minutes, it would be worth checking this and going through the process so you don't have to worry about it in future. They were very quick to respond and correct it. Presumably it would also enable you to get a refund on any charges you've already paid.

Ch1pbutty, Thank you for reminding me to look into this again, back in May I drove into Sheffield CAZ, some weeks later I received a £60 fine I appealed in writing then I received a reply saying they had checked my vehicle and it does not comply with the current regulations, yesterday I contacted www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk and within 12 hrs it was overturned, I checked the government CAZ web site and my vehicle now complies. Yippee