Bristol Clean Air Zone complaint as man's new Euro6…

Bristol Clean Air Zone complaint as man's new Euro6 diesel compliant in Bath but not here

A pensioner has been left out of pocket after he was told his new diesel car was compliant with Bristol’s Clean Air Zone - and then he was fined for taking his wife to hospital. Colin Lovell is now fuming that his Euro6 diesel car is compliant with Bath’s Clean Air Zone rules - but not Bristol’s, meaning he has to pay £9 every time he ventures into Bristol.

The 87-year-old bought his 2015-plate Mercedes C220 car from a dealership in Farmborough, near Bath, in December and asked at the time if it was compliant with the Clean Air Zone and was that because it was a Euro6 diesel, it would be. However, Mr Lovell received a penalty notice after driving his wife to an appointment at the BRI in Bristol - and had his appeal against the fine turned down.

Mr Lovell, from Nailsea, then discovered that his is one of thousands of vehicles that have been deemed to be compliant with Bath’s Clean Air Zone, but not Bristol’s, leaving him angry. “When I left the dealership it’s a Euro6 diesel, I asked the sales person could I drive it into Bristol and was told ‘of course you can, it’s Euro6’,” he said.

“Two weeks later I drove into Bristol taking my wife to hospital, and I got a £9 fine. I challenged it and they said ‘no the car is not compliant’, so I’m very angry about it. I have paid, because there’s no way out of it and if I don’t pay it’ll be £120 if you don’t pay within seven days. I’m very annoyed about it all.

“I don’t understand the logic of why I can drive this car into Bath without paying a Clean Air Zone charge, but not into Bristol. It’s a Euro6 diesel, which are supposed to be the new clean diesel cars that are compliant with all the Clean Air Zones. It’s completely over the top,” he added.

Driver Colin Lovell pictured with his recently purchased 2015 Mercedes, Wednesday 25 January 2023, at his home in Nailsea near Bristol. The car is said to be CAZ compliant, however he has recently received a fine from Bristol Clean Air Zone for being in violation. (PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)

“How can Bristol City Council override the Euro6 compliant status of my vehicle, and why is it not a universally-set criteria, so every Clean Air Zone is the same?” he added.

Bristol City Council set up its Clean Air Zone with the same criteria on diesel and petrol vehicles as Birmingham’s, but Mr Lovell’s car is compliant and OK to drive into every other city without needing a CAZ charge to be paid, including Bath.

The council said it had made its CAZ a category D - the most restrictive class of Clean Air Zone and more strict than other cities’ Clean Air Zones - including Bath’s - because of the need to improve air quality more quickly in Bristol to meet the Government’s legislation over illegal air.

A list of Clean Air Zones that the 2015 Euro6 diesel car bought by Colin Lovell can and can't travel into without having to pay a CAZ charge across the country (DfT)

A total of 28 sites across Bristol had ‘illegal’ levels of air pollution in 2021, caused mainly from the exhausts of traffic.

Council's response

“The Government has set legal limits for pollution and we have introduced a Clean Air Zone to ensure Bristol meets those limits within the shortest possible time,” said a council spokesperson. “A major source of air pollution in cities is road traffic, particularly diesel engines. Air pollution affects everyone in Bristol, especially children, older people and people with heart, breathing and underlying health conditions,” they added.

Frustratingly for Mr Lovell, almost all Euro6 diesel vehicles are not liable to pay the Clean Air Zone charge, but his is just a few months too old to meet the criteria. Bristol City Council said diesel vehicles made ‘roughly from the end of 2015’ are not liable, but his is.

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