Bristol City Council have been fining drivers for breaching the Clean Air Zone in Bedminster, almost two months after stating they wouldn’t be.
Motorists in vehicles that don’t comply with the Clean Air Zone have been receiving fine notices for leaving the car park of Bedminster Asda on to Coronation Road, even though the council told Bristol Live at the start of December that stretch of road would be exempt from the zone.
Some drivers fear they may well be about to receive more than a dozen separate fines for making the short, 200-yard journey along Coronation Road - which they had been told would not be part of the Clean Air Zone. Bristol City Council has failed to respond to repeated requests for clarification from Bristol Live on the issue for almost two weeks.
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The saga began before the Clean Air Zone started in late November last year. The zone includes Coronation Road, along the south bank of the New Cut River Avon, with cameras set up at all junctions from side roads onto that main road in Bedminster and Southville.
But there was a problem. Businesses, residents and drivers of construction traffic heading to the many building sites in the Whitehouse Lane and Malago Road area of Bedminster pointed out that, because the council had closed the main A38 Malago Road to all northbound traffic for two-and-a-half years up until the middle of 2024, the area from Asda and Bedminster Parade, around Windmill Hill City Farm and the industrial units on Whitehouse Lane was effectively being cut off.
Even though this large area of Bedminster was outside the Clean Air Zone, drivers of non-CAZ compliant vehicles could only access it by driving into the Clean Air Zone and coming back out again. So Bristol City Council organised a workaround. Over one particular 230-yard stretch of Coronation Road, between St John’s Road at the corner of the car park for Bedminster Asda and New Charlotte Street, which runs down the other side of the car park, the Clean Air Zone would not apply - but only if drivers were following the diversion signs. The council even removed a section of the central reservation on Coronation Road to allow motorists to be able to turn right off Coronation Road and onto New Charlotte Street.
The council confirmed that this ‘hole’ in the Clean Air Zone meant drivers turning right on to Coronation Road and heading east from St John’s Lane, and then immediately right again down New Charlotte Street, before the Bedminster Bridge roundabout, would not be charged.
On November 18, 10 days before the Clean Air Zone began, Bristol Live reported the creation of this diversion, as a work-around to enable access to Whitehouse Lane. The council produced a map illustrating the route of the diversion, and signs have been erected around Bedminster advising drivers that access to Whitehouse Lane and Malago Road is possible thanks to the CAZ 'hole'.
As November became December and the Clean Air Zone started, shoppers at Asda who drove non-CAZ compliant vehicles began inquiring whether the 'hole' in the Clean Air Zone worked the other way. Could motorists leave the Bedminster Asda car park onto Coronation Road, turn left and head west, and immediately turn left again out of the CAZ just 170 yards later, and not have to pay £9 for the seconds they've spent 'in' the CAZ?
After receiving inquiries from readers on the issue, Bristol Live asked Bristol City Council if the Clean Air Zone ‘hole’ worked for motorists travelling the other way. We specifically asked the council if motorists leaving the Asda car park from the north exit on to Coronation Road, turning left and immediately turning left again onto St John’s Lane - ie following the same route as the Malago Road diversion but in the opposite direction - would be charged or would be exempt.
On December 5, a response from Bristol City Council confirmed that motorists travelling the other way would also not be charged. A spokesperson for the council told Bristol Live in an email: “As thought, as long as someone remains within the non-active part of the zone i.e. does not go beyond the junction of St John’s Road but instead turns down that road, then they will not enter the zone and non-compliant vehicles will not be charged.”
On December 12, Bristol Live published an article confirming that the ‘loophole’ on Coronation Road created by the Malago Road diversion did work both ways. At no point after this article was published have Bristol City Council questioned its accuracy, asked for it to be amended or changed their advice.
But in January, drivers who drove their non-compliant vehicles out of Asda car park and turned left back down St John’s Road, began to receive penalty notices.
One couple said they received several fine notices for different trips to Asda, and feared they would be getting even more. “We’ve been multiple times, I think we might be getting six or more fines. We can’t pay this. We only went out of the car park that way because the council said we wouldn’t be fined,” said Christine Headington, from Bishopsworth.
She and her husband Richard contacted Cllr Don Alexander, the cabinet member responsible for transport and the Clean Air Zone, and he told them he was ‘not responsible for Bristol Live’.
Bristol Live has contacted the councillor to clarify the situation, but has had no response. The council has also been contacted several times since Bristol Live first asked for clarification on the issue on January 23 - some 10 days ago now - and despite being promised a response several times, is yet to receive one.
We asked Bristol City Council if they would continue to enforce fines issued to motorists for entering the Clean Air Zone at the exit of the Asda car park. We asked how many drivers have been ticketed for making this manouevre, and asked for clarification on whether drivers would continue to receive penalty notices for this route.
Several other motorists have contacted Bristol Live about the issue, with many saying they have appealed against the fine, quoting the council’s own words in their defence. But others have said, with the threat from the council of the £60 fine doubling to £120 if it is not paid, they have paid up within a few days at the reduced rate of £30.
Update: On Friday morning (February 3), Bristol City Council issued a statement confirming that drivers will be fined, and apologised for giving incorrect advice on December 5.
A spokesperson from Bristol City Council said: “Advice was provided to Bristol Live in December 2022 regarding the operation of the Malago Road diversion and its impact on traffic exiting Asda Bedminster car park onto Coronation Road.
"This advice was incorrect and we apologise to anyone who has received a penalty charge notice (PCN) as a result of following this information. The Malago Road diversion is clockwise so it only applies eastbound along Coronation Road. This means that drivers exiting left out of ASDA Bedminster onto Coronation Road who turn left again at St John’s Road are not on the diversion route and are within the Clean Air Zone (CAZ).
"Any vehicles that do not meet emissions standards must pay the daily charge.“We have received very few PCN appeals at this location and anyone who has entered the CAZ as a result of following this diversion has had their appeal accepted.“There is clear signage to all drivers exiting ASDA Bedminster onto Coronation Road that they are entering the CAZ," she added.
Read next:
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- Clean Air Zone start date finally announced
- Clean Air Zone fee and how people will be charged
- Bristol Clean Air Zone timeline: the story so far as start date finally announced
- Thousands of drivers 'caught' in Clean Air Zone every day in council test
- Camera error sends Clean Air Zone warning letters to drivers who've never been to Bristol
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