IN-DEPTH: Residents Call Bristol Clean Air Zone ‘A Tax On The Poor’

Vehicles pass across the M48 Severn Bridge, one of the two bridges that form the Severn Crossing, near Bristol, England, on Oct. 9, 2018. Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Resident campaigners claim that a major clean air zone scheme that charges certain cars to enter Bristol is hitting the city’s working drivers hardest.

In January the BBC reported that according to council figures, Bristol’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) raised £26 million in its first year of operation, launching in November 2022 to charges drivers of the “most polluting vehicles” to enter the city centre.

However residents who spoke to The Epoch Times said that the measures are a “tax on the poor” that pushes pollution onto other areas.

There are CAZs in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford as well as Bristol that act like London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) which charge vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards a daily fee to drive or face fines.

In Bristol, non-compliant cars, taxis and vans have to pay an £9 daily charge, with enforcement cameras operating around the clock every day of the year.

Non payment of CAZ results in a Penalty Charge Notice of £120 as well as the CAZ charge.

2050 One City Plan

Bristol supports the 15-minute city urban planning concept under its 2050 One City Plan to become a “fair, healthy and sustainable city.”

Furthermore, plans for an East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood trial, which includes bollards and bus gates to block drivers through roads in the area are also in the pipeline.

The progressively minded Bristol City Council has voted unanimously to a motion declaring a Climate Emergency, committing the city to go carbon neutral by 2030.

In January, Marvin Rees, the Labour Mayor of Bristol, said that the “air that we all breathe is cleaner than it was in November 2022.”

He claimed that “nitrogen dioxide pollution is down by 10 percent across Bristol and is almost 13 percent lower inside the Clean Air Zone (CAZ).”

He added that CAZ “was never about making money for the council: it was about clean air. If our progress cleaning up our air continues, then, in the not-too-distant future, the CAZ should come to an end.”

Freedom and Independence

Justyna Kowalska next to her CAZ compliant car, photo taken he day before Bristol CAZ started. Courtesy of Justyna Kowalska

“My car gives me freedom and independence,” Justyna Kowalska, who runs the ReactCaz Campaign Facebook Group which share stories of residents impacted by CAZ fines, told The Epoch Times.

“I’m in that group of people who rely on their vehicles on a daily basis. Nowadays for many people car is not a luxury good anymore, it’s essential. Due to health issues I cannot walk long distances. On top of that I have a genetic disorder causing problems with balance so I will never be able to ride a bike,” she said.

“In the area where I live there is no GP and there is one local grocery shop but I would simply go bankrupt if I would do my shopping there so I prefer to use my car to do my weekly shopping in a supermarket which is 15 minutes drive but to get there on the bus would take me probably one hour one way if I would be lucky,” she added.

She said that there are many places where people cannot rely on public transport to get to their workplaces, shops, schools, GPs .

Ms. Kowalska said that she was a support worker looking after people in their homes doing unsocial hours, quite often starting at 7 a.m. and finishing at 10 p.m., sometimes travelling long distances or getting to places where there is no public transport.

She said that she did her own research about “anti-car policies” and was “sceptical about studies published by organisations which might be charities but could be funded by government or environmental groups.”

“Lots of people say that anti-car policies make them feel more anxious, causing higher stress levels and getting their mental health worse. They cannot afford to upgrade their vehicles, they cannot afford ULEZ/CAZ charges. They don’t agree that putting more charges and fines would improve air quality,” she added.

‘Bus Deserts’

Despite Bristol’s mayor saying in January that raised CAZ cash could be spent on improving transport, last year transport campaigners warned to the BBC that some parts of Bristol risked becoming “bus deserts” due to the cuts of dozens of subsidised services.

Furthermore, amidst the background of many councils going bankrupt, in December the chief executive of Bristol City Council warned that the council’s own budget was facing “unprecedented challenges and unsustainable demand.”

“Mick” who did not want to use his real name told The Epoch Times, that before the CAZ, he “never used to smell the fumes” where he lived.

“Since COVID-19, Bristol City Council have brought in ’traffic calming' measures and the CAZ tax which have made traffic much worse” he said.

“We have a five year old who we walk to school. Before COVID-19 and the introduction of single lanes traffic and restricted parking measures, and then the CAZ tax, you never used to smell the fumes. Now you do. Why is that? Because cars spend longer idling in the centre than they did before. It takes much longer to get across the city, for buses, cars ambulances, and all other vehicles,” he added.

He said that his area in central Bristol, with its traffic measures and cycle lanes, is experiencing gridlock due to the rat runs that have been created.

“I said to the council why don’t you come down and see for yourselves, and they don’t ever come,” he added.

“When the CAZ tax was introduced, I had just bought a vehicle which was perfect for my needs and ran on LPG fuel (which is 17 percent less CO2 polluting than normal diesel or petrol). However the vehicle was from 2001 so it was going to be taxed nine pounds every time I drove to my own house. There was no way round this and no appeals were possible,” he said.

Mick accused the council of being “actively anti-car, anti-business, and anti-science.”

“They are anti-the poor, they are against anyone who lives and works here and they don’t care how they affect normal people. They are ruthless ideologues with no considerations but their own politics,” he added.

“I am not against eco schemes per se, but if you have an old van and work at night, you have to pay 18 quid a time, 9 pounds every twelve hours, to get across to work in then you are screwed,” he said.

‘Extreme Stress and Anxiety’

Residents also said that they faced a wall of administration when trying to dispute CAZ fine errors. Some said they had repeated visits by bailiffs to their properties to collect debts.

Justine Coppard told The Epoch Times that when she personalised the number plate to her 2004 beetle convertible car, the subsequent fines caused her “extreme stress and anxiety.”

This was despite her vehicle being compliant.

“I put this number plate on my car in September 2023, it was then I had almost daily fines for driving in the clean air zone,” she said.

“I called the DVLA and Bristol council, they both blamed each other, I was going around in circles as both were saying my car is not compliant with the Bristol clean air zone. I knew this was incorrect and for a total of five months I continued receiving fines, totalling to hundreds and hundreds of pounds, that were starting to double as I refused to pay them and they were rejecting my appeals,” she added.

The Epoch Times has verified a letter from Bristol Council confirming in writing that Ms. Coppard’s car is compliant.

“To this day I am still receiving fines for driving into the Bristol clean air zones,” she said. “I’m not sure who to turn to now, I can’t go through this all again,” she added.

Bristol Council did not respond to The Epoch Times’ specific comments.

Sustrans, a charity that aims to increase walking and cycling and introduce road pricing  to stop air pollution said it could not comment but pointed The Epoch Times to its 2019 policy position which said that “governments must take a ‘fewer not just cleaner’ approach to motor traffic.”

“Measures aimed at reducing levels of motor traffic should be prioritised, with additional action aimed at incentivising cleaner vehicles for essential journeys that cannot be shifted,” it added.