Clean Air Zones (CAZ)
Clean Air Zones or CAZ are areas within cities where local authorities have brought restrictive measures into place, as part of the Government’s Air Quality Plan, which aims to improve air quality and urgently address sources of pollution.
There are two types of Clean Air Zone: non-charging and charging.
Initially, it was thought that the charging CAZs would apply only to buses, taxis, and HGVs. However, following a legal challenge, this was widened to include non-compliant private vehicles – meaning private motorists are affected by them, not just commercial operators.
There are currently 25 CAZ (ULEZ) schemes in the UK, either planned, in operation or under review. Each local authority has the power to introduce their own version of the CAZ depending on the pollution problem they have. This has resulted in each scheme being different and there being a great deal of variation and therefore confusion about them.
There are two types of Clean Air Zone: non-charging and charging.
- In a non-charging CAZ, the focus is on improving air quality without charging money for vehicles entering the zone itself. Measures can include retrofitting certain vehicles with pollution controls, traffic-flow management to reduce vehicle emissions (where evidence suggests this approach would be effective on the road in question), re-routing traffic or other local solutions.
- In a charging CAZ, drivers must pay a fee to enter the area if their vehicle fails to meet the required environmental standards for that zone.
Initially, it was thought that the charging CAZs would apply only to buses, taxis, and HGVs. However, following a legal challenge, this was widened to include non-compliant private vehicles – meaning private motorists are affected by them, not just commercial operators.
There are currently 25 CAZ (ULEZ) schemes in the UK, either planned, in operation or under review. Each local authority has the power to introduce their own version of the CAZ depending on the pollution problem they have. This has resulted in each scheme being different and there being a great deal of variation and therefore confusion about them.
Two categories of historic vehicles are exempt from the ULEZ in London.
- All vehicles built before 1st January 1973.
- Vehicles over 40 years old that have been successfully registered with DVLA for a historic vehicle tax class.
Our Emissions Officer, Steve Parker, has for many years been involved in representing historic vehicles in the debates surrounding low-emission zones:
I first got involved with the Clean Air Zones (CAZ) because of the injustice of classing Private Heavy Goods vehicles as commercial vehicles, when clearly, they are not. I run an ex-military truck manufactured in 1991, that has a gross weight of 5.3 tons and it meant that I would be charged £60 per day to access the motorway - the same as a 44-ton truck!
I live 1.5 miles away from the proposed Greater Manchester CAZ, which was planned to be the biggest CAZ in Europe, some 493 square miles! Motorways and roads operated by the Highways Agency were to be exempt but in the case of Greater Manchester, the CAZ had in effect, blocked off most of the access roads to get to the M62 which would be exempt from charges. We lobbied Greater Manchester’s MP’s some 36 of them, on behalf of the MVT, complaining about the injustice of charging PHG vehicles as commercials when private cars are exempt. We contacted the Ministry of Transport and DEFRA, the departments that drew up the guidelines for the CAZ schemes in the UK. We made three Freedom of Information Requests to find out how many and what type of vehicles are class 10, PHG registered. 66% are large motorhomes, training vehicles, show vehicles etc, - all non-commercial.
We, along with others were granted “ a permanent discount for PHG to £10 per day” - that’s a lot better than the £60 per day they were planning for the commercial HGVs – however, this would apply to the Greater Manchester CAZ. When CAZ signs were erected in Manchester, prior to its approval, there was a major outcry from the general public, and as a result at the time of writing the GM CAZ is still under review (August 2023), the plan now is to have “an investment lead non chargeable CAZ” and they are in talks with central government at the moment.
I first got involved with the Clean Air Zones (CAZ) because of the injustice of classing Private Heavy Goods vehicles as commercial vehicles, when clearly, they are not. I run an ex-military truck manufactured in 1991, that has a gross weight of 5.3 tons and it meant that I would be charged £60 per day to access the motorway - the same as a 44-ton truck!
I live 1.5 miles away from the proposed Greater Manchester CAZ, which was planned to be the biggest CAZ in Europe, some 493 square miles! Motorways and roads operated by the Highways Agency were to be exempt but in the case of Greater Manchester, the CAZ had in effect, blocked off most of the access roads to get to the M62 which would be exempt from charges. We lobbied Greater Manchester’s MP’s some 36 of them, on behalf of the MVT, complaining about the injustice of charging PHG vehicles as commercials when private cars are exempt. We contacted the Ministry of Transport and DEFRA, the departments that drew up the guidelines for the CAZ schemes in the UK. We made three Freedom of Information Requests to find out how many and what type of vehicles are class 10, PHG registered. 66% are large motorhomes, training vehicles, show vehicles etc, - all non-commercial.
We, along with others were granted “ a permanent discount for PHG to £10 per day” - that’s a lot better than the £60 per day they were planning for the commercial HGVs – however, this would apply to the Greater Manchester CAZ. When CAZ signs were erected in Manchester, prior to its approval, there was a major outcry from the general public, and as a result at the time of writing the GM CAZ is still under review (August 2023), the plan now is to have “an investment lead non chargeable CAZ” and they are in talks with central government at the moment.
CAZ ZONES
There are 4 different categories of CAZ vehicle restrictions, A B C D. Charges only apply to non-compliant vehicles, ie, petrol powered vehicles that are not Euro 4 compliant, (manufactured before approximately 2005) and diesel-powered vehicles that are not Euro 6 compliant.(manufactured before approximately 2016). Compliant vehicles are not charged.
Non-compliant vehicles are charged at different rates in different CAZ, which causes confusion, and requires owners to check the regulations for each CAZ they wish to enter. It is very important that when checking your vehicle to see if it qualifies for an exemption or discount to look on the local CAZ website not the national one; concessions are local not national.
Each Clean Air Zone is different and has different restrictions for different classes of vehicles. This is where the A, B, C & D Class breakdown comes into play, with towns and cities able to set stronger or more relaxed restrictions based on the severity of their pollution level.
A
– Buses
– Coaches
– Taxis
– Private hire vehicles
B
– All Class A vehicles
– Heavy goods vehicles
C
– All Class A & B vehicles
– Vans
– Minibuses
D
– All Class A, B & C vehicles
– Cars
– Motorcycles*
*Each local authority has the option to include motorcycles.
Every CAZ, with the exception of central London, allow vehicles registered as “historic” into their zones, but they must not be used commercially.
There are no category A zones in force and you will need to check with your local CAZ what category they are enforcing.
At the moment, in addition to London’s ULEZ zone, there are CAZ zones in
The best and most up-to date source of CAZ updates is Fleet News CAZ
This is an ongoing issue, so people should carry out a bit of research if they are planning to go into a major city, or large town in the UK.
There are 4 different categories of CAZ vehicle restrictions, A B C D. Charges only apply to non-compliant vehicles, ie, petrol powered vehicles that are not Euro 4 compliant, (manufactured before approximately 2005) and diesel-powered vehicles that are not Euro 6 compliant.(manufactured before approximately 2016). Compliant vehicles are not charged.
Non-compliant vehicles are charged at different rates in different CAZ, which causes confusion, and requires owners to check the regulations for each CAZ they wish to enter. It is very important that when checking your vehicle to see if it qualifies for an exemption or discount to look on the local CAZ website not the national one; concessions are local not national.
Each Clean Air Zone is different and has different restrictions for different classes of vehicles. This is where the A, B, C & D Class breakdown comes into play, with towns and cities able to set stronger or more relaxed restrictions based on the severity of their pollution level.
A
– Buses
– Coaches
– Taxis
– Private hire vehicles
B
– All Class A vehicles
– Heavy goods vehicles
C
– All Class A & B vehicles
– Vans
– Minibuses
D
– All Class A, B & C vehicles
– Cars
– Motorcycles*
*Each local authority has the option to include motorcycles.
Every CAZ, with the exception of central London, allow vehicles registered as “historic” into their zones, but they must not be used commercially.
There are no category A zones in force and you will need to check with your local CAZ what category they are enforcing.
At the moment, in addition to London’s ULEZ zone, there are CAZ zones in
- Bath
- Birmingham
- Bradford
- Bristol
- Portsmouth
- Sheffield
- Tyneside - Newcastle and Gateshead
- Glasgow
The best and most up-to date source of CAZ updates is Fleet News CAZ
This is an ongoing issue, so people should carry out a bit of research if they are planning to go into a major city, or large town in the UK.
