Drivers on low income

Drivers on low income exempt from Bristol (CAZ) charges

Thousands of motorists will be charged a £9 daily fee to enter the Clean Air Zone in Bristol if the council’s plans are approved by the Government. However some drivers of air polluting vehicles will be able to apply for a one-year exemption before they have to start paying the Clean Air Zone fee, and others will not have to pay at all. Bristol City Council must have a Clean Air Zone in place by October 29th 2021 and, after years of planning and consultation, it has decided to seek permission for a small clean air zone in the city centre. Bristol City Council had hoped to avoid forcing drivers of polluting vehicles to pay to enter the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), but said in a statement online that it must impose charges to meet a legal obligation to reduce traffic and air pollution to within legal limits in the shortest possible time frame.

However charges will only apply to diesel vehicles that are Euro 5 standard and below, so roughly 2014 and older, and to petrol vehicles that are Euro 3 and below, so about 2006 and older. Those people who live in the Clean Air Zone as well as Bristol-based Blue Badge holders will be able to apply for a one-year exemption before they have to start paying a fee.

People on low incomes will also be able to apply for a one-year exemption if they have to drive in and out of the zone to get to work. This group – individuals earning less than £24,000 a year and no more than £12.45 per hour – will also be prioritised for financial support packages under the council’s proposals. The council is also proposing exemptions for people who have to go to hospital for admissions and appointments or to visit-loved ones regularly. 20 Mayor Rees said in a online statement: “We’re looking at a scheme with hospitals for families that have to be frequent visitors to loved ones, particularly children, for example, in hospital.” Most of the exemptions are for one year to allow time for people to upgrade to cleaner vehicles and take advantage of financial support and scrappage schemes.

Vehicles such as ambulances, police and fire engines and disabled passenger vehicle tax classes 78 and 85, motorcycles, and classic cars are automatically exempt under CAZ rules set out by the Government. Bristol city council estimates about 74,700 out of 258,000 vehicles would be charged to enter the zone each day. They estimate around 27 per cent of private cars are not compliant with emission standards and will attract a clean air charge. Similarly, they believe about 39% of LGVs, 25% of HGVs and 5% of buses and coaches will have to pay a daily fee. The council is currently asking the government for money to provide financial support packages for households and businesses to upgrade their vehicles.

Mayor Rees said online: “We have a moral responsibility to deliver clean air, we recognise that, but never forget we have a legal responsibility [to deliver] compliant air in the shortest possible time. “We will be putting mitigations in place to support people through the transition… We don’t want the burden falling disproportionately on people who are most vulnerable and we don’t want to undermine jobs within the city."

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The boss of a large pub and brewery chain said: “lots of pubs will not survive until they are allowed to reopen by the Government:. Pubs are calling for the Chancellor to provide more emergency support to keep them a float.

Chief executive of St Austell Brewery Kevin Georgel, has welcomed Boris Johnson’s “road map” to reopening the economy after the third lockdown.

But however with pubs not allowed to open their indoors until May 17th, Kevin Georgel said:” many will face going out of business without more Government help. Mr Georgel, in an open letter posted on the St Austell Brewery website, said:” that while pubs can reopen their beer gardens from April 12th, it may not be commercially feasible for them to do so.

He also said:” his company is now looking at how many of its own 178 outlets will be able to operate in April. But he warned that about 60% of all pubs will have to remain closed until May, resulting in a £1.5billion hit to the sector. The Chief executive of St Austell Brewery Mr Georgel, who had to make 100 redundancies in 2020 due to the pandemic, said in his letter that the Government had at least “provided us with some much-needed clarity on the roadmap out of lockdown”. He also welcomed the end of restrictions that prevented pubs from being able to operate viably in 2020, including the 10pm curfew and the substantial meal rule, which he said were based on “very little scientific evidence. But he warned: “The reality is that many pubs will not be able to hold out until April or May without vital financial support. Many pubs – those with little or no outside space – will not be able to reopen until May regardless of the Government making it legal to do so. “It simply won’t be commercially sustainable for them. As a business, we are currently working through this ourselves to see how many of our managed pubs it will be feasible for us to reopen under these circumstances.”

Kevin said the British Beer and Pub Association had worked out that 3 in 5 pubs across the United Kingdom will have to remain closed until May at the earliest under the new regulations.

“That will be around 29,000 businesses and a £1.5billion cost to our sector,” he said. “Those who do try to reopen with outdoor service only will also need support – they’ll have to contend with unpredictable British weather on top of limited capacity. “Ultimately, many of our British pubs apart of our nation’s social fabric will end up closing their doors for good unless the Government now step in now.”

The Chief executive of St Austell Brewery called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to use his March 3rd Budget to extend support for the hospitality sector, until “such a time when we’re able to trade viably”.

He called for an extension of the business rates holiday for 12 months, an extended cut in VAT for 12 months, and a significant cut in beer duty, and said UK beer drinkers pay 11 times more than those in Germany and Spain.

Kevin also urged the Chancellor to extend the furlough scheme to protect jobs “until we emerge from lockdown in June”. He said: “The Government’s vaccination programme has been an extraordinary success and we’re very proud to say that some of our furloughed team members have been supporting the national effort, by volunteering as vaccination stewards.

“However, in light of how successfully it’s been rolled out, we were disappointed to hear the news that hospitality will not be able to open in line with other parts of the economy, such as non-essential retail. We strongly believe, given the opportunity, that hospitality should play a vital role in both our economic and social recovery.

“Our sector shouldn’t be pushed to the back of the queue once again. As always, St Austell Brewery stands ready to reopen our pubs responsibly – providing a safe environment for our teams and our guests.”