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The Bradford Clean Air Zone starts on Monday, 26 September 2022.
Air pollution is a serious risk to our health. To combat this, Clean Air Zones are being introduced in cities across England, to improve air quality and the health of people who live and work there.
Bradford has been identified by the UK government as exceeding air pollution levels at several locations across the city. Many of these areas are in the inner-city where the most deprived wards are located with high levels of ethnic diversity and young people under the age of 16. Improving air quality for these areas would therefore help those who are the most affected by air pollution.
Check before you travel and look for the road signs
You can use the government website www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones, to check whether charges will apply to your vehicle in Bradford and other zones. If you’re a business or organisation, you can check multiple vehicles.
It is important for drivers to recognise and understand the meaning of the Clean Air Zone traffic symbols in order to avoid being penalised when driving in these controlled zones.
Signage on roads in and around the zone, showing a white cloud symbol within a green circle, will indicate that a Clean Air Zone scheme is in operation. The letter C is used in Bradford denoting the class of the zone.
All signage for the Bradford Clean Air Zone is positioned in accordance with Department for Transport guidance. All approaches to the zone are signed, warning you of the zone ahead. All points of entry to the zone offer opportunities to avoid the zone. The primary job of the signage is to discourage entry of non-compliant vehicles, reducing emissions from these older commercial vehicles within the zone and improving air quality and health.
As a business what do I need to do?
To prepare for the launch of the CAZ on the 26 September 2022 you can check your vehicle on the Government website: https://www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones.
This will let you know if your vehicle will be charged for driving in any of the UK Clean Air Zones including Bradford.
- Passenger cars and motorbikes will not be charged for entering the Bradford Clean Air Zone. It doesn’t matter if you live outside the Bradford District or if you use your vehicle for work purposes.
- HGVs, coaches, buses, LGV, minibuses, hackney carriage and private hire vehicles are liable for the charge if they are not compliant with the Clean Air Zone vehicle standard.
For many businesses, upgrading to a compliant vehicle could be a cost-effective alternative to paying the charge, in Bradford and in other Clean Air Zones. We would encourage you to make sensible travel choices. If you have a compliant vehicle to use then this will not be charged to drive in the Bradford Clean Air Zone.
The table below outlines the compliance requirements for each vehicle type and also the daily charges for a non-compliant vehicle.
Set up an account – available now
You can set up a business user account to manage and process payments at www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones to help you check multiple vehicles, assign account managers and set up a bank mandate.
To create an account you’ll need your company name, an email address, you can also upload a CSV file of your vehicle registration numbers.
Businesses with an account can now set up a bank payment mandate to pay their Bradford CAZ charges.
How do I pay the daily CAZ charge?
Payment must be made online at www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones or by calling the National Contact Centre on 0300 029 8888 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm, and Saturday, 8am to 4pm).
You can pay 6 days before the day of your visit, on the day of your visit or up to 6 days after the day of your visit.
A 'day' is classified as midnight to midnight, not 24 hours from when you enter the zone. During that midnight to midnight timeframe, you can enter and leave the zone numerous times and only incur a single charge. However, if you cross the midnight threshold you will be charged for two days.
Please be aware payments can only be made from the go live date of 26 September 2022. You can pay for advance planned trips from 26 September 2022, when you will be able to make payments on the day of travel or up to 6 days after.
You will not receive a notification or alert advising you that you have entered the zone and payment is due; you as a driver are fully responsible for understanding and managing all payments.
Exemptions - still time to apply!
You can still apply for an exemption as long as you have owned the vehicle before the Bradford Clean Air Zone is live on the 26 September 2022.
If you are awarded an exemption this means you will not have to pay to drive in the Bradford Clean Air Zone.
A local exemption does not apply until is has been registered with and confirmed by Bradford Council. If you enter the Clean Air Zone before an exemption is confirmed by email, you will still be liable for any charges incurred once the zone is live.
On submission of your exemption application form, the council will acknowledge receipt of your application. The council will process applications after receipt of the application within 10 working days of receiving all required information/evidence.
Please submit your exemption application including all required evidence as soon as possible to ensure we can process your exemption prior to the CAZ launch date.
Awarded exemptions will run until 31/12/2025. Those exemptions awarded with an end date of 31/12/2024 will be extended. Limited supply (sunset) exemptions will run until the expected delivery date of the replacement vehicle.
You can find out about exemptions here.
In order to continuously improve air quality we hope that vehicles purchased from 26 September 2022 will meet CAZ standards. This means that there will be no charge to drive these vehicles into the zone as they will be compliant.
There are no exemptions available for vehicles purchased from the 26 September 2022. Please check the vehicle you are buying is compliant by using the Government Vehicle Checker.
 Grants are still available
The LGV and minibus grants are still open, if your business is based in the Bradford district, don’t miss your chance to upgrade your vehicle with a grant from our Government funding.
In order to be eligible your business must have been registered at an address within the Bradford Metropolitan District prior to 18 October 2021 and at the time of grant application. The business must own a non-compliant vehicle registered to the same address from prior to 18 October 2021 and at the time of application.
Grants are not available to any applicant who has already upgraded or bought a compliant vehicle.
Grants cannot be awarded retrospectively. Therefore, if you intend to apply for a grant or exemption please wait to hear the outcome before making any purchase decisions.
Please check the V5 log book to ensure the vehicle is eligible for a grant prior to making a purchasing decision.
Grants will be available to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), sole traders/self-employed, education establishments and charities registered within the Bradford Metropolitan District.
Click find our more for further information about grants
including making an application.
What help is available?
You can find out more information on our website about local and national exemptions, and grants that are available to Bradford businesses.
Clean Air Zone links and information
All information regarding the Bradford CAZ, including information about grants and exemptions, can be found on the Breathe Better Bradford website.
Sign up to receive Bradford Clean Air Zone updates
Clean Air Zone enquiries: 01274 435533 or complete the online form
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