Creating a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is the government’s preferred approach to addressing air pollution in the shortest possible time for several cities across the UK.
In Portsmouth, our Clean Air Zone went live on 29th November 2021.
Read our frequently asked questions below for more information.
A charging Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is an identified area are issued a daily charge if they enter the zone. It works in a similar way to the low emission zone in London.
It depends which vehicle you drive. In general, only buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles and heavy goods vehicles (including some larger motorhomes) that are older than Euro 6 if diesel, and Euro 4 if petrol, will be charged. It’s encouraged to check if your motorhome is chargeable if you are unsure. Check your registration number here.
Newer, cleaner vehicles and personal cars and vans will not be charged, and there are also some specific vehicle exemptions.
But you can still help improve air quality in the city by reducing the number of journeys you make, choosing to travel more actively by walking, cycling, or scooting, and switching your engine off when stopped.
Portsmouth’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) and London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) are designed to improve the air quality in their cities. However, these government schemes are different and independent of one another.
A key difference between London’s ultra-low emission zone and Portsmouth’s clean air zone is that all vehicles within the ULEZ zone are liable for paying a fee, whereas only vehicles listed in the CAZ category (Category B for Portsmouth) are liable to be charged when travelling in the zone.
Portsmouth does not have a ULEZ. It does have a CAZ that charges category B vehicles (Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles that do not meet Euro 6 emission standards for diesel or Euro 4 emission standards for a petrol).
London’s ULEZ charges all non-compliant vehicles (lorries, vans, specialist heavy vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, buses, minibuses and coaches under 5 tonnes) a standard £12.50 fee when entering the zone. For more information visit the TFL ULEZ webpage.
Portsmouth City Council was identified by central government as one of over 60 local authorities that had air pollution levels over legal limits. As such, we’ve been told to make an improvement as soon as possible.
Our technical work shows that a package of non-charging measures, even with the natural reduction in polluting vehicles over time, will still not be enough to achieve the necessary level of improvement in air quality. Therefore, central government requires us to implement a charging Clean Air Zone.
Vans and cars are currently not being charged following government approved plans in accordance with the Class B CAZ.
Due to the restrictions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it is not possible to check whether or not your vehicle has entered the Clean Air Zone.
You can use the link below to see detailed maps of the Clean Air Zone boundary, as well as a list of postcodes within it.
Some drivers and operators of specific vehicles may not need to pay to drive in the Portsmouth Clean Air Zone (CAZ). These are known as exemptions, and there are both national and local exemptions.
In Portsmouth, there are some exemptions for some specialist vehicles. This allows you more time to upgrade or retrofit your non-compliant vehicle before having to pay the CAZ charge. You’ll need to apply for local exemptions and sunset periods.
It is the vehicle owner’s responsibility to make payment of the Clean Air Zone charge. The payment window for paying is 6 days before the date of travel into the zone and up to six days after the date of travel. If payment of the charge is not made by a non-compliant vehicle by the time the payment window ends, then a Penalty Charge Notice may be issued. The six-day payment window after the date of travel allows for drivers who have driven into the zone and may not have been aware of the zone to establish if their vehicle was chargeable and pay the charge.
We are aware of third-party applications and websites who offer a service to make Clean Air Zone payments.
The Clean Air Zone Support Team and Local Authorities are not affiliated with any third-party payment websites or apps.
Any further queries relating to the payment you have made would need to be discussed with the third-party directly.
The charge is £10 a day for non-compliant taxis and Private Hire Vehicles, and £50 a day for HGVs (including non-compliant motorhomes), buses and coaches.
The charge is not issued automatically, so you’ll need to be aware if your vehicle is subject to the charge and make payment within the payment window. You won’t receive a notification or reminder to inform you that you’ve driven through the zone in a non-compliant vehicle and need to make payment.
You will only be charged once per day no matter how many trips into the zone you make.
There are currently no plans to extend the Clean Air Zone.
The decision to change the zone remains with central government following the submission of Portsmouth’s air quality data for the first year of the CAZ.
If any changes were proposed this would be clearly communicated ahead of time with those affected.
The DVLA classes some large motorhomes as chargeable, so it’s worth checking before you travel, as you may be liable for the charge. You can check your registration number here.
Details of how to make a representation can be found on the Penalty Charge Notice.
The decision to remove the CAZ will be made by Central Government, who will require at least two years of complete data to begin looking at whether or not the CAZ has led to a satisfactory drop in air pollution in the area.
If the air quality is found to be compliant with UK recommended air quality levels after this time the government will let us know what our next steps can be.
There are four classes of Clean Air Zone:
You can find out more about the different classes on the government’s website.
We appreciate that these changes come at a challenging time, and we have taken actions to help those most affected by the CAZ charges.
Previously we have helped operators of buses, coaches, and HGVs to replace or retrofit their vehicles. We have also been working with people who operate non-compliant taxis or private hire vehicles, who may still be able to get help from the Clean Air Fund if they’re directly impacted by the CAZ.
If your business replaces or upgrades non-compliant vehicles with cleaner, greener ones, you’ll avoid the daily charge. We’ll also have fewer polluting vehicles in the city.
The charging CAZ is only one small part of the work we are undertaking to tackle air pollution and climate change in the city.
We are providing more Electric Vehicle (EV) charge points, using the parking permits fee to encourage low emission vehicles, and discourage multiple car ownership, and we are changing parking capacity and pricing..
We have also retrofitted over 100 local scheduled buses so they meet cleaner Euro 6 standards, and reviewed taxi licensing rules to encourage cleaner taxis and private hire vehicles in the city.
We are working across the council to improve air quality. In support of addressing the specific challenge of air pollution in Portsmouth, the draft Local Transport Plan focuses on changes we can make within the city to create cleaner, greener, and safer travel in Portsmouth.
This is supported by the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan that aims to create continuous cycling and walking routes that more people want to use for travelling around the city. You can find out more about these plans in the other sections of this website.
Portsmouth has a range of alternative travel methods that can be used instead of driving. These include walking, cycling and public transport.
Portsmouth City Council is currently running two micro mobility schemes. We are working with VOI Scooters to provide e-scooter access and we have a bike share scheme called ‘Beryl Bikes by Breeze’.
Stagecoach and First Bus provide regular services through the city and the surrounding area, whilst there are also four train stations on Portsea Island, as well as Cosham. The city also has a Park & Ride service which runs from the north of the island.
The different vehicles charged in the CAZ are set out in the Government’s Clean Air Zone Framework. This framework sets four classes on Clean Air Zones ranging from A-D, with A being the least stringent and D being most stringent (including all vehicle types).
Our modelling shows that a Class B CAZ is likely to be sufficient in reducing air pollution in the shortest possible time.
We have worked with local vehicle owners and operators to help them become compliant, with funding from the Clean Air Fund. This means that they’re not charged for driving through the Clean Air Zone, and don’t need to take different routes.
Traffic monitoring since the CAZ went live has shown no evidence to suggest rerouting is occurring.
The CAZ charges are used to pay for the operation and maintenance of the CAZ which is in place to reduce levels of harmful air pollution in Portsmouth. There is no profit being generated by the CAZ at the moment, but if this changes we will look at ways to reinvest it in improving air quality.
The Clean Air Fund has already supported HGVs and affected businesses that regularly travel in the zone to become compliant. These HGVs therefore shouldn’t need to pay the charge and can continue business as usual.
We did extensive modelling to ensure that the area covered by the Clean Air Zone has the biggest impact on improving air quality in Portsmouth. This has shown that the majority of the traffic travelling to and from the port arrives and departs from the north of the city and does not travel through the two identified air pollution hotspots in the city centre.
The port itself is governed by different government regulations on air quality, and have their own extensive plan that will see them become net carbon neutral by 2030, and zero-emission by 2050. Find out more at portsmouth-port.co.uk.
Portsmouth City Council has sought to educate drivers about the dangers of idling their vehicles through our ‘When you stop, engine stops’ campaign, following on from ‘Cough Cough Engine Off’.
Whilst there are existing regulations which allow for enforcement action against drivers who allow their engines to idle whilst the vehicle is stationary, these fixed penalties are widely considered to be practicably unenforceable and have shown little success.
