Update for van and light goods vehicle owners
Vans and light goods vehicles charged from 17 July 2023
There are just two weeks before Clean Air Zone charges start for older vans and light goods vehicles.
From Monday 17 July 2023, your van or LGV will need to meet national CAZ emissions standards or you’ll be required to pay a charge of £12.50 per day to enter the zone.
To meet the emissions standards, your van or LGV needs to have a Euro 6 diesel engine or a Euro 4 petrol engine. In general this will be diesel vans registered after September 2016 and petrol vans registered after January 2006.
CAZ charges for non-compliant taxis, buses, coaches and HGVs are already in place but charges for vans and LGVs were delayed due to national vehicle supply problems making it harder for companies to source a replacement.
You can check whether your vehicle will be required to pay a CAZ charge by entering your registration number at www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones.
Information about the CAZ and how it affects vans and LGVs can be found at www.breathe-cleanair.com/van-drivers.
If you have any queries regarding the Clean Air Zone please email the helpdesk team at caz.helpdesk@newcastle.gov.uk.
Vehicle upgrade grants
Grants of up to £4,500 are available to help towards the cost of a cleaner van or LGV with lower emissions that won’t face CAZ charges.
We are working through all grant applications as quickly as we can to pass on those who are eligible to the financial providers who are administering the funding on our behalf.
If you’re in the process of applying for a grant you will be exempt from charges until you have completed the application process.
Please be aware that to be eligible for a grant, you are required to provide evidence of your business activity within the Clean Air Zone. Grants are not available for vehicles that are only travelling through the zone.
To find out more about the grants and find out whether you’re eligible visit www.breathe-cleanair.com/grants.
How to pay a CAZ charge
CAZ charges can be paid six days in advance of a journey, on the day of travel or within six days after a journey.
To find out how to pay a CAZ charge visit www.breathe-cleanair.com/how-to-pay.
Please be aware that you won’t receive a notification to tell you that owe a CAZ charge, so you’ll need to check your vehicle and whether your route goes inside zone.
The CAZ includes most of Newcastle city centre and routes over the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges. A map showing the CAZ boundary can be found at www.breathe-cleanair.com/map.
If you have a fleet of vehicles, you can check and pay for multiple vehicles by creating an account at https://multiple-vehiclecheck-pay.drive-clean-air-zone.service.gov.uk/
Bogus text message warning
We’ve been made aware of a text message being sent, telling people they’ve driven into the CAZ and asking them to click to make a payment.
This is not an official message so if you receive it please DO NOT click the link.
We would never send any notification of a CAZ payment by text.
For further advice visit People warned to beware of bogus text messages requesting CAZ payments — BREATHE Clean Air (breathe-cleanair.com)
About the Clean Air Zone
The Clean Air Zone was introduced by Newcastle and Gateshead councils in response to a legal order from government which required action to be taken to address illegal levels of pollution.
You can read more about the Clean Air Zone at www.breathe-cleanair.com.