Clean Air Zone, class C
Tyneside Clean Air Zone, Newcastle and Gateshead
Adds vans and minibuses to the class B list. Private cars are still outside it.
Local detail
What is specific to Newcastle and Gateshead
The zone opened on 30 January 2023 for taxis, buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles, with vans added in July 2023. It is the only English zone where the bridges are the story: the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges are all inside it, so a Gateshead driver crossing into Newcastle is charged before reaching the city centre. Taxis and vans pay £12.50, the same figure as the London ULEZ and on the same Euro 6 diesel standard, so a van that clears the ULEZ will normally clear this zone too.
5 vehicle types
What each vehicle pays
| Vehicle | Daily charge | Standard that avoids it |
|---|---|---|
| Privately owned car | Not charged | No standard is published for this row |
| Motorcycle | Not charged | No standard is published for this row |
| Taxi or private hire vehicle | £12.50 | Euro 4 (petrol) or Euro 6 (diesel) |
| Van or light goods vehicle | £12.50 | Euro 4 (petrol) or Euro 6 (diesel) |
| Bus, coach or heavy goods vehicle | £50 | Euro VI |
One daily charge covers however many times you enter and leave in the same day. It does not cover any other scheme that overlaps the same streets.
What the vehicle has to meet
Emissions standards
- Taxis, private hire vehicles, vans and light goods vehicles: Euro 4 for petrol, Euro 6 for diesel.
- Buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles: Euro VI.
- Privately owned cars and motorbikes are not charged.
The Euro standard is recorded on the vehicle's type approval rather than worked out from its age, so a car built in the year a standard came in can fall either side of it. Check the registration date on the V5C against the operator's own vehicle checker before relying on either.
Where and when
Boundary and hours
- Boundary
- Most of Newcastle city centre, plus the Tyne Bridge, the Swing Bridge, the High Level Bridge and the Redheugh Bridge, so the crossings into Gateshead are inside the zone.
- Hours of operation
- 24 hours a day, every day.
- Enforcement since
- 30 January 2023
4 exemptions and discounts
Who does not pay
- Privately owned cars and motorbikes.
- Fully electric and hydrogen vehicles.
- Taxi and private hire drivers licensed by Newcastle, Gateshead or North Tyneside can buy seven consecutive days for £50 rather than paying £12.50 a day.
- The councils' grant scheme for replacing older vehicles closed to applications on 30 January 2026.
Most of these have to be applied for, and several are time limited. An exemption you have not registered is not an exemption the cameras know about.
If you do not pay
Penalty charge
£120, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days of receiving the notice. Unpaid beyond 28 days it increases by half and becomes recoverable as a civil debt.
Questions about this zone
Does a car pay in the Tyneside Clean Air Zone?
No. A private car is never charged in this zone, however old it is, unless it is licensed as a taxi or private hire vehicle. Other vehicle types are charged from £12.50 a day, so check the charge table for the exact type.
When does the zone operate?
24 hours a day, every day. Enforcement started on 30 January 2023, and those hours have applied since, unless the operator has published a change.
Where does the zone start and end?
Most of Newcastle city centre, plus the Tyne Bridge, the Swing Bridge, the High Level Bridge and the Redheugh Bridge, so the crossings into Gateshead are inside the zone. The cameras belong to the operator, so treat that description as the route to plan around rather than a guess at where enforcement begins.
What is the penalty if I do not pay?
£120, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days of receiving the notice. Unpaid beyond 28 days it increases by half and becomes recoverable as a civil debt.
Who is exempt?
4 exemptions and discounts are published for this zone, including: Privately owned cars and motorbikes; Fully electric and hydrogen vehicles; Taxi and private hire drivers licensed by Newcastle, Gateshead or North Tyneside can buy seven consecutive days for £50 rather than paying £12.50 a day. Most have to be applied for in advance, so read the full list before you travel.