Manchester Clean Air Zone
There are no current plans for a clean air zone in Manchester
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High levels of pollution are a problem in Greater Manchester, like in many UK cities, but we shouldn’t expect a Manchester Clean Air Zone anytime soon.
There had been previous plans to get a zone set up, but they’ve been reconsidered, so it’s on hold at the moment.
If you didn’t know, a clean air zone (CAZ) is an area (usually within a city) that aims to reduce pollution by limiting the most polluting vehicles from driving in. They’re currently operating in cities such as Birmingham and Bristol.
Manchester is developing a Clean Air Plan to lower pollution levels, but there are currently no plans for a specific Manchester Clean Air Zone.
The city is on a 2026 deadline to reduce emissions to meet the legal limit of nitrogen dioxide in the air, and the proposed Clean Air Plan hopes to do that without adding a CAZ.
Get the details in our guide below.
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Does Manchester have a clean air zone?
No, Manchester doesn’t have a clean air zone.
We mentioned above that Manchester needs to improve pollution levels in the city sharpish. They’ve got until 2026 to reduce emissions to a legal level – but the quicker the better.
There was a proposal for a Manchester Clean Air Zone in 2022, but this has been paused and left under review. It’s thought that an ‘investment-led approach’ will be a speedier process for reducing pollution (and cheaper overall).
It’ll also prevent hardships for residents of Greater Manchester who might’ve driven in the CAZ often and would need to pay fees or switch their car to something with lower emissions.
The Clean Air Plan focuses instead on traffic measures and cleaner taxi and bus measures.
Current proposals from Greater Manchester don’t include plans for a CAZ, but it’s ultimately up to the government to approve.
Manchester Clean Air Zone signs
Manchester may have jumped the gun by adding ‘Clean Air Zone’ signs across the city.
You’ll find that these say ‘under review’ - that’s because the original plan for the CAZ didn’t go ahead. Greater Manchester is waiting for the government to approve the removal of these signs.
If you see one of these ‘under review signs’ then don’t stress! It’s not an active clean air zone (though we always recommend double checking this before starting out on your route).
Current Clean Air Plan
The current Clean Air Plan is taking an investment-led approach to keep disruption to Greater Manchester residents to a minimum.
Measures to tackle pollution in the Clean Air Plan include:
£51.1 million investment in zero-emission electric buses, charging infrastructure, and upgrades to make 77 current buses ‘clean air compliant’
£5 million investment in local measures to manage traffic flow
Clean vehicle grants for eligible taxis and private hire vehicle owners licensed in Greater Manchester
You can read the full plan on the Clean Air Greater Manchester website.
Clean Taxi Fund
Greater Manchester is proposing a £30.5 million Clean Taxi Fund to help get emissions to legal levels.
This fund will support eligible hackney carriage drivers and authority-licensed private hire vehicle owners to upgrade to cleaner vehicles by 31 December 2025.
These plans were approved by Greater Manchester’s Air Quality Administration Committee in October 2024.
Will Manchester ever have a clean air zone?
Never say never. It was in the original plan for there to be a Manchester Clean Air Zone, so there’s always a chance one might still be introduced in the future.
The Government will have final say on what the Clean Air Plan includes, so they may still decide a CAZ is the best route. Greater Manchester is waiting for this feedback before the next steps can begin.
Other cities with Clean Air Zone
Clean Air Zones are becoming more common across the UK. You can find them in:
Aberdeen
Bath
Birmingham
Bradford
Bristol
Newcastle
Portsmouth
Sheffield
There are other emission-reducing measures in UK cities – not just clean air zones. There are also Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London. Both of these limit high polluting vehicles, and some require a daily fee to travel through.
Read our full UK Low Emissions Zone guide to get the details.
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