A Clean Air Zone Would Not Be Appropriate For Guildford, Says Report

Published on: 17 Jun, 2026
Updated on: 18 Jun, 2026

Park Street, Guildford’s pollution hot spot.

By James Moules

local democracy reporting service

A clean air zone for Guildford has been deemed “not proportionate to local need” given the town’s air quality issue is “primarily concentrated” on one particular street.

Guildford Borough Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered a report into measures to bring down harmful air pollution levels in the town.

Consultant Dr Margarethe Theseira, who spoke to councillors, had been commissioned to carry out a study into the feasibility of introducing a clean air zone (CAZ) in Guildford.

However, the report suggested alternative measures such as targeted measures in pollution hotspots and incentives for active travel instead of a blanket clean air zone, which it warned could incur significant costs. The matter will go before the council Executive for a final decision in due course.

Dr Theseira told councillors that the reason a clean air zone or low emission zone was inappropriate was that high pollution levels were very much concentrated on one site, at Park Street. So a broader scheme was disproportionate in scale and cost.

“There are alternative measures you can do to improve air quality at Park Street,” she said.

Dr Theseira added that implementing a CAZ would not be cheap, and that the cost of operating equivalent schemes could run into millions of pounds per year.

“If you compare yourselves to Bath, it was around £10 million for Bath to set up its clean air zone – and it cost £2 million in operational costs per year,” she said.

The report noted that Park Street in the town centre saw especially high pollution levels as the vehicles are forced to travel uphill before being held at traffic lights.

“That’s what’s causing the problem,” Dr Theseira said. “It isn’t just the traffic lights, it’s the slope that approaches that junction that causes more emissions than you may expect.”

Options for targeted interventions to improve air quality in this area could include traffic management, or engineering solutions such as assisted ventilation in relevant buildings, according to the report.

Clean air zones and low emissions zones have become more common in cities and towns across the country over the past half decade.

Some schemes, such as London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, make high-polluting vehicles pay a fee to drive within their boundaries, while others such as that in Derby opt for traffic control measures instead of charges.

Research conducted for the study found that only 68 per cent of cars registered in Guildford meet London ULEZ standards – which drops to 57 per cent among vans.

But the report ultimately deemed that a clean air zone would not be an “appropriate response” given the likely high operating costs and uncertain revenue it would entail.

It adds: “This is further exacerbated by the level of uncertainty over future updates of vehicles given changes in direction from recent government policy, and global geo-political concerns potentially impacting on fuel price and car production.”

Instead, alternative measures such as incentives for active travel, a review of council fleet emission standards and further analysis of park and ride schemes were floated.

Committee members considered the recommendations, which are expected to be presented to the council executive for a final decision in due course.

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