Edinburgh's Low Emission Zone (LEZ) was put in place to improve air quality by reducing the presence of pollutants harmful to human health in the city centre. This will make the city centre a more pleasant and liveable place for both visitors and locals alike.
You can and check whether any vehicles associated with your event will need to enter the LEZ by referring to the boundary map.
Comply, mitigate, adapt
We acknowledge the importance of events to the city both culturally and economically and are happy to help event organisers meet the requirements of the LEZ by following three steps
1. Comply
- If one or more National exemptions are applicable to your vehicle(s), it is your responsibility to ensure that they have been registered under the appropriate exemption category
2. Mitigate
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Could any non-compliant vehicles be replaced with alternative vehicles, perhaps borrowed or hired?
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If you do not need specialised or large vehicles, we have partnered with the which offers a wide range of cars and vans for hire
3. Adapt
- If compliance or mitigation are not possible then can the event itself be adapted to avoid breaching the LEZ regulations?
Event organisers should only consider asking for an exemption if it is not possible to solve the issue by following the 3 steps listed above.
However, to ensure that the LEZ achieves its objectives, Ministers and the Council have agreed to a strict policy that, generally, no local exemptions will be granted.
As the event organiser, it is your responsibility to ensure that any vehicles being used to set up, run, or take down the event can be driven inside the LEZ without contravening the regulations.
Failure to adhere to the emission standards may result in a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) being issued to the registered keeper of the vehicle.
We are here to help ensure that your event is a success, so if you have any questions about the LEZ, please contact lez@edinburgh.gov.uk and we’ll be happy to help.