More vehicles could soon be charged to travel through Bath CAZ

Amendments to the city’s Clean Air Zone Charging Order are now being consulted on, which would mean more drivers will be charged to travel in the area.

People have until Tuesday 7th February 2023 to submit their responses to proposals to enforce a new £50 charge for Class N3 Euro VI diesel HGVs. The fee is half the existing amount for non-compliant Class N3 Euro V diesel HGVs and below.

Authorities say the move is ‘in recognition of the need to strike a balance between encouraging further improvements in the HGV fleet and operators sending older, higher polluting HGVs into the city’. Charges will apply 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, although HGV operators based within designated postal codes would be exempt from charges for two years.

According to official reports, there have already been significant improvements made to HGV fleets by operators and owners who regularly plot routes to and through the CAZ, reducing the number of vehicles that would become eligible to pay if the new rules come into effect. The new charging mechanism would also be supported by a set of time-limited local exemptions, which will be judged based on consultation feedback. 

‘We want to hear people’s views on this proposal to charge Class N3 Euro 6 diesel Heavy Goods Vehicles by varying the Clean Air Zone’s Charging Order. The Clean Air Zone, which we introduced in March 2021, is part of a package of measures to improve Bath’s air quality and it is making a difference,’ said Councillor Manda Rigby, Cabinet member for Transport at Bath & North East Somerset Council. 

‘We are now widening the scope of improvements across the city of Bath to include work on protecting our road infrastructure, historic bridges and conserving our World Heritage Site setting by reducing the levels of vehicular congestion and traffic,’ she continued. ‘We are intending to use the legal mechanism of the Clean Air Zone Charging Order to enable us to introduce a charge of £50 for N3 Euro 6 diesel HGVs which travel into and through the city. However, we are aware that varying the Order will have an impact on owners and operators of HGVs and business and would look to work with them on a package of support.’

In recent weeks, Bristol’s Clean Air Zone also came online. Read about some of the pre-launch complications here. 

Image: Lāsma Artmane