Bath sets November date for Clean Air Zone

Bath and North East Somerset Council will be asked to approve plans for a Class C Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in Bath.

A report before cabinet, which meets on January 16, recommends that the council’s full business case for the zone is submitted to the government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) for final approval.

Polluting buses, coaches and HGVs will be charged £100 per day to enter the zone and polluting taxis, private hire vehicles, minibuses, LGVs and vans will be charged £9.

However, private cars will not be charged.

In August, an independent review into Bath’s proposed Class C Clean Air Zone (CAZ) has said it is ‘uncertain’ if the measures would deliver any tangible air quality improvements, and has recommended the authority draws up a contingency plan to reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions.

The previous Conservative-controlled council had put a Class D CAZ out for consultation, which would have charged all higher emission vehicles, including cars, to drive in the city centre.

If the government signs off on the plans the council will spend the time leading up to November encouraging people to take advantage of financial packages.

It will also start installing the necessary signage, cameras and infrastructure required for switch-on.  

£5.95m has already been awarded to the council to develop its CAZ plans, and they are asking the government for a further £18.3m to implement them.

Cllr Dine Romero, leader of the council said: ‘Tackling pollution is a priority for us if we’re to improve people’s lives and address the climate emergency. A great deal of work has gone in to getting to this point, and I want to thank everyone who took part in our consultations and had their say.

‘This has been a complex process and I’m pleased that the final business case, going before government, strikes a balance for the city, its residents and businesses. This is of course the first step in our ambition to make Bath cleaner and greener for everyone.’

Photo Credit – Pixabay