Bath clean air zone: Business drivers warned of charges

Thousands of letters are being sent to drivers who may be affected by a new clean air zone (CAZ) launching in Bath next month.

Private cars will be exempt but the most-polluting commercial vehicles such as buses and lorries will be charged.

The initiative aims to improve air quality in the city.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has contacted more than 9,000 firms to help them establish whether charges will apply to their vehicles.

From 15 March, commercial vehicles will pay a daily charge to drive in the CAZ if they do not meet required emission standards.

It will be England's first charging CAZ outside the capital.

Grants and loans have been made available for businesses to replace older, non compliant vehicles.

Liberal Democrat councillor Sarah Warren said: "We are doing everything we can to engage with businesses and we don't want any to fall through the net.

"We have funds available to support people who drive their vehicles regularly into the city centre."

High-emission commercial vans will be charged £9-a-day, while HGVs and buses may have to pay a higher charge of £100.

Private hire vehicles and taxis will also have to pay a £9-a-day charge if they exceed air pollution limits.

Local bus operator First Bus said it had invested in its fleet in order to meet the air quality standards.

Managing director James Freeman said: "Because of the number of bus movements around the city, cleaning up the bus fleet actually has a really significant impact on air quality."

It is six years since courts first ruled that air pollution levels in Britain were illegally high.

That led to many towns and cities being told by the government to clean up their air, and eventually to this.

Critics say it has taken far too long and the levels of polluting gases which the rules permit are still too harmful.

Bath's politicians do take pride in being the first place outside London to introduce a clean air zone with charges. It is estimated they will apply to more than 200,000 journeys in the first year.

At one stage they considered making private cars pay, but pulled back. Up the road in Bristol that possibility is now looking likely. Both councils know their zones will anger some drivers, but delaying any longer is not an option.