Get set for city’s clean air zone
Bath’s transport boss, Cllr Joanna Wright, has responded to worries prompted by the city council’s flagship policy of ‘low traffic neighbourhoods’. Stephen Sumner reports.
From Monday, March 15, highemission vans, private hire vehicles and taxis will be charged £9 a day to enter the city centre’s clean air zone - the first outside London.
Drivers of non-compliant buses, coaches and HGVS will face a £100 daily charge.
Bath and North East Somerset Council believes it can bring nitrogen dioxide levels within the legal limit by the end of the year without charging private cars.
Why is the zone necessary?
After being sued by environmental lawyers Clientearth, in 2017 the government directed B&NES Council and other authorities in polluted cities across the country to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels in the shortest possible time, and by the end of 2021 at the latest.
The government recognises air pollution as the largest environmental risk to public health.
Long-term exposure causes an increased risk of heart disease, respiratory disease and lung cancer and reduces life expectancy.
In the short term, exposure to air pollution can exacerbate conditions like asthma and increase hospital admissions.
Between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths a year can be attributed to nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter pollution in England.
Nitrogen dioxide levels are above the legal limit on several roads in Bath, generally where congestion is worst, including London Road and Dorchester Street.
The council said: “Our technical work has shown that a charging zone for traffic is the only measure that can achieve compliance [with legal nitrogen dioxide levels] in the required timeframe - effectively deterring the majority of higher emission vehicles from driving in the inner city area by charging them to drive into the zone.”
Bath’s clean air zone will be the first outside of London when it launches after delays and policy changes in other areas.
Clientearth has praised B&NES for prioritising people’s health, saying: “Cleaning up harmful air pollution should be a top priority for authorities across the country national and local government need to work together to protect people’s health with due urgency.”
What sort of zone is being introduced?
In technical terms, Bath is bringing in a class C zone. That means noncompliant buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, lorries, vans and minibuses will all be charged but private cars will not be.
Bristol’s small class D zone will charge private cars as well as other vehicles when it starts in October.
Vehicles that will have to pay the charges are:
■ Pre-euro 6 diesel vehicles, including hybrids (older than about 2015);
■ Pre-euro 4 petrol vehicles, including hybrids (older than about 2006).
Newer vehicles and fully electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will not be charged.
Drivers can go to www.gov.uk/ guidance/driving-in-a-clean-airzone to see if their vehicle will be charged.
Cllr Joanna Wright, joint cabinet member for transport, said in January: “We can all do something to improve air quality in the city.
“While charges in the zone only apply to commercial and larger vehicles, we’re appealing to everyone to change their travel habits, particularly when Covid restrictions hopefully lift later in the year as people are vaccinated and the pressure on the NHS reduces.
“That could be using the park and ride, taking the bus, or walking or cycling more - particularly on the school run and for shorter trips across the city.”
What area does it cover?
The zone encompasses Royal Victoria Park and as far east as King Edward’s School in North Road.
The most northerly point is just south of St Stephen’s Church in Lansdown Road, and it goes as far south as Oldfield Road.
The size and shape changed in response to a consultation that attracted a record 8,400 responses.
How is the zone being funded? B&NES Council secured a total funding package of £23.5 million from central government to implement the scheme and provide supporting measures, such as the financial assistance scheme.
Will it cut congestion in Bath?
In short, no. The powers available to the council are tightly controlled by the government and aimed solely at cutting nitrogen dioxide levels, in what Cllr Sarah Warren called a “real missed opportunity”.
The cabinet member for the climate emergency said in September 2019: “They [government] could have given councils greater powers and funding to bring in improved and affordable, comprehensive public transport and cycle networks - the sort of measures you see in many continental cities.
“This is a huge source of frustration to me, as our aspiration as an administration is to see Bath become an exemplar of sustainable transport in a heritage setting.
“We certainly don’t want our children choking on vehicle exhaust fumes.
“However, we would also prefer streets that were not choked with traffic, and this scheme alone has no ability to deliver that.”
The council has declared a climate emergency, aiming to be zero-carbon by 2030, and Cllr Warren said the clean air zone is “just the start of our aspirations”.
When will I have to pay?
Drivers of non-compliant vehicles will need to pay within seven days of driving into the zone using the government’s Drive in a Clean Air Zone service.
Payment can be made up to six days in advance, on the day the vehicle is driven in the zone, or in the six days after. No reminders are sent. The charges will apply from midnight to midnight seven days a week, 365 days a year. That means if a journey within the zone starts at 11pm and finishes at 1am, you will need to pay two daily charges.
The council has set up a network of automatic number plate recognition cameras to monitor vehicles moving around in the clean air zone. Charges do not apply if a vehicle is parked in the zone but does not move.
It’s up to the driver or business account user to pay the daily charge within the payment window using a debit or credit card or saved bank details. Failing to pay within that time frame could lead to a penalty charge of £120 - plus the entry fee. The fine will be halved to £60 if paid within 14 days.
Discounts on the charges are available for larger motorhomes and horse transporters that are classed as private HGVS.
Exemptions apply for certain vehicles including tractors, gritters, showman’s vehicles, recovery vehicles, “special” vehicles, emergency services, and while an upgraded vehicle is on order. Some exemptions are only for a limited period.
Go to https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/get-exemption-or-discountbaths-clean-air-zone for more information.
What will happen to the money from the charges?
According to the business case submitted last January, the income from the zone is forecast to peak at £5.4 million in the first year and drop off to £83,000 in 2030 as vehicles are upgraded and emissions drop.
The money will cover the zone’s operating costs, and any surplus spent on improvements to walking and cycling infrastructure and on public transport, with schemes like 24-hour security at the new park and ride sites to encourage overnight use.
The council will also promote electric cargo bike and car club schemes.
How will the zone affect Bath?
Over its 10-year lifespan the economic impact of the zone is expected to be £56.5m.
The figure is made up of £14m to replace vehicles, £8.8m in behaviour changes as people cancel their trip to avoid the zone, £22m in setup costs and £12m to keep it running. A previous report said there was “no feasible alternative” to reduce dangerous pollution levels in the city.
Of the coach firms that responded to the consultation, more than 11 per cent said they would cancel journeys to Bath.
That might please some who hate the endless flow of tourists but shops and businesses reliant on visitors could suffer.
A similar percentage of van drivers said they would avoid the clean air zone, as did nearly one in 20 lorry drivers.
What support is available?
The council launched a scheme to support people regularly affected by charges, offering grants and interest-free finance to help them upgrade to compliant vehicles.
The funding can be used to replace non-compliant vehicles with new or second-hand vehicles that meet Bath’s emissions standards, or to retrofit or re-power an existing vehicle.
Grants of up to £4,500 are available for taxis, private hire vehicles and vans.
There is up to £20,000 available for HGVS and up to £35,000 for buses and coaches.
The finance cannot be applied retrospectively, so drivers should check with the council before upgrading.
For more information go to https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/getfinancial-support-adapt-orreplace-your-vehicle. Transport boss answers questions on low traffic neighbourhoods
Over the next year Bath and North East Somerset Council will start rolling out measures aimed at ending rat running in residential areas and making it easier to walk and cycle.
Some residents say the proposals have left them angry and anxious, fearing communities will be pitted against one another, while political opponents say the changes will make parts of Bath “unliveable”.
Cllr Wright, inset, said everyone needs to act differently to address the climate emergency but anyone who needs their car will still be able to use it.
In an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the joint cabinet member for transport addressed the following issues raised by residents.
Why do you need to change anything?
“The Earth is in a catastrophic situation,” said Cllr Wright. “All we hear is how you shouldn’t be doing X, Y and Z to the motorist. We need to think differently about how we’re moving around.
“We’re in a climate emergency. The people that suffer the most are the poor. The wealthiest drive the fastest, drive the furthest, have more road mileage than anyone else.
“The loudest people make the most noise in this city. They seem to endlessly get what they want. That isn’t helping the people having the hardest time.”
She added: “It’s not about a road traffic scheme, it’s about social justice, the climate emergency and public health.
“If you’re telling me where we are now is a good place to be, that it’s OK for the amount of traffic to be moving around in the way it is, creating issues around air pollution, danger, if that’s what you want in your community, I’m surprised - there are very few residents I meet who aren’t angry about that.
“We have to do something. What we’ve done for 40 years is no longer working.”
What is a low traffic neighbourhood?
According to a report by the council’s consultants, Jacobs, low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNS) are “typically considered in predominantly residential areas, where several streets are grouped and organised in a way to discourage throughvehicle traffic or “rat-running”.
“Importantly, residents remain able to drive on their streets, park on their streets and receive deliveries although it is noted that strategies should be in place to help reduce car ownership and usage by residents within any low traffic neighbourhood area.”
LTNS use measures like speed restrictions, partial or full road closures, modal filters and reallocating road space to improve walking and cycling infrastructure.
Conservatives on the council have said they are supportive in principle but the Liberal Democrat administration had “not sufficiently demonstrated that this loss of freedom, which contributes to a liveable city, is a price worth paying”. Others have branded the Lib Dems “anti-car”.
How would you respond to the charges levelled by the Conservatives?
“It’s not anti-car,” said Cllr Wright.
“You will still be able to move around the city as you need to, but your journey will be more circuitous. We all have to reduce our vehicle movement by 50 per cent by 2030. We need more active travel methods in place to make that seismic leap.
“The reason people say they don’t walk or cycle is because it’s too challenging, it’s too difficult, it’s not very nice, there’s no infrastructure. We’re in a real bind. We’ve got to think differently. This [LTNS] is an approach we think takes the community with us, and at the same time delivers for everyone. If you still want to use your car, you can.
“We all have to act differently. People will say ‘you’re active, you’re fit but some people aren’t and there are hills.’ I’m not doubting that. We’re going to have to look for some infrastructure to help with that. There isn’t a magic wand. It’s going to take time.
“It’s not like you’re going to wake up tomorrow and the whole of Bath is going to be impossible to get across or around - it’s going to be a gradual journey.
“There will be positives for other people and your own physical and mental health.”
Won’t shutting side streets force more traffic onto main roads?
Cllr Wright said traffic had already been displaced by the advent of satnavs that send drivers down the most direct route, often resulting in rat-running in residential areas.
She said the council would test changes through experimental traffic orders in place for 12 to 18 months to give time for behaviours to change.
Chris Major, the assistant director for highways and transport, previously told a webinar the proposals would displace traffic onto trunk roads and there was “no easy answer” for how the council will support people who live on them.
But he added: “We’re going to get more traffic if we do nothing.
“We’re trying to put forward opportunities for people to change the way they travel and reduce the overall numbers of vehicles, which should reduce the impact on distributor roads.”
How much money will be available for the changes I want to make in my area? Will I be able to get a pedestrian crossing or just a planter to slow down traffic? What happens if a neighbouring LTN creates issues in my area?
Residents’ associations drawing up submissions for LTNS have reported feeling like they are being “pitted against each other”, and said the rollout had caused anger and anxiety.
Cllr Wright said that is not what the council wants from communities: “We’re trying to get people to tell us their problems, not come up with their solutions. It’s a different question.
“We aren’t islands - we’re a whole. If you do something over there, of course it’s going to affect things over here.”
After ward councillors raise the issues, the work of designing schemes and considering how they interact will be done by council officers.
The authority has budgeted up to £2.2 million for its broader liveable neighbourhoods programme in 2021/22 and Cllr Wright said LTNS will be the “basic way of working for the highways department for the foreseeable future”.
As well as the council’s funding, the West of England Combined Authority has £10 million available for active travel, and LTNS are also being pushed by central government.
“I’m not waving a Liberal Democrat flag here,” added Cllr Wright. “This is a central government flag.
“We’d like to do all of the schemes but there’s only so much money, and there isn’t a magic wand. We aren’t going to just make it better everywhere in the short term.
“There’s going to have to be a process. The funding is as much about engagement as it is about putting in the infrastructure - the infrastructure is the cheapest part.”
How many LTN requests have been submitted?
Some “really eager beavers” who have been working on proposals “for ages” have already submitted their requests.
Applications have come in from North East Somerset as well as Bath, and not just from Lib Dems.
Cllr Wright is yet to submit a bid as she has been getting the policy in place. She has asked residents in her ward of Lambridge what issues they want to be addressed.
Which areas will go first?
How the various schemes are prioritised is still being decided. The process will consider factors such as work going on in the city and indices of deprivation.
“It’s going to be a challenge, I can’t deny that,” said Cllr Wright. “I’m going to have to be able to define why we take something forward first and not something else.
“We also recognise it’s not going to be easy to take anything forward straight away.”
When will the first LTNS be in place?
“It’s going to take months to get to the delivery stage,” said Cllr Wright.
“I would hope we’ll see something by the end of next March.”
She said issues elsewhere were caused by the DFT forcing councils to spend money quickly, but she thinks B&NES Council has taken the right approach.
“It takes ages to do anything on the highways. That makes people frustrated. There’s so much legality.
“There have been moments where I’ve been frustrated at how long it’s taken.”
But Cllr Wright said the authority had taken the right approach: “The pandemic has shown that our route to our destination will be bumpy, but hopefully won’t be as bumpy as other areas. Our foundation stones are in place.”