Decision to exempt cars from CAZ charges comes under fire

A clean air zone is coming to Bath but private car drivers will not be charged.

Opponents accused the Conservative administration of taking a “populist” choice to win votes after taking into account the 8,400 consultation responses from residents and businesses. Tory cabinet members said the issue was “above politics” and they would not shirk a difficult decision just because local elections were looming. Bath and North East Somerset Council had previously proposed to charge all high-emission vehicles under a Class D option, but now car drivers will not face a £9 per day fee under Class C zone. Van and taxi drivers will face the charge while lorries could pay £100 a day under the approved plans. Councillor Bob Goodman, the cabinet member for development and neighbourhoods who has led the clean air plan, told Tuesday’s special cabinet meeting: “Administration after administration has ignored this issue. “[After delaying the decision in December] We were accused of kicking the can down the road, or kicking the can into the long grass. We haven’t done that.” Cllr Goodman, inset, said there were “radical” proposals to allow residents to scrap highemission vehicles, to improve transport for the school run, and to introduce free tickets for the park and ride facilities. He said there was an opportunity B&NES Council “must not miss” to make Bath city centre “more walkable and car-free” and that the issue was “above politics”. He added: “Our residents need to know what’s happening on the other side of the chamber. Tribalism in politics is counter-productive. The public don’t care which party brings about positive change as long as it happens.” Lib Dem group leader Dine Romero - who did not get the chance to respond to his comments - said exempting cars from the charges was a missed opportunity to change residents’ behaviour, tackle congestion and help address climate change. She said the Conservatives had backed away from the Class D proposals - that would have seen cars charged £9 a day - in order to win votes. Cllr Romero read a statement from absent colleague Cllr Richard Samuel saying: “The idea of a Class C zone was specifically rejected by cabinet as it would not result in compliance across all monitoring sites. So what has changed? “The figures have been changed, and cabinet now says that cars can be excluded.” B&NES Council has been told to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels in the “shortest possible time”, and by 2021 at the latest. Modelling shows a Class C zone will improve air quality in most of the city but nitrogen dioxide will be above the legal limit in Gay Street, so the council would look to reduce traffic flow in Queen Square. Cllr Samuel claimed the result would be “traffic light hell”. He added: “Two years of work to produce data that barely achieves compliance with the air quality targets in the most polluted and densely populated area of Bath and still costs £42 million does not inspire confidence. “I am therefore calling for an independent review of the data and modelling to determine whether other measures might have proved more effective.” Residents also voiced concerns at the revised proposals. Malcolm Baldwin, from the Circus Area Residents’ Association, said: “We’re living in an epidemic as pernicious as the middle ages. It affects us worse than we think.” He said nitrogen dioxide had been linked to mental health issues in the young, and conditions from dementia to asthma, adding: “We must take brave and radical action. Doing just enough might be politically expedient but it shouldn’t be considered acceptable.” But Chris Beezley, from the Beech Avenue Residents’ Association, said a Class C zone represented a balanced solution. The cabinet unanimously backed a Class C clean air zone. B&NES Council will now put together funding bids to Government and a full business case so the zone can be in place by next December.

The public don’t care which party brings about positive change as long as it happens.