Who has to pay, and how to pay for entering zone

It has been hailed as a momentous day for Bath - the start of a concerted effort to curb illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide in the city centre, writes Stephen Sumner.

But how does the clean air zone, the first outside of London, work in practice?

If you drive into the zone in a vehicle that doesn’t meet the necessary standards you will need to pay a charge of either £9 or £100 per day.

Automatic number plate recognition cameras have been installed on all the roads leading into the zone - but it is up to drivers to declare they have driven into the zone and hand over the money.

Although the zone is run by Bath and North East Somerset Council, payments are made on a central government website for all the clean air zones that will eventually launch across the country.

Put your details in and it will tell you how much you’ll be charged to enter Bath’s zone nothing if you drive a private car, hybrid, motorbike or vehicle that complies with the emissions requirements or is exempt; £9 for taxis, private hire vehicles and vans; or £100 for buses, coaches, trucks and lorries.

Charges in different cities will vary and some are set to apply to private cars, even though Bath’s doesn’t.

The website asks you to fill in your number plate and then it checks your details. If you think they’re wrong, it suggests you contact the DVLA.

If not, you select the clean air zone you need to pay for, an issue that will be more relevant when other zones go live - Birmingham’s will follow in June and Bristol’s is set to go online in October.

I was in a 2006 Ford Transit campervan that doesn’t meet the Euro VI standard diesels, so I have to fork out £9 for my trip into the city, a sum that would make me think twice about driving into Bath in it.

The council secured £9.4 million of funding from government to help residents and businesses, including coach companies and taxi drivers, to replace polluting vehicles with cleaner, compliant ones. More than 500 businesses have already applied.

I have a lot of good memories in my van and would be reluctant to trade it in. Fortunately it’s not a journey I often have to make but others aren’t so lucky.

Once you know how much you owe, the next step is putting in your payment details, and you’re done.

The charges apply seven days a week, 365 days a year, from midnight to midnight. That means a vehicle entering a zone at 11pm and leaving at 1am the next morning would need to pay two daily charges.

You’ll have to pay within seven days of driving into the zone or you may get fined £120 for every day you fail to pay for in time.

In Bath, motorists who disagree with a fine have the right to make representations to B&NES Council. If those representations are unsuccessful, appeals can be submitted to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Caroline Sheppard OBE, the independent body’s chief adjudicator, said: “The Bath clean air zone is the first of a new type of charging scheme outside London. Many motorists will have never seen the new signs or know if the scheme applies to their vehicle. The requirement to pay charges to a central GOV.UK payment service, not the authority, is also very unfamiliar.

“It is so important for local authorities approaching enforcement to bear in mind that motorists - both those who live locally and who are visiting - may be unaware of the CAZ, their vehicle’s emissions or how they should pay.”

The council predicts that 215,000 daily charges will be levied on vehicles in the first year.

Any revenue from the scheme, over and above the operating cost, must be invested in sustainable transport for the city.

Eligible van drivers driving regularly in the zone could receive up to £4,500 in grants in addition to interest free finance to help them replace a non-compliant vehicle with a similar compliant one. Larger grants are available for buses/ coaches (£35,000) and lorries (£20,000). More information is available at www.bathnes.gov.uk/ Cazsupport.

The council has spoken to more than 500 businesses about financial support to replace vehicles. Over 900 vehicles are in the process of being checked (for eligibility), replaced or upgraded. The council aims to upgrade around 1,500 polluting vehicles with the scheme.