The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 9: Autumn 2018 | Page 5

BUSINESS NEWS
WHAT STEPS WILL BE TAKEN IN BATH TO
REDUCE AIR POLLUTION?
It may have come to the attention of businesses in Bath
that issues around traffic, parking and pollution are
moving to the top of the political agenda.
Adam Reynolds, chairman of Cycle Bath
We now know that by 2020
Bath will become a Clean
Air Charging Zone with final
decisions about what that will
mean in practice being made in
December this year. Therefore
the time for the business
community to have its say is
now.
Bath was named last year
as one of 28 cities or towns in
the UK with too high levels of
nitrogen dioxide or ‘NO 2 hot
spots’ and the Government
has challenged relevant local
authorities to come up with
air quality improvement plans
by 2021 at the latest. Nitrogen
oxide has been linked to heart
and lung problems to name a
few.
The city sees around 28,000
people commute by car every
day and around 8,700 are
residents. BANES has set itself
the task of making Bath a
functioning CAZ to bring down
pollution in two years’ time.
B&NES has outlined three
options which are now open to
consultation:
Option 1 – Creating A
Class B Clean Air Zone
Charges will apply to higher-
emission buses, coaches, private
hires, taxis and heavy goods
vehicles (HGVs) driving in the zone.
Option 2 – Class C
Clean Air Zone
Charges will apply to higher-
emission vehicles as outlined for
class B, plus higher-emission
light goods vans (LGVs) when
driving in the zone.
Option 3 – Class D
Clean Air Zone
Charges will apply to higher
emission vehicles as outlined
for class B and C, plus higher-
emission cars when driving in
the zone.
One man who has already
get into the city, if you chose to
come into the city in a polluting
vehicle then you will have pay a
levy for that.”
Earlier this year Adam
submitted a report to B&NES
proposing a workplace parking
tax as well as several other
proposals. He’s since been told
there is no money to take it
forward at this time.
However other British cities
are looking seriously at such
schemes. Nottingham City
Council has already introduced
a Workplace Parking Levy where
employers with 11 parking
France has already adopted
the Crit Air scheme in several
cities – including Paris - with
Germany following behind. It’s
likely more European countries
will follow. Cars have to use
an appropriate eco sticker –
currently costing a few Euros
- and there are stringent fines
for those which don’t carry the Neighbourhood Schemes
which are well-known in some
European cities and some areas
of London. These schemes are
aimed to be more pedestrian
and cycle friendly and reduce
the incidents of people using
residential streets as rat runs to
elsewhere.
appropriate ‘vignette’.
Then drivers are required to
make themselves aware of days
when their vehicles are ‘banned’
from entering certain zones on
days of high pollution.
Adam and others are also
advocates of Low Traffic To have your say visit:
“About 55 per cent of air pollution is
caused by cars”
been sharing his views is Adam
Reynolds, chairman of Cycle Bath,
who wants to see a more holistic
approach to solving parking issues,
congestion and pollution in the city.
“About 55 per cent of air
pollution is caused by cars,” he
said. “So just sticking to Option
1 is not going to work to bring
pollution down sufficiently. Also
many people are thinking this is
a ‘congestion’ charge. It’s not.
This is about making a choice on
what type of vehicle you use to
spaces or more – for employees
or associates - have to pay a tax
with the city council boundary to
fund public transport. The latest
tax for 2018 to 2019 is £402 per
space. A similar scheme is being
considered in Oxford.
These suggestions are in line
with changes which are already
happening in cities across
Europe – where on days when
pollution is particularly high,
many vehicles are simply banned
from entering.
www.bathnes.gov.uk/bath-
breathes-2021 or feedback on
social media using the hashtag
#BathBreathes2021
F I R S T C L A SS
H O S P I TA L I T Y
EX P E RI E N CE S
W I TH AWA R D
WINNING FOOD
bath-racecourse.co.uk
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018
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