Bath emission-based parking charges to be introduced

Bath and North East Somerset Council wants to tackle air pollution with higher parking fees

Emission-based parking charges are set to be introduced in a city to improve air quality.

Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council is launching a variable charging structure in all council-owned car parks on Friday.

Only motorists with highly-polluting vehicles will be affected.

Cllr Manda Rigby said: "Our overall aim is to improve public safety by improving air quality and reducing congestion."

In a recent public consultation carried out by the local authority, more than half of the 1,692 responses voiced concerns about air quality and felt the council should do more to tackle air pollution.

The new charges aim to incentivise motorists with more polluting vehicles to use alternative travel arrangements and encourage a shift to public transport.

Parking costs will be calculated in line with the bands used for DVLA vehicle exercise duty.

Drivers of non-diesel vehicles with emissions below 131g/km will not pay the extra charges,but those that are more polluting, like older diesel vehicles, will face higher tariffs.

Motorists can check their vehicle emissions online, prior to travelling.

Signage in all of the council-owned car parks will be updated to reflect the new structure, and customers are advised to check this when paying for parking.

Individual charges will be calculated automatically by machines after motorists enter their registration plate.

'Building on clean air zone'

Cllr Rigby said: "Air pollution currently causes up to 36,000 deaths in the UK each year and the consultation responses show residents are concerned about the air quality in Bath, which these changes will help improve.

"Introducing these new charges will also support our Journey to Net Zero ambitions, and build on the progress made by the Clean Air Zone."

Customers will have the choice to pay via the MiPermit app, or with cash or card, making BANES Council the only local authority in the country to continue offering a cash option.

Car park season ticket holders will also be affected by the emission-based structure, however, existing ticket holders will not see an increase for a 12-month period.

The new tariffs will be published on the council's website when they go live on Thursday.

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