Bath Voice News: information and consultation from the council on emission charges in the city’s car parks

From Bath and North East Somerset Council:

Emission-based car parking charges in Bath car parks

We are consulting on the introduction of vehicle emission-based parking charges in council-owned car parks in Bath.

Emission-based parking means that people with higher polluting vehicles will be asked to pay slightly more to encourage a shift to cleaner, more sustainable travel in the city. The changes would apply to both season ticket holders and paying customers.

The aim is to reduce the number of higher-polluting vehicles driving into Bath where air pollution is a concern, especially for people with chronic heart and lung conditions.

The proposals only impact car parks in Bath due to the higher levels of pollution found in the city.

Summary of the proposal

We are proposing a new charging structure for council-owned car parks in Bath which is based on vehicle emissions. A similar, emissions-based charging structure is already in place for residents’ parking permits.

Not all drivers using our car parks in Bath would be affected by the increase, only those with more polluting vehicles.

  • Charges would be based on a vehicle’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, in line with the DVLA Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) classifications. Where no VED emissions rating is available, including all vehicles registered before 2001, the charge would be based on engine capacity.
  • Drivers of electric vehicles and those with non-diesel-fuelled internal combustion engines that emit 130g/km or less of CO2 would not see any increase in their parking charges.
  • Hours of operation would not be affected.
  • The changes would apply to both paying customers and season ticket holders.
  • Hotel parking permit charges (on-street or off-street car parking) would not be affected by the proposed rate changes to car park charges because they provide both on street and car park parking depending on the premises location.

Aims of the proposal

These proposals aim to further improve pedestrian safety through improved air quality in Bath by encouraging owners of higher polluting vehicles to seek cleaner, more sustainable travel options rather than pay higher charges to park in the city centre.

It is one of a number of our policies and proposals that aim to encourage more people to walk, cycle or use public transport (including the city’s park and ride service where charges will not be affected) – or swap to cleaner vehicles – to help reduce air pollution, improve public safety and tackle the climate emergency.The effects of air pollution on health

Proposals for paying customers

We would like your feedback on proposals for vehicle emission-based parking charges for customers paying to park in Bath’s council-owned car parks.

we will continue to review and will update following this consultation.

Why we are consulting

We would like to know if you are broadly supportive of the proposals or if you broadly object to them. We are inviting comments from the public to determine if we should take the proposals forward as they are proposed, or whether to amend or reject them.

What we are consulting on

We are asking you to respond to a variation to the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO). The TRO is to implement new vehicle emission-based parking charges for paying customers and season ticket holders parking in council-owned Bath car parks.

View a summary of the TRO

View the TRO report

We are also asking for some optional feedback on designs for enforcement signs. We have three proposed designs, and we are looking for comments on which of the designs are easiest for people to understand.

Who we are consulting

Anyone is welcome to respond to this consultation. We want to hear your views.

Have your say

The consultation is open from Thursday 13 July 2023 until 5pm on Thursday 3 August 2023 and you can have your say using our online form. Take the survey:

https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/form/car-park-charges-tro-consult

If you need to get in touch

If you have a question about this consultation and would like clarification, or you require any documents in another format, you can email our team at parking_consultation@bathnes.gov.uk

What happens next

We will take into account the support and objections to this TRO before making the final decision about whether to implement it as council policy.