Trevor Carbin

Wiltshire Councillor for Atworth, Holt and Staverton. Learn more

Bath air quality plan could send more traffic our way

by trevorcarbin on 5 August, 2018

Bath and NE Somerset council have been told by the government to do something about air pollution in the city, so they’re intending to implement a Clean Air Charging Zone (CAZ).

In 2012 a scheme to close Cleveland Bridge to lorries was rejected by the government after an appeal by Wiltshire Council, and in 2014 Bath looked at the feasibility of a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in the city.

The latest proposal is likely to go ahead because this time the government is supporting and funding the project.

The CAZ could cover just vehicles such as lorries and buses, or it could be extended to include higher-emission cars – essentially pre-2006 petrol and pre-2015 diesel cars.

The danger is that chargeable through traffic, especially lorries, will divert onto roads through Wiltshire, with our area in the front line.

BaNES are due to publish their detailed proposals by December, with implementation by 2021 at the latest.

The EU limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is 40 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3).  NO2 is seen as the main pollutant from traffic, and many parts of Bath regularly exceed that level.

A measurement carried out on the B3105 in Staverton last year by the Lib Dems in association with Friends of the Earth gave a level of 32.6µg/m3 of NO2.  This was though just a short term measurement over a few weeks in the springtime and an annual recording might give a different result.

“Bath undoubtedly has a pollution problem,” said local councillor Trevor Carbin, “But as we established the last time they tried it’s not acceptable for one local authority to solve its problems at a neighbouring area’s expense.”

There are more details on BaNES website at http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/bath-breathes-2021 .

Meanwhile Wiltshire Council has finally accepted that something needs to be done about traffic through Staverton and has proposed a ‘Staverton Link Road’ as a future scheme.  Watch this space for news on how that progresses!

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