Communities outside Bath raise concerns about Clean Air Zone
It's due to come into force on Monday
Communities outside Bath are concerned their pollution levels could go up when the city's clean air zone is introduced on Monday (15/03).
People in Bradford on Avon and Westbury worry drivers will reroute through their towns to avoid paying charges.
Private cars will be exempt, but many trucks, lorries, and HGVs will have to pay up to £100 a day to enter the zone.
Wiltshire Council leader Philip Whitehead has written to his Bath and North East Somerset Council counterpart, Dine Romero, reiterating calls for monitoring on the west of his county.
Councillor Whitehead said: “We support the concept of clean air zones and of course recognise Bath and North East Somerset Council’s efforts to improve air quality in Bath, but this must not come at a cost to the air quality in our West Wiltshire towns, particularly Westbury and Bradford on Avon.”
As well as the potential fees for lorries, from March 15 high emission vans, private hire vehicles and taxis will be charged £9 a day.
Cllr Whitehead said: “The analysis undertaken by B&NES Council was heavily reliant on a survey of drivers about how they thought their behaviour would change.
"The conclusion was that the impact of Bath clean air zone on communities east of Bath would be neutral, but we have some real concerns about this methodology and its findings.”
Cllr Whitehead claims B&NES Council had rejected a request to extend its monitoring area to better understand the impact of HGV diversions and ensure the zone “does not just push the problem elsewhere and compound the air quality problem” in towns like Bradford on Avon and Westbury.
He said the lack of a satisfactory response from B&NES Council was unacceptable, adding: “We need to have this monitoring in place now, and if this monitoring shows that there is an adverse impact on Wiltshire’s roads, we also need B&NES Council’s assistance in addressing this.”
In response, Cllr Romero has insisted B&NES Council's modelling of the air quality impact is robust and independently verified.
She said her authority had requested government funding to monitor air quality in West Wiltshire but was turned down, but added: “We continue to liaise with DEFRA and have written to the minister, lobbying on behalf of our neighbour.”