Clean Air Zone - Bath

Just to make members aware that this clean air zone in Bath came into operation in March. Some routes to Bath Marina Caravan Club site pass through this zone e.g. Warminster Road. Just had through the post a fixed penalty notice for £100, reduced to £60 if I pay in 7 days or increased to£160 if over 14 days. This is because motorhomes are classified as Private HGV vehicle. If you need to go through this zone you need to get a permit for £9.00 which allows you to stay in the Zone for 1 day, bought online before you travel. Birmingham has one of these zones but the fine there is only £50.00!!!
Take Care, dont get caught out like us

Hmmm, I don’t think I went through it last week, but I’m not sure. I think TomTom routed me round it on the way there, and coming back I went via the Bristol road.

Thanks for the link, looks like I could have gone through it after all. I wondered if it might be ok as the engine is Euro6.2, but as you say, the waters are muddied by being something other than the original base vehicle. So I didn’t know. Next week I’m going to Bristol, not sure what delights await me there!

Going to the Bath marina campsite, which has now been renamed, you can get around the zone, with a detour. Although I am Euro 6 which is ok, I do not go through the city via the A36 or A4 as I know the route. It seems the roads outside the zone are now being plagued with lorries trying to avoid the zone.

Very handy for the Park & Ride as it’s just across the road if you don’t feel like walking into Bath 

One of my favourite Cities 

Terry

and to visit Bristol by bus with bus stop just outside by the petrol station, now that Baltic wharf will close

I have a late 2012 Broadway, inputting its details shows nothing to pay, mind you it does that for London as well, not sure if I should trust it though, the other thing I get is an advisory for the MOT "plate limit 0.51,emissions too low to read" so I presume the DVLA detail are not complete so they cannot penalise me.

I have a friend with a 14 plate Adria, he cannot use the zone without paying.

As I understand it some 3500 kg motorhomes/campervans are registered as commercial vehicles which among other things means they don't have to have a TPMS fitted e.g Auto-Trails.  Perhaps this group have to pay the clean air charge but other 3500 kg motorhomes/campervans that are registered as people carrying vehicles and therefore have a TPMS are treated like private cars and don't have to pay the charge?   Either way, it pays to read the signs very carefully when entering a zone.

Caraman wrote:As I understand it some 3500 kg motorhomes/campervans are registered as commercial vehicles which among other things means they don't have to have a TPMS fitted e.g Auto-Trails.  Perhaps this group have to pay the clean air charge but other 3500 kg motorhomes/campervans that are registered as people carrying vehicles and therefore have a TPMS are treated like private cars and don't have to pay the charge?   Either way, it pays to read the signs very carefully when entering a zone.

The thing is, there is no explanation on the signs. I think you might be right, but according to the website, private cars don’t pay, vans do, but a motorhome is neither of course (mine says motor caravan on the V5).

I suspect its similar to Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) CTV enforcement zones which are sprouting up all over London.  I got caught in one in my car following Google Maps in an unfamiliar area.  The video evidence appeared to show that there were signs but I didn't notice them especially as other cars were on the route but they presumably had permits.  If they didn't, Ealing Council must be making a mint.

Lots of the buses in Bath, are now sporting signs saying we are a clean bus Euro 6. So I guess they enter the city free. I would imagine Euro 6 is the criteria no matter what size vehicle. As you would meet the emission requirements.

We live in Bath and the information on the local authority (Bath & NE  Somerset) website for CAZ charging is highly confusing, if not inaccurate. Our van is taxed as PLG which, according to the table of charges, does not get charged and the issue of Euro emissions is stated as not applicable, even though we have a Euro 5 diesel.  B&NES made a concession when the scheme was set up that private cars would not be charged, regardless of emissions.

Just before the zone went live I checked on the website by entering the registration plate and it confirmed there was no charge. I checked again after it went live and got the same result. A week or so after the scheme had been running I was tipped off by a neighbour that there was some tinkering going on with the charging system and that I should check again. I did so and found that the van now incurred a £9 daily charge.

I queried it and was told by DVLA, who seem to be central in the management of the CAZ charging, that the emission levels were the deciding factor in determining whether charges were incurred. They implied that the tax category of PLG was irrelevant. To be honest that’s what I’d always expected but the local authority’s web page that lists the CAZ charging by tax category is totally consistent with the DVLA’s stance. 

The best advice is to ignore the table of charges on the website and enter your registration plate into the online checker (link below).  That removes all doubt, but if you’re driving a Euro 6 diesel you should be exempt from being charged and likewise if your engine is petrol I believe. Birmingham’s CAZ follows imminently so hopefully they’ll benefit from the learning applied down here. 

If you’re visiting Bath for the day be aware that motorhome parking provision is poor. Only the Lansdown P+R site to the north of the city has parking for high vehicles, the other P+R sites have height barriers. Getting to Lansdown P+R without entering the CAZ from any direction other than from the north is, to put it mildly, circuitous.  I wrote to the council earlier this year to make a plea for better provision and to avoid motorhomes driving across the city to get to the only P+R without height barriers, but I’ve been told there is no money available to do so this year. I suspect they’d prefer you all to incur a daily £9 charge, never mind that this does nothing improve our air quality in the city.

A better plan would be to stay a few days and use the campsite opposite the Newbridge P+R. That way you’ll avoid the CAZ more easily (but check your route to/from the site with the CAZ map on the website) and help our local economy. Do come, Bath and the surrounding area is a wonderful destination, but do your homework first!

Tim

https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/check-your-vehicle-and-pay-charge

A layby is opposite the Newbridge park and ride and sometimes you find motorhomes parking on it because of the height barriers  on the P&R. Getting to the Newbridge campsite and the CL off Penn Hill road means you cannot go though the city unless you are compliant without paying the charge. All the rat runs known to residents will take you into the zone, so don't be tempted to try them. As Kemerton-bath says, its a great city and worth a visit.