Bath Euro VI toll proposals stoke industry ire
Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) has been criticised by hauliers and a neighbouring local authority for consulting on plans to introduce a £50 daily toll on Euro VI trucks entering Bath.
The city already has a Class C clean air zone (CAZ), which sees trucks that don’t conform to Euro VI charged £100 a day to access Bath, including the A4 and A36 through routes. Extending tolling to Euro VI trucks of over 12 tonnes GVW would penalise operators who invested in the newer, cleaner vehicles to avoid the toll, detractors say.
BANES appears to believe that extending the toll to cover all heavy diesel trucks will encourage hauliers to switch to alternatives that don’t use combustion engines.
Councillor Manda Rigby, BANES cabinet member for transport, said: “We are intending to use the legal mechanism of the Clean Air Zone Charging Order to enable us to introduce a charge of £50 for N3 Euro 6 diesel HGVs which travel into and through the city, However, we are aware that varying the Order will have an impact on owners and operators of HGVs and business and would look to work with them on a package of support.”
The move has been challenged by the Road Haulage Association.
RHA MD Richard Smith said: “Our position is that the proposal is unworkable because the HGV vehicle market simply cannot accommodate the idea at this time.
“Of course, we are keen that low and zero emission HGVs are introduced as soon as possible but we – the RHA and Bath and North East Somerset Council – must be realistic.
“The take-up of low and zero emission HGVs is slow for two reasons – a lack of vehicle availability and, critically, lack of fuelling infrastructure to power these vehicles.
“We refer the Council to latest data provided by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association which shows that, in 2020, 98.6 per cent of the UK HGV fleet was diesel, with just 0.1 per cent of the fleet being low or zero emission.
“The take-up of low and zero emission HGVs is slow for two reasons – a lack of vehicle availability and, critically, lack of fuelling infrastructure to power these vehicles.
“We are alarmed that the message will distort the vehicle market by stimulating demand for the required vehicles despite the lack of available vehicles. That will cause price inflation which is anti-small business.
“Secondly, the proposed exemptions for operators either delivering into Bath or based within a certain radius from the city are meaningless if the supply of the required vehicles is unavailable.”
Meanwhile neighbouring Wiltshire Council has also expressed concerns.
Council leader Richard Clewer said: “We’re extremely disappointed…these are the cleanest HGVs currently on the market, so this feels less of a clean air initiative and more of a quest to restrict all HGVs in the city.
“This proposal, along with the now extended temporary 18-tonne weight restriction on Cleveland Bridge, is pushing this traffic issue on to Wiltshire roads and through towns such as Bradford on Avon, Corsham and Westbury, and this is something that we are not prepared to accept.
“We recognise that there are regional issues with traffic congestion, air quality and HGV usage, but these will not be solved by simply pushing the problem from Bath into the towns of West Wiltshire.
“The long-term solution needs to be found by working with neighbouring authorities, National Highways, the Department for Transport and DEFRA, not by BANES acting unilaterally and with little regard for the people of Wiltshire.”
The BANES consultation is set to close on 7 February.
Aside from Bath, clean air zones are currently in force in Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth and, as of 30 January, Tyneside, covering most of Newcastle and parts of Gateshead, and applying to non-Euro VI trucks, buses and coaches.
It will be extended to non-Euro 6 diesel and non-Euro 4 petrol vans in July. Charges of £50 a day will be imposed on non-compliant trucks.
Sheffield’s CAZ goes live on 27 February, although local businesses may be able to claim an exemption until June. It covers the inner ring road and city centre.
Non-compliant trucks will pay £50 a day, and vans and other light commercials £10.
A CAZ awaiting launch in Greater Manchester remains mired in controversy with vigorous local opposition, and is currently under review.
Initially due for introduction last year and postponed, questions remain over which vehicles it will be applied to and whether any charge will actually be made.
