Issue - meetings

To achieve compliance with Ministerial Directions, on 15 March 2021 a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was launched in Bath, the first charging CAZ outside of London.

Whilst many of the monitoring measures, including air quality, are ordinarily reported on an annual basis, this report is the second in a series which provides an indicative view of the performance of the Clean Air Zone in Bath from July-September 2021.

On a motion from Councillor Sarah Warren, seconded by Councillor Tom Davies, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Cabinet agreed to:

1.1  Note the performance report and the ongoing progress which has been made towards improving air quality and associated public health outcomes, together with the ongoing increasing proportion of compliant vehicles entering the CAZ and achieving success with the Ministerial Direction.

1.2  Note the continued performance of the scheme against the scheme’s financial model, ensuring it covers its costs of operation and avoids placing an additional burden on the Council and local taxpayers.

1.3  Note that after assessing over 2,500 applicants who applied to the financial assistance scheme and finding 1,495 vehicles eligible for replacement or retrofit treatment, the current round of funding for the financial assistance scheme will be concluding. However, a waiting list is being held, should further funding become available.

1.4  Note the success achieved at key hotspot monitoring locations in reducing nitrogen dioxide levels e.g. Gay Street, acknowledge the risk that more intervention may be required at some locations, e.g. Wells Road and note the work that Officers have already been doing in anticipation of this outcome.

1.5  Request an options appraisal for making further improvements to air quality in the city, as part of our next published report about the Clean Air Zone.

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To achieve compliance with Ministerial Directions, on 15 March 2021 a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was launched in Bath, the first charging CAZ outside of London.

Whilst many of the monitoring measures, including air quality, are ordinarily reported on an annual basis, this report is the second in a series which provides an indicative view of the performance of the Clean Air Zone in Bath from July-September 2021.

Councillor Sarah Warren introduced the report and made the following statement:

“Air pollution is estimated to cause around 80 deaths a day across the UK, with approximately 80 per year in Bath and North East Somerset. The World Health Organisation recently released new guidelines on safe levels of 6 pollutants where evidence has advanced on the health effects from exposure, and I have written this week to the Minister to urge their rapid adoption into UK law, combined with adequate advice, powers and financial support for councils in tackling them, so as to reduce these adverse health impacts.

Tonight we are considering the second quarterly report on air quality, vehicle compliance, and traffic displacement following the implementation in March 2021 of Bath’s Clean Air Zone, which is designed to tackle high atmospheric levels of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide. The report covers the period from July to September of this year.

Nitrogen dioxide levels are usually measured and compared over 12 month average periods because of the way its concentration in the atmosphere fluctuates depending on seasonal weather conditions. Therefore this report on just 3 months from July to September, covers a very short period by these standards, and presents provisional data, not yet subject to bias corrections or validation.

During the quarter we saw overall traffic levels return to pre-covid levels in the city, with light goods vehicles at 112% and heavy goods vehicles at 110% of their pre-covid numbers, owing to pandemic-related changes in shopping patterns. Throughout the period, there have been dramatic changes to traffic flows around the city centre arising from the complete closure of Cleveland Bridge, which normally carries some 17,000 vehicles per day.

The purpose of the zone is to encourage the upgrade of the most polluting vehicles, and £9.4m has been made available through grants and interest free finance to support this. Some 1495 individuals have been approved for finance, and 591 vehicles upgraded so far through this route, with others delayed due to issues with global supply of new vehicles. Overall, air quality continues to improve both within and outside the zone, with average reductions in nitrogen dioxide levels 14% inside, and 9% outside the zone, compared to the same period in 2019.

Currently:

·  91% of all taxis, 96% of HGVs, and almost 100% of scheduled bus services driving in the zone are compliant.

·  We’ve seen an increase to 77% of compliant light goods vehicles travelling in the zone.

·  Of the 40,000 vehicles entering the zone each day, non-compliant vehicles are down to just 1.7%.

·  The income generated between March and the end of September totalled around £3.5m, all of which will go into reserve funds to pay for the future operation of the scheme in the interests of public health.

I particularly want to thank those people who have gone to the trouble and expense of upgrading their vehicles, whether independently or through the council scheme, as well as those who are still on waiting lists for new vehicles, because we are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 105