For years now politicians of all stamps have done little or
nothing to stop people in Bath being poisoned. Now that we finally have a
well-researched plan it is really important that our local politicians don’t
play politics with it but implement it and that it does not become hopelessly diluted
by giving in to special pleading.
The plan has been consulted on for months now and certainly,
all politicians and major pressure groups have had many months to make points
and raise concerns and suggestions. It is a complex issue and there will always
be room for disagreement about details such as boundaries, business impact and
the need for exceptions and mitigations to protect the vulnerable but those
have been extensively debated and the plan has undoubtedly evolved in response.
However, too often in BANES perfect is made the enemy of good to serve
political ends and we are concerned that this does not happen here,
Finally, we would ask everyone to remember that this project
is, and should be, about reducing pollution sooner rather than later it is not
about traffic management or congestion. This is particularly important when
discussing the charging regime which is still too often referred to as a
congestion charge rather than what it is a levy on polluting vehicles.
If people can make a good case for making the zone bigger
and it will not delay the implementation of the CAZ it should be made bigger. A
good candidate might be Pulteney Street.
The damage to peoples’ health in the city and incidentally to
the historic buildings on which a substantial part of our economic prosperity
depends, is substantial and has been allowed to go on for far too long. Fixing
this problem should be BANES’s top priority. Charging people a substantial
amount of money to bring high emission vehicles into Bath is the only viable
way to remedy this with the urgency it deserves. It will incidentally have the
minimum impact on commercial activity in the city of any of the proposed more
complicated solutions. Our only concern is whether the proposed charge is high
enough.
We would support and advocate a number of measures to mitigate
the impact on individuals and companies in the short term:
·
Extended opening hours at the park and ride
·
Overnight secure parking at the park and ride
·
Financial support for residents and local
businesses within the zone to upgrade from non-compliant cars
·
Financial support for local businesses within
the zone to upgrade from non-compliant
commercial vehicles
Longer term we would support and advocate:
·
Public transport improvements on key routes into
the city and within the zone
·
Smaller park and ride sites along existing bus
routes
·
Support for local HGV owners to retrofit Euro 4
and 5 diesel vehicles
·
An eastern park and ride
·
An A36 A46 link