Polluting cars to pay more for parking in Bath and North East Somerset

The cost of parking in a pay and display car park in Bath and North East Somerset could soon be based on how polluting your car is.

Permits for residents’ parking zones are already based on the emissions data or engine capacity of vehicles. There is a 25% surcharge on top of this for diesel vehicles.

Now that policy could be rolled out to the Bath and North East Somerset Council’s pay and display parking too.

Council cabinet member for resources Richard Samuel said: “The more polluting the vehicle, the higher the parking charge you pay.”

No details about what the charges will be or when the change will come into effect have yet been made public.

Cllr Samuel said: “Vehicle pollution has got seriously damaging impacts on health.”

He added that there was a “strong causal link” between air pollution and health, and said: “What’s being done is trying to create a causal link between the emissions of your vehicle and the charge you pay.”

The plan to extend emissions based parking to car parks is the council’s latest move to combat pollution.

In 2021, the Clean Air Zone came into force with the aim of reducing the amount of nitrogen dioxide in the city.

The price of parking in council car parks last increased in November, which was only the second rise in 12 years.

Pay and display charges mostly went up by 10p an hour in Bath but people with season tickets to the car parks saw a more dramatic increase — with one permit that allows 24 hour parking every day of the week increasing by almost £2,400.

The budget will be agreed by the council’s cabinet on February 9. It will go before full council for approval on February 21.

Credit: Local Democracy Reporter Service/John Wimperis