Bath Clean Air Zone (CAZ) – the 2024 guide
The Clean Air Zone in Bath was implemented in March 2021. Following several years of studying high air pollution levels in the West Country city, the local authority decided to start charging highly-polluting taxis, vans, and large vehicles to enter the city centre.
Bath has one of many CAZ being rolled out across the UK, including the neighbouring city of Bristol, where private passenger cars are charged if not compliant with emissions standards.
For more information about Bath’s CAZ, read on.
- Does Bath have a Clean Air Zone?
- What is a Clean Air Zone (CAZ)?
- Where is the Bath CAZ?
- When did the Bath CAZ start?
- What does it cost to drive in Bath?
- Are there grants for getting a compliant vehicle for the Bath CAZ?
- Does the Bath CAZ have exemptions or exceptions?
- How to check if my vehicle is compliant with Bath CAZ?
- How to sell a non-compliant vehicle?
Does Bath have a Clean Air Zone?
Yes, Bath operates a Class C CAZ. This means that taxis, vans, Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs), Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), buses, and coaches are all charged to enter the zone on a daily basis if they do not comply with the required emissions standards.
What is a Clean Air Zone (CAZ)?
In the UK, air pollution has been a big topic, with local research undertaken and targets set, since 2015. Clean Air Zones were found to be an effective way of improving air quality in urban areas with heavy traffic. There were already some LEZ in existence, e.g. in London, which have typically been bespoke in design, depending on the needs and infrastructure of the area.
Clean Air Zones, however, all follow a scheme. They are graded in ‘classes’ from A to D, based on what vehicles will be charged to enter the zone if they don’t comply with emissions standards:
| Class | Vehicle type |
| A | Buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles |
| B | Buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) |
| C | Buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, HGVs, light goods vehicles (LGVs), vans, minibuses |
| E | Buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, HGVs, LGVs, vans, minibuses, cars, the local authority has the option to include motorcycles |
Any town or city running a CAZ has the same compliance standards in place:
| Vehicle type | CAZ minimum standard |
| Motorcycles | Euro 3 |
| Vans, minibuses, taxis, private hire vehicles, cars | Euro 4 (petrol engine) and Euro 6 (diesel engine) |
| Buses, coaches, heavy goods vehicles | Euro V1 |
| Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) | Automatically compliant |
The main aspects of CAZ schemes are decided by the UK government, but the fee and penalty costs for non-compliant vehicles, and implementation details including exemptions, are handled by the local council.
Where is the Bath CAZ?
Bath’s Clean Air Zone covers The High Common and Royal Victoria Park to the northwest, then extends east to the Bathwick area and King Edward’s School campus. It covers the A36 road and some of its turnoffs, at the southern border, and also covers parts of Wells Road and Oldfield Road.
When did the Bath CAZ start?
Bath implemented its Clean Air Zone back in March 2021. Since it’s a Class C CAZ, not charging private passenger vehicles, it’s made less news than neighbouring Bristol, where drivers of polluting cars are charged by the day to enter the regulated zone. The nearby Oxford Zero Emission Zone also charges all drivers – so it’s worth doing some local research if you frequently drive around urban areas in the West.
In Bath, like in all other Clean Air Zones and Low Emission Zones, charging is based on a daily entrance into the regulated zone.
What does it cost to drive in Bath?
The daily rate for entering the Bath CAZ in a non-compliant vehicle varies depending on what you’re driving:
| Vehicle type | CAZ daily charge |
| Taxi | £9 |
| Light Goods Vehicle (LGV) | £9 |
| Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) | £100 or £9 for private horse transporters and motorhomes, when registered with the council. |
| Bus or coach | £100 |
If your car is liable for the daily charge, you can pay it online from six days before travel, and up to six days after the day of travel. Failure to do so will result in a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). This costs £120. If you pay your PCN within fourteen days, the cost will be reduced to £60. If you plan to challenge your PCN, you should do so within the first fourteen days, so that if your challenge is unsuccessful, you still get the discount.
Local payments, exemptions, and challenges are all handled through MiPermit.
Are there grants for getting a compliant vehicle for the Bath CAZ?
After two years of Bath’s CAZ being implemented, at least 1,000 non-compliant vehicle drivers have been financially supported to upgrade their vehicles. Funding to support individuals and businesses affected by Bath’s CAZ has now closed.
Does the Bath CAZ have exemptions or exceptions?
Yes, like all CAZ in the UK, the Bath Clean Air Zone has some exceptions to the daily charge. There are some exempt vehicle categories that are fixed by the government as part of any CAZ in the UK:
| Nationally-exempt vehicles |
| Disabled tax class or disabled passenger tax class |
| Some agricultural vehicles |
| Registered historic vehicles |
| Military vehicles |
| Ultra-low emission vehicles |
| Vehicles retrofitted under the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS) |
Local councils also have the authority to set up local exemptions. In the Bath CAZ, local exemptions also include the following:
| Locally-exempt vehicles | Exemption |
| Privately registered horse carrier or motorhome (LGVs), when registered with the council | Reduction of charge from £100 to £9 |
| ‘Hard-to-replace’ vehicles: Showman’s vehicles, haulage, recovery, and special vehicles | Exempt, need to be registered with the council and renew details annually |
| Health and emergency service vehicles | Exempt, need to be registered with the council and renew details annually |
| Volunteer vehicles supporting the emergency service | Exempt for up to four years from launch of CAZ, need to be registered with the council and renew details each year, and log travel with MiPermit |
| Wheelchair-accessible taxis | Exemption expired on 15 March 2023 |
| Blue badge holders | Exemption expired on 15 March 2023 |
| Community health, education, and social care workers | Exemption expired on 15 March 2023 |
| Finance assistance scheme users | Exemption expired on 15 March 2023 |
How to check if your vehicle is compliant with Bath CAZ
To check that your petrol van or minivan is compliant with Euro 4 emissions standards, or that your diesel van or minivan is compliant with Euro 6, simply enter your reg in our ULEZ checker.
London’s ULEZ is different from Bath’s, in that it charges private passenger cars. However, vans and minivans across both cities have the same compliance criteria, so you can use our ULEZ Checker to make sure you can drive your van in Bath without being subject to penalties.
How to sell a non-compliant vehicle?
If your vehicle is not compliant with Bath’s CAZ, the good news is – you can still sell it, in order to invest instead in a compliant vehicle. To sell your non-compliant car quickly and easily, at Motorway we offer a simple – and completely free – method of getting the best price when selling, whatever the model.
Sell with Motorway and our network of 5,000+ verified car dealers compete to give you their best price.
Just enter your reg on the homepage and you will be provided with an instant estimated sale price based on up-to-the-minute market data. We’ll then ask you a few easy questions about your car and guide you through the photos you need to take to complete your vehicle profile. It can be done right from your phone – in a matter of minutes.
Get your car seen by over 5,000 nationwide dealers when you sell through Motorway.
If you choose to enter your car into a daily sale, it will be shown to our nationwide network of more than 5,000 verified dealers looking to add to their stock of used cars. Interested dealers will then compete to buy your car, offering you their best price.
In as little as 24 hours you will receive your best offer – and, if you choose to go ahead with the sale, your car will be collected for free by the dealer and the money will be quickly and securely transferred to your bank account.
Selling your car?
Read about everything you need to know about how to sell your car with more guides here. There’s a lot to learn as Clean Air Zones and emissions standards in the UK change in the run-up to 2035.
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