BATH CLEAN AIR ZONE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

If you are interested in participating in the scheme you should contact Bath in the first instance to discuss your circumstances. Bath will provide you with a telematics device that will record your vehicle’s movements for two months. The device should be left in the vehicle full-time until you are asked to return it. Bath will provide you with a Basic Eligibility Letter which you can pass on to the finance provider as evidence of your eligibility.

To start this process you should visit the Bath website to find out more, contact the Bath team by email on CAZ_info@bathnes.gov.uk or call them on 01225 396189 within normal working hours.

You may be eligible for the scheme if you;

• Have chargeable, non-compliant vehicles that travel frequently into or around the zone, or if you operate from a premises within the zone.
• Have been living at your current address, or trading from it, since 1st May 2020.
• Have owned the vehicle you want to replace, since 1st May 2020.
• The existing non-compliant vehicle must be roadworthy and have a valid MOT certificate
• The existing vehicle must not be nationally or permanently exempt from charges.

All applications are subject to status, eligibility and credit checks.

We are able to support the following businesses which include;

• Limited Companies
• PLC’s
• Registered Charities
• Sole Traders
• Partnerships with more than three partners
• Sole Trader and partnerships with less than 3 partners where;

Hire Purchase – the balance being financed over the period of the agreement after applying the part exchange value, the Grant (if any) and any additional deposit paid by you against the Vehicle Price, is > £25,000.
Finance Lease – the total of all repayments over the period of your lease including VAT is > £25,000. The repayments will be the repayments payable by you and shown on your finance documentation. These are based on the balance financed after applying the part exchange, the Grant (if any) and any additional deposit paid by you against the Vehicle Price has been deducted.

Our team will be happy to discuss these options with you.

If you pass the eligibility assessment but fail our financial checks, we will let you know the reason why Shire are unable to proceed with your application. You can then apply to the other funders on the approved panel who may be able to support you. The funder’s details will be available on www.bathnes.gov.uk/cleanairzone.

If you fail the credit checks of all three funders you should contact Bath to discuss your situation.  It may be possible for them to exempt any Euro 4 or Euro 5 diesel vehicles for two years from the zone’s launch. There will be no temporary exemption for pre-euro-4 vehicles.

You can contact Bath by email on CAZ_info@bathnes.gov.uk or on 01225 396189 within normal working hours.

If your application is accepted, you’ll be able to apply to Bath and North East Somerset Council for a temporary exemption for existing Euro 4 and 5 diesel vehicles until the expected handover date, or from two years of the zone’s launch (whichever is sooner).

The financial support scheme provides grants and interest-free finance to help those businesses who may regularly have to pay charges for journeys into Bath’s new Clean Air Zone.

Subject to status, eligibility and credit checks, we are able to offer you the following options;

1. Grant only and acquiring your new vehicle with cash/your own financing;
2. Grant and an interest-free finance agreement or;
3. Interest-free finance agreements

Our financial products, available over terms of 2 – 5 years (6 and 7 years for coaches and buses) are;

Hire Purchase – this allows you to spread the cost of the vehicle with the option to own it at the end of the fixed period for a one off Purchase Option Fee of £150+VAT or,

Finance Lease – if you are looking for a tax-efficient solution, this product allows you to offset monthly/quarterly payments against taxable profits but where you can receive 95% of the proceeds of sale at the end of lease term.

You can find out more about financial options here.

We do not offer a contract hire agreement but if this is something that you are interested in, this option may be available from the other panel of funders whose details are on the Bath Clean Air Zone website.

The maximum repayment period for the interest-free finance will be 5 years, which may be extended to 6 or 7 years for some specialist vehicles, including buses and coaches.

Sometimes the repayment period may be restricted when we confirm approval of your credit/eligibility checks but this will be communicated to you with the decision on your application.

You could receive a grant of up to 35% of the net upgrade costs, significantly reducing the final cost of an upgrade. These grants can be used alongside the scheme’s interest free finance. Grants are capped for each vehicle type, as shown below.

• Taxis, PHVs and vans: up to £4,500
• HGVs: up to £20,000
• Buses and coaches: up to £35,000

All rental repayments are payable by direct debit mandate which will be part of the documentation that you are provided with to sign if your application is approved and you decide to proceed.

The GOV.UK vehicle checker service will tell you whether you will have to pay a daily charge to drive your vehicle in any clean air zone in England.

You can access this on www.gov.uk/check-clean-air-zone-charge.  You will need your vehicle registration number.

You might need to pay, if your vehicle does not meet emissions standards.

No. The scheme cannot be used for adding vehicles to your fleet only for the replacement of eligible non-compliant vehicles.

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to provide finance to retrofit or re-power existing non-compliant vehicles, or to replace a non-compliant vehicle with a different type or size of vehicle. Bath will only consider this where there is an additional air quality benefit, or to protect vital services to customers (for example, to exchange a coach with a bus, to comply with Disability Discrimination Act requirements.)

To discuss this further you should contact the Bath team by email on CAZ_info@bathnes.gov.uk or on 01225 396189 within normal working hours.

Vehicles that are electric, low emission or conform to more recent Euro standards should emit less pollution than older vehicles, and can therefore travel without charge in Bath Clean Air Zone. The following classes of vehicles are all compliant:

• Euro 6/VI diesel vehicles (or newer)
• Euro 4/IV petrol vehicles (or newer)
• Fully electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
• All hybrid vehicles
• Modified or retrofitted vehicles registered with the Energy Saving Trust’s Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS)

Vehicles that fail to meet Bath’s emission standards we call ‘non-compliant’. These vehicles, including non-UK vehicles, will be charged if driving in Bath’s Clean Air Zone, unless the vehicle is a private car or motorbike which are not charged in a class C clean air zone.

The following classes of vehicles are non-compliant:

• Pre Euro 6/VI diesel vehicles (this means Euro 1 to 5/IV or earlier)
• Pre Euro 4/IV petrol vehicles (this means Euro 1 to 3 or earlier)

The vehicle must be sourced from a dealer registered with the Retail Motor Industry Federation or other reputable trade association, or in the case of a retrofit, from a Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme certified manufacturer or dealer.

Most private cars and motorbikes (excluding taxis and private hire vehicles) are not charged for driving in Bath’s Clean Air Zone, regardless of their emissions (even if they’re used for work).

All other vehicles will need to pay a charge unless they meet Bath’s Clean Air Zone emission standards.

Compliant vehicles (no charge)

Vehicles that are electric, low emission or conform to more recent Euro standards should emit less pollution than older vehicles, and can therefore travel without charge in Bath Clean Air Zone. The following classes of vehicles are all compliant:

Euro 6/VI diesel vehicles (or newer)

Euro 4/IV petrol vehicles (or newer)

Fully electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

All hybrid vehicles

Modified or retrofitted vehicles registered with the Energy Saving Trust’s Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS)

Non-compliant vehicles (charges apply)

We call vehicles that fail to meet Bath’s emission standards ‘non-compliant’. These vehicles, including non-UK vehicles, will be charged if driving in Bath’s Clean Air Zone, unless the vehicle is a private car or motorbike which are not charged in a class C clean air zone.

The following classes of vehicles are non-compliant:

Pre Euro 6/VI diesel vehicles (this means Euro 1 to 5/IV or earlier)

Pre Euro 4/IV petrol vehicles (this means Euro 1 to 3 or earlier)

Provided that you have your Basic Eligibility Letter from Bath confirming your initial mileage eligibility, we can complete eligibility and credit checks that will be conditional on you sourcing your vehicle.  Once you have decided on the vehicle and dealership you should provide us with the information so that we can complete our final checks and provide approval for you to proceed.

If you are eligible and pass the credit checks, you can use the funds to reduce the cost of any of the following:

1. Replacing existing non-compliant vehicles with new or second-hand vehicles which meet Bath’s emissions standards
2. Retrofitting or re-powering existing or replacement non-compliant vehicles so that they meet Bath’s emissions standards.

Any replacement vehicles must be a similar make or model to your existing vehicle, but must be compliant with Bath’s emissions standards.

We have two financial products available to you and the end of term treatment will be different for each.  Providing that all rentals due on the agreement have been paid, your options will be;

Hire Purchase – meaning that you can spread the cost of the vehicle with the option to own it at the end of the fixed period for a one off Purchase Option Fee of £150+VAT (providing all payments have been made) or,

Finance Lease – if you are looking for a tax-efficient solution, allowing you to offset monthly payments against taxable profits (where eligible). Your end of term options will be;

• Continue to hire the agreement for an annual peppercorn rental
• Sell the vehicle on our behalf and retain 95% of the sale proceeds

Provided that you do not breach the terms of the Grant and/or interest-free financing agreement you will not be required to repay the financial support provided by Bath.

If you do breach the terms of the Grant and/or interest-free financing award, you may be liable to repay the Grant and the interest free amount provided by Bath in full (terms apply).

• To check if your vehicle will be charged in Bath’s CAZ and other clean air zones in England, go to gov.uk/cleanairzone. You will need your vehicle’s registration number.
• For questions about the vehicle checker’s result, your vehicle’s euro standard or compliance, contact the Central CAZ Support Service using the web form at gov.uk/cleanairzone or call 0300 029 8888.
• To find out more and register for local exemptions and discounts in Bath’s CAZ go to bathnes.gov.uk/BathCAZ
• To find out more the financial support for local businesses and individuals to upgrade non-compliant vehicles, go to bathnes.gov.uk/BathCAZ
• To speak to a B&NES travel advisor about the support available and/or exemptions, email CAZ_info@bathnes.gov.uk or call 01225 396189