Cardiff congestion charge latest

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

It has still not been decided what form a new congestion charge for Cardiff will take and it could be years before we find out.

Cardiff Council announced in 2023 that it would start looking at different ideas for a road user charge to improve air quality and reduce congestion in the city.

Any plans brought forward by the council will be subject to a public consultation, which the council previously said could happen in 2026.

Update

At a Cardiff Council environmental scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday, February 25, one council official said it could be several years before a plan is published.

Cardiff Council’s director of planning, transport, and environment, Andrew Gregory, was asked by scrutiny committee member Cllr John Lancaster for an update on the road user charge scheme.

Mr Gregory said: “We have been working closely with Welsh Government and Transport for Wales and the region in terms of the early assessment work.

“We have got £2.5m worth of work taking place in the coming two years basically reviewing options.

“There has not been a final decision in terms of the type of scheme that would come out of that but that will come forward in due course for a decision of the council.

“Complementing that there will be the full range of engagement with the public around any proposals that move forward.”

There are currently 14 cities in the UK that have a clean air zone (CAZ) or low-emission zone (LEZ). These are:

London
Birmingham
Bristol
Oxford
Bath
Bradford
Portsmouth
Newcastle
Sheffield
Southampton
Aberdeen
Dundee
Edinburgh
Glasgow

Outline proposals

Mr Gregory added: “It is in that context that we will be moving forward but it will be several years… or a year at least before the proposals that come forward in outline form… can be taken to the public and brought to council.”

When Cardiff Council’s cabinet members agreed to the launch of an investigation into a road user charge for Cardiff a draft timeline was produced.

This stated that research, planning, and public consultation was due to take place across 2023 and 2024.

The council said investigation work was ongoing when we went to them for an update on a road user charge in April 2024.

At the time a Cardiff Council spokesman said: “Early consultation work has taken place with key stakeholder groups including business and other interested parties and feedback from this is currently being assessed.

“The council is also speaking with Welsh Government about funding for the next stage of the proposal which would be to complete a full business case on possible options before moving to full public consultation on those options.”

The local authority said last year that it was aiming at taking a final decision on implementing a scheme in 2026.