Bath and North East Somerset Council have insisted there are no plans to charge cars to enter parts of Bath city centre — just days after councillors debated a proposal which appeared to say this.

Councillor Andrew Furse had argued against the idea of charging cars for permits to drive into the city centre security zone, which are currently free for businesses and people living within the security zone.

He told Bath and North East Somerset Council's corporate scrutiny panel on Monday that many people on low wages needed cars and said: "Are we saying that if you are rich enough to buy a permit you can enter the city centre?"

The council now says that it is not saying that — and it says that was never what was being proposed.

The proposal, summarised in council documents as "to charge for permits for entry to the city centre security zone" is actually about permits for road closures during events, the council has said.

Manda Rigby, the council's cabinet member for transport, said: "Any suggestion that our budget for 2023/24 will involve charging for private vehicles to enter the city centre security zone is wholly incorrect.

"What we are proposing in our budget is to review our current processes for when multiple permits are required to support a road closure application, for example for events, filming or property redevelopment. We plan to explore whether a City Centre Permit with a single charge and a single point of contact could be introduced to make the process simpler for everyone.

"This would affect organisations such as events companies and TV and film production companies, not individual residents."

It is believed this could generate £30,000 for the council.

A final budget will be agreed by Bath and North East Somerset Council's cabinet on February 9. It will go to full council for approval on February 21.