Sant Vicenç dels Horts definitively approves the low emission zone

The Plenary of the Sant Vicenç dels Horts City Council has definitively approved the municipal ordinance regulating the restriction of access and circulation of certain vehicles in the city to preserve and improve air quality. The full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona on September 30, 2026, with the official reference CVE 202610144979 and the signature of Mayor Miguel Comino Haro. The regulation creates the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) of Sant Vicenç dels Horts and prohibits the circulation of the most polluting vehicles within its scope.

The ordinance received initial approval in the ordinary Plenary session on May 21, 2026, and was published in the Diari Ara on June 6, 2026, and in the provincial gazette on June 3, 2026, with a rectification on June 11. After a thirty-day public exhibition period without any claims or allegations, the agreement was definitively approved on July 24, 2026. The text is structured into four chapters, fifteen articles, three transitional provisions, one repealing provision, one single final provision, and four annexes.

Restriction from Monday to Friday from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM

The main measure is the prohibition of circulation within the LEZ for vehicles defined as the most polluting, i.e., those included in categories L, M, or N that have not been assigned any environmental badge. The restriction applies every working day, from Monday to Friday, between 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM.

The territorial scope covers the part of the metropolitan LEZ included within the municipal boundary, according to the geographical and temporal delimitation of Annex 1. The regulation is deployed to provide coverage for the measure of the Metropolitan program of measures against atmospheric pollution and in coordination with the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB).

The invoked legal framework includes:

• Article 14 of Law 7/2021, of May 20, on climate change and energy transition.
• Decree 132/2024, of July 30, which approves the Air Quality Plan Horizon 2027.
• Decree 226/2006, of May 23, which declares Sant Vicenç dels Horts a special atmospheric environment protection zone for NO2 and PM10.
• Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015, of October 30, on traffic, circulation of motor vehicles, and road safety.

Exemptions, authorizations, and automatic control

Vehicles for the transport of persons with reduced mobility, emergency and essential services, those intended for the transport of persons with illnesses or disabilities that condition the use of public transport, and those with foreign license plates with technological requirements equivalent to environmental badges are exempt from the restriction. To benefit from this, the vehicle must be registered in the Metropolitan Registry of foreign vehicles and other vehicles authorized in low emission zones.

Access and circulation authorizations, with a renewable validity of one year, can also be obtained for:

• Vehicles that access the ZBE sporadically, with a maximum of 24 daily authorizations per year.
• Special vehicles based on usage criteria, such as cranes, tankers, concrete mixers, or fairground vehicles.
• Holders who are missing a maximum of five years of contributions to retirement.
• Family units with incomes lower than twice the IPREM, increased according to the number of members.
• Vehicles intended for agricultural or livestock activity with a valid DUN.

Compliance control is carried out automatically through license plate reading and the AMB technological platform, without prejudice to the powers of the Local Police. The ZBE must be clearly signaled at access points with the signage enabled by the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT).

200 euro sanctions and moratorium for residents

Failure to respect the circulation restrictions derived from the ZBE is a serious infringement, punishable by a fine of 200 euros, which may increase by 30 percent in case of recidivism within one year. The income obtained will be used to finance sustainable mobility actions.

The sanctioning regime comes into force on December 30, 2026, for vehicles in categories N1, N2, N3, M1, M2, M3, and L. To ensure a fair transition, however, it will not apply until January 1, 2030, to vehicles registered for the Mechanical Traction Vehicle Tax of the municipality whose owners were registered as residents before the final approval of the ordinance.

The ordinance comes into force the day after the publication of the full text in the provincial bulletin, without prejudice to the summary in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya. The regulation affects all drivers circulating through the municipality and makes Sant Vicenç dels Horts one of the metropolitan municipalities deploying the ZBE with a transitional period for residents.

Fuente: Butlletí Oficial de la Província de Barcelona, núm. 3994389, 30 de setembre de 2026, Administració local, pàg. 1-26 (referència oficial: CVE 202610144979).