Sagunto low emission zone in Ciutat Vella: 200 euro fines from 15 December
Ciutat Vella becomes a Low Emission Zone: people who already hold an access permit need no extra paperwork. Fines of 200 euros apply from 15 December 2026.
Anyone who already has a permit to enter Ciutat Vella (the old town) will not have to do any paperwork: their vehicles will keep entering under the same conditions as before, whatever their type or environmental label. That is the main practical consequence of the first phase of Sagunto's Low Emission Zone (ZBE), which the city council is launching within the perimeter of the current restricted-access zone.
The ordinance regulating low emission zones received final approval from the plenary session of the city council on 6 August 2026. The text provides for four zones in the municipality, to be brought into operation gradually, and Ciutat Vella opens the series. Because the area matches the one that already had limited access, the council is reusing the access control system and the database of authorised vehicles, which, according to its explanation, simplifies the rollout.
Vehicles without a permit get one change: those with the zero-emission environmental label will be able to enter without requesting prior authorisation. The council's statement does not describe the rules for other cars without a permit, so it is worth settling that question during the information phase.
The obligation comes from the national level. Law 7/2021 on climate change and energy transition required municipalities of more than 50,000 inhabitants, Sagunto among them, to adopt sustainable urban mobility plans before 2023, and among their measures was creating low emission zones before that year. The council opened the prior public consultation on its ordinance through a resolution dated 20 March 2025, so final approval came after the date set by the law.
The process has not been free of criticism. According to elperiodicodeaqui.com, on 8 September 2026 the Partido Popular (PP) of Sagunto accused the local government of rejecting almost all of its objections to the ordinance. The party had asked for stronger public transport, park-and-ride car parks and a study of how the ZBE will affect shops and hospitality. Its spokesman, Ximo Catalán, argued that the municipal government limited itself to completing the paperwork instead of using the legal obligation as an opportunity. The local government, for its part, presents the measure as a route to more sustainable mobility, with less unnecessary traffic in Ciutat Vella and better urban and environmental quality in the neighbourhood.
From 27 October 2026 and for several weeks, the council will run an information phase to explain how the new rules work and answer residents' questions. On 15 December 2026 the ZBE will be fully in operation and the penalty regime will start to apply: under the consolidated text of the law on traffic, motor vehicle circulation and road safety, breaching the access, circulation or parking restrictions in the zone is a serious offence with a fine of 200 euros.
According to the Ayuntamiento de Sagunto and elperiodic.com, with additional data from the BOE, the 2025 municipal resolution and elperiodicodeaqui.com.