Government awards £300,000 to tackle air pollution blackspots

A £150,000 funding package from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been awarded to York Council for a series of schemes including the promotion of low emissions vehicles.

Motorists will also be encouraged to switch off the engines of their vehicles while sitting in the notorious traffic tailbacks which blight York’s roads network.

The same amount of money has been provided to Bradford Council to develop its own low emission strategies after the Government announced a £2m fund to tackle air pollution across the country.

However, York remains one of the worst pollution blackspots in the region, with traffic fumes remaining trapped in the narrow streets which snake across the heart of the ancient city. It has been estimated that between 94 and 163 people die prematurely in York each year because of poor air quality, prompting senior politicians to dub pollution as the city’s “invisible killer”.

The council’s cabinet member for transport, planning and sustainability, Coun Dave Merrett, said: “It is vital we change people’s travel habits in the city as the pollution is having a profound effect on health.

“The money we have been awarded is extremely welcome, but it is just one step towards solving the problem.”

The grant will be used to launch a campaign to raise awareness of the effects of air pollution on health while also promoting low emission vehicles and taxis. A low emission vehicle will be leased or purchased for the promotional work while a scheme for a fleet of eco-friendly taxis will be developed.

A study will also take place to analyse the likely real-life emission reduction of the I-Travel York campaign, using the best available modelling techniques. Research will be carried out to look into establishing Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) refuelling for larger vehicles in the city alongside a feasibility study to look at ensuring drivers switch off their car engines while waiting in traffic.

Business leaders met with York’s MPs in the summer of last year amid warnings that the city’s notoriously congested streets are stifling economic growth and enterprise. The Conservative MP for York Outer, Julian Sturdy, has established a working group to discuss infrastructure problems which he claimed are threatening York’s economic competitiveness.

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