Air pollution zones may end after improvements

Measures to tackle pollution in three West Yorkshire areas are set to be lifted after improvements in air quality were recorded.

Kirklees Council put 10 air quality management areas (AQMAs) in place between 2008 and 2019 in a bid to tackle rising pollution.

The AQMAs require local authorities to monitor air quality and improve it.

Senior councillors will review proposals to revoke three of those, in Cooper Bridge and Bradley on the A62, Birkenshaw and part of Ravensthorpe at a meeting on 8 July.

Another three areas at Ainley Top, Liversedge and Thornton Lodge are expected to be amended to cover smaller areas.

The remaining four, in Huddersfield town centre, Eastborough, Edgerton and Outlane, are likely to be retained.

The local authority said the recommendations followed consultation with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and councillors in the areas affected.

A "continued reduction" in roadside air pollution had driven the proposed changes, the council added.

The only yearly increase since 2017 had been in 2021 when lockdown restrictions ended and traffic returned to the roads, according to a report going before councillors.

The AQMA for Cooper Bridge and Bradley, along part of the A62 Leeds Road between Huddersfield and Mirfield, was first imposed in 2008.

Similar measures were then put in place for Scouthill in Ravensthorpe the following year, before Birkenshaw was made an AQMA in 2017.

Councillor Beverley Addy, cabinet member for public health, said: "This is fantastic news for Kirklees.

"Cleaner air brings real benefits to everyone, especially to young children and those with health conditions.

"The fact that we're seeing such improvements really does mean people will live healthier lives."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.