Air pollution measures dropped after 20 years

Anti-pollutions measures in a city centre have been lifted after 20 years following improvements in air quality.

Three air quality management areas (AQMAs) covering Gloucester's Barton Street, Priory Road and Painswick Road have now been revoked thanks to a fall in harmful emissions.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which oversees air quality, says the measures should be removed once no longer needed.

Councillor Sebastian Field, cabinet member for the environment at Gloucester City Council, welcomed the "great news", but said the authority would "be keeping a close eye on air quality across the city".

"Air pollution is a major issue which affects us all, but particularly the most vulnerable in society including children and the elderly," he added.

The Barton Street and Priory Road AQMAs were launched in 2005, while the Painswick Road scheme was put in place in 2007.

Since the zones were launched the council has monitored and managed traffic-related pollution and noticed a recent fall in omissions.

This is consistent with a fall across the UK, thought to be cased by older vehicles replaced with new 'cleaner' models and a sharp rise in people working from home.

Poor air quality can have a severe impact on people's health, and is linked with chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer.

The removal of the AQMAs follows a recent consultation carried out by the city council into ways to improve further the city's air quality as well as its air quality action plan.

The plan includes key proposals such as encouraging developers to include electric vehicle charging points in all new homes and expanding cycling infrastructure and one-way systems.

The council said it is also looking at expanding the city's smoke control area to limit harmful emissions from chimney fires.

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