Portsmouth clean air charge zone to exclude two busy roads

Two of Portsmouth's busiest roads are set to be excluded from a clean air zone in which owners of high-polluting vehicles would be charged to drive.

Under city council plans, Fratton Road and Kingston Crescent would be removed from the chargeable zone due to be implemented next year.

The council said it was a "balancing act" between protecting the environment and supporting local businesses.

Critics said they were "grossly disappointed" at the move.

A public consultation was held on proposed charges of £50 per day for buses, coaches and lorries, and £10 for taxis, vans and minibuses, in a bid to reduce levels of nitrogen dioxide.

Privately owned cars and motorbikes would be unaffected.

Speaking at an online council meeting Claire Udy, of the Progressive Portsmouth People group, criticised the exclusion of the two roads, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Air quality in Kingston Road is illegal and Fratton Road is on the precipice of that," she said.

"The majority of respondents have communicated that they are happy with the zone or would like it larger.

"To say I'm grossly disappointed is a complete understatement."

Dave Ashmore, the council's environment boss, said Fratton Road was currently being considered as part of the Future High Streets Fund.

"That will include creating a low-traffic neighbourhood, which is a much more permanent way of improving air quality and a much more holistic way of improving the road."

He said government funding for the clean air zone would end when air quality "reached compliance", likely in 2022.

The council has been allocated more than £6.2m to improve air quality in Portsmouth, including the cost of implementing the zone.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokesman confirmed it had not received a formal request to change the proposed boundaries of the Portsmouth zone.