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Portsmouth clean air zone: Pollution worries continue

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Portsmouth's clean air zone has been inplace for two years

The clean air zone in central Portsmouth has "not had the desired effect", the city council has said.

The zone, introduced in November 2021, fines high-polluting HGVs, buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles when entering the city centre.

Cars, vans and old diesel cars are exempt from the fine.

The city council said some areas still had pollution levels above legal limits and called for more funding for public transport to reduce car usage.

Clean air zone road sign
The zone fines high-polluting HGVs, buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles

The authority said out of 230 monitoring sites, three - in Hope Street, Market Way and Alfred Road - were still experiencing "persistent challenges" with air pollution above legal limits.

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, cabinet member for transport, said the mandated zone was "not enough" to reduce air pollution.

He said: "I'm sorry there are three [sites] with a problem, it's a small number but we do need to address it. The clean air zone doesn't seem to have had the desired effect.

"We didn't think it would, we told the government that - they ignored it and I think they should go back to looking at our ideas that would work better than the clean air zone.

"For the mandated clean air zone to work the government needs to significantly invest in transforming the way people can travel in Portsmouth in the same way they have done in London so that it is easier to choose a cleaner journey and for businesses to operate in a more sustainable way."

Gerald Vernon-Jackson
Gerald Vernon-Jackson called for more funding for public transport schemes

The Department for Transport said decisions around the introduction of clean air zones remain the responsibility of local councils.

A spokesperson said: "We are committed to decarbonising transport to support cleaner air and we have invested £8.6 million to help reduce nitrogen dioxide levels in Portsmouth.

"On top of this, we continue to support cleaner travel through the extension of our £2 bus fare cap until the end of 2024, and providing up to £129 million to introduce hundreds more zero emission buses."

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