Five-year plan for air quality in Kirklees to be discussed by Cabinet
Cabinet will discuss a five-year plan for air quality in Kirklees at a meeting on 6 October.
The Air Quality Action Plan looks at air quality across the district and sets out plans to improve it.
Responsibility of local authorities
Local authorities have a responsibility to monitor air quality and collate and publish action plans on how areas of poor air quality can be improved due to the negative effects it has on people’s health.
Long-term exposure to air pollution has been proven to cause chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as lung cancer, leading to reduced life expectancy.
Over the past five years, air quality has vastly improved across the district, with three areas of concern moving into safer reported levels of air quality.
Councillor Pip Harvey, cabinet Member for Culture, Place and Volunteering said:
“It’s very positive to hear that air pollution levels are reducing across the borough which is great news for people’s health. We just want to see this trend continue for Huddersfield now which will require some support from the combined authority.”
The rise in electric vehicles has been credited for improving local air quality by reducing the amount on Nitrogen Dioxide in the air. Changes to highways to help traffic flow better has also contributed to the improvements.
Areas of focus for the plan
The Action Plan focuses on an area of Huddersfield Town Centre which has not seen the same pace of improvement of air quality, due to the number of diesel buses in the town. This focus will mean that we see an improvement quicker than we would without the plan.
The proposed Air Quality Action Plan outlines that the council will work with West Yorkshire Combined Authority to phase out the use of diesel busses in the town centre and move towards an all-electric fleet.
To further improve air quality, the plan also references prioritising electric vehicles in the council fleet and making it easier for residents in Kirklees to drive electric vehicles.