According to new figures released by City of York Council, the whole of York is meeting national air pollution targets for the first time (Lockdown aside)
Air quality monitoring in some areas of the city, such as around Gillygate and Bootham, shows that maximum annual levels of NO2 pollution in 2024 improved by 27% on the 2023 figure.
Cllr Jenny Kent, stood at the junction of Bootham and Gillygate, York.
The council adopted a new Air Quality Action Plan in July last year, at the same time launching an air quality dashboard which sends alerts and health advice to the vulnerable in the event of any deterioration in air quality.
The council have taken action on a wide range of pollution sources, working with bus operators to introduce more electric buses, supporting taxi drivers and by replacing their own fleet of vans to the point where they are 60% electric or PHEV.
They have also continued to promote their ‘Kick the Habit’ anti-idling campaign, working with schools and businesses to reduce vehicle idling across the city, and in November 2024, adopted a new enforcement policy for smoke emissions in the city’s Smoke Control Area’
Cllr Jenny Kent, the Council’s Executive Member for the Environment and Climate Emergency, said: ‘This is brilliant news – what a fantastic achievement to help us celebrate Clean Air Day. By being proactive on improving the air we all breathe, the council has helped to meet air pollution targets for the first time ever in York.
‘Having walked the stretch along Holgate for over a decade with prams and children, along with hundreds of young people travelling to and from 9 schools in the area, I know first hand what a difference this makes. We made a commitment to improve air quality when we published our fourth Air Quality Action Plan last summer and it is rewarding to see that the measures are working. Cleaner air is helping improve the health and wellbeing of everyone in York.
‘This is a really big achievement which we should celebrate, but we are not complacent; we need to see these results and the longer-term downward trend continue.’
Peter Roderick, director of Public Health at City of York Council, said: ‘Even though we can’t see it, air pollution impacts our health whatever age we are. Improving air quality not only benefits our physical health and the environment but can also protect our mental and brain health. For the whole of York to meet air pollution targets for first time since Covid is a great achievement.
‘The latest results for the city demonstrate how far we have come in recent years to improve local air quality for everyone, however we recognise that more can be done. Through the council’s Air Quality Action Plan and other complementary strategies, we aim to go beyond National Air Quality Objectives and work towards meeting stricter World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines in the longer term to further improve public health; this will allow us all to benefit from lasting health improvement.’
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