Cheshire West and Chester Council’s cabinet has recently approved the council’s draft Low Emission Strategy 2018-2021, which is a three-year plan to tackle air pollution and improve air quality across the borough.
It comes soon after Cheshire East Council said that air quality was ‘on the agenda‘ for its environment and regeneration overview and scrutiny committee.
Cllr Karen Shore, cabinet member for environment said: “The strategy will support our priorities to have the cleanest, safest and most sustainable neighbourhoods in the country.
“The most significant local source of pollution in the borough that we can influence is caused by vehicle emissions.
“The main objective of the strategy is to reduce traffic emissions by promoting and encouraging sustainable transport including the adoption of low emission vehicles and technologies while discouraging the use of high emitting vehicles wherever possible.
“Pollution from wood burning stoves and open fires are also of concern both nationally and locally and the strategy includes a requirement to explore measures that the council can undertake locally to minimise such emissions.”
The document identifies 53 potential improvement measures and is based on three key principles for the reduction of emissions:
- Changing preferred transport from cars to public transport, cycling and walking
- Reducing distances driven and emissions from stationary vehicles, chimneys and construction
- Improving vehicle technology to reduce emissions and specifically low emission vehicles (LEVs)
Cheshire West and Chester Council has committed significant funding to a range of projects to improve air quality, including the creation of a two-year dedicated post to implement the strategy’s recommendations.
In addition, a feasibility study commissioned earlier this year has just been completed for the roll-out of electric vehicle charging points across the borough.
The council will introduce, wherever possible, incentives for the use of low and zero emission vehicles and will also adopt the power to issue penalties when vehicles are allowed to idle unnecessarily – alongside education and awareness-raising measures.
In 2013 the council was awarded £128,000 to retrofit exhaust abatement equipment to eight buses, bringing them up to the latest Euro emissions standards.
Further funding of £135,000 was received under the Clean Bus Technology Fund (CBTF) to upgrade additional Euro II / III buses to Euro VI standards.
In January 2016, a four year programme started the introduction of 20mph zones to over 700km of roads across the borough.
Road safety is the main reason for this, however studies have shown that 20mph speed restrictions are beneficial in reducing NO2 from diesel engines and particulate matter from both diesel and petrol engines.
They are also effective in reducing particulate matter due to fewer instances of acceleration / deceleration.
The council is actively monitoring NO2 and particulate matter at the new Chester Bus Interchange, and is to be carried out for at least three years from the date of opening.
The most recent full year results for the Chester Bus Interchange – and all other monitoring sites in the borough – are published in the 2018 Annual Status Report which can be seen online.
There are currently four Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) in the borough.
Three of these are located in Ellesmere Port, Chester and Frodsham. They were created after traffic pollution levels exceeded air quality levels.
The fourth AQMA was declared in Thornton-le-Moors as a result of industrial emissions.
Cheshire East, meanwhile, has a total of 17 AQMAs.
