Leeds City Council has welcomed the recent announcement by Defra (Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) of funding of £1.8m to help the city lay the groundwork for achieving its air quality targets.
This money is designed for investment in projects that will prepare the city for tackling its air quality issues. One key area the cash will support is the extension of a popular free parking scheme for Leeds residents for electric vehicles for a further two years.
Separate to this, the council has recently finished the first stage of its public consultation on ideas to tackle the air quality issues in the city. Proposals include introducing a Clean Air Zone that would charge buses, coaches, HGVs, taxis and private hire vehicles that fail to meet the latest emissions standards for entering it.
The consultation was launched after the government instructed the council to outline plans to tackle air pollution after identifying Leeds as being likely to fail legal air quality levels by 2020. Outdoor air pollution in the city comes primarily from vehicle exhaust fumes, and in particular from older diesel vehicles.
Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, Leeds City Council’s executive member for environment and sustainability, said:
“The announcement is great news as we are absolutely committed to improving the air quality for everyone in our city and this funding will help support all the efforts already being undertaken to achieve that.
“Projects it can be applied to include improving the use of electric vehicles in the taxi and private hire sector as well as with small and medium businesses. It will also allow us to increase the electric charging network in the city. Other initiatives include providing better air quality information through our electronic road signage as well as signposting people to make the most of existing environmentally-friendly projects like car share and park and ride schemes.
“It will also support our schools scooter scheme, and provide us with the opportunity to work with a further 30 schools to influence a sea-change in attitudes to how children make their daily journeys by offering environmentally-friendly alternatives. This reflects the reality that we need the whole city to get behind the effort: everyone in Leeds has their part to play in making our air clean for all.”
