Views sought on making Air Quality improvements in Doncaster
Doncaster residents are being asked to give their views on draft proposals to improve the air quality in the local area.
The Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) can be viewed online here: https://www.doncaster.gov.uk/services/environmental/air-quality-reports-available-to-the-public
The action plan implements a series of measures to reduce concentrations and achieve compliance with national Air Quality Standards.
Currently there are eight hotspot areas across the borough which have been identified as having concentration levels for Nitrogen Dioxide above the required annual mean standards.
To address this, the City of Doncaster Council (CDC) have drawn up an Air Quality Action Plan, with the support of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).
The plan will outline the measures in place to reduce emissions to meet air quality objectives within set timeframes, as well as outlining how CDC will fulfil its responsibilities to achieve these objectives.
The measures have included potentially expensive and ambitious solutions such as the construction of a bypass, the installation of innovative technology to extract emissions at the roadside right through to cheaper alternatives such as improvements in public transport and walking and cycling infrastructure.
Councillor Mark Houlbrook, cabinet member for sustainability and waste, said: “This report is integral to our commitments to improving air quality in Doncaster.
“It’s one of the most thorough reports on this subject that we have ever curated, covering the details of the eight Air Quality Management Areas, public health considerations and key items from the local plan.
“There are also details on where the pollution is coming from and what measures can be taken. Some of these interventions, such as a Hickleton and Marr bypass, only become a reality with the help of if government funding.
“The missing piece of the jigsaw is feedback from local residents, so please get involved.”
If you wish to make any comment this can be done through the website or by emailing Pollution.Control@Doncaster.gov.uk
Defra have also recommended that local authorities in England maintain an updated online version of their action plan. To serve as a resource for the public and other local authorities, at a minimum these should be reviewed and updated every five years.
- Category: Environment