Nottingham drops proposed clean air zone

Plans for a clean air zone in Nottingham have been abandoned, as the city’s air quality is being sufficiently improved by existing measures to meet the required standard by 2020.

Nottingham City Councillor Sally Longford said the upgrading of 180 of Nottingham City Transport’s existing fleet of diesel buses to Euro 6 standard was a major factor in the improvement. Additionally, the city’s taxis and private-hire cars were now required to be low-emissions, and the council’s municipal vehicles were being replaced with electric and other low emission designs.

Councillor Longford said: “Although we considered a Class B Clean Air Zone – which would have affected HGVs, buses and taxis – the actions we are taking will have a positive impact across the whole city, rather than in just one area.

“We have one of the UK’s largest all-electric park and ride fleets, an electric tram that carries more than 17 million people every year and Nottingham City Transport has the world’s largest fleet of low-emission biogas buses. These measures have already gone a long way to achieving cleaner air in the city.”