Nottingham has emerged as the UK city with the cleanest air in a national survey, as it carries on with efforts to become carbon neutral by 2028.
The ‘UK’s greenest towns and cities‘ report by Compare the Market shows Nottingham’s air quality as the best in the country, and ranks Nottingham 23rd overall.
Levels of recycling and number of parks are among the measures taken into account.
The city is doing more than most to improve air quality – with its plan to tackle the issue becoming the first to be approved by Government last year. This is due to:
The UK government approved Nottingham’s clean air plan last year. Initiatives include:
– Doubling the size of the tram network via the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL)
– Upgrading buses to biogas and electric
– Investing in cycling facilities
– Installing nearly 400 charge points in the region and introducing the UK’s first Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) lane
– Cleaning up the council’s fleet of vehicles, reducing running costs and emissions
– Cleaning up the city’s taxis – with the biggest fleet of ULEV cabs outside of London and all city hackney cabs due to be Euro 6 diesel or ULEV by summer 2020
– Tackling idling vehicles
Sally Longford, Nottingham City Council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for Energy and the Environment, said: “Just over a year on from Government approving our clean air plan, we are pleased that this survey shows Nottingham’s air quality is the cleanest of any city in the UK.
“A combination of factors have meant that Nottingham hasn’t had to follow other cities in taking drastic steps to meet the minimum emission target.
“The end result is cleaner air and all the environmental and health benefits that come with that.”
