The level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from road traffic pollution in Sheffield has fallen significantly across the city, more than a year on from the launch of its clean air zone (CAZ), according to annual average air quality data for 2023.
Sheffield’s CAZ, which commenced on Monday 27 February 2023, requires the most heavily polluting vehicles to pay a daily charge to drive into Sheffield’s inner city and ring road.
Vehicles impacted include heavy good vehicles, light goods vehicles, vans, taxis, buses and coaches. Motorbikes and private passenger cars are not affected.
READ MORE: Sheffield CAZ revenue to fund further air quality projects
Sheffield City Council reported that the 2023 annual average air quality data, from January to December 2023, shows a positive reduction in NO2 caused by road traffic pollution.
A reduction in NO2 has been observed across all monitored locations within Sheffield’s CAZ, when compared to the year before, with an overall NO2 reduction of 16% across the CAZ area since its launch.
What’s more, beyond the CAZ area, an average NO2 reduction of 21%t has also been observed across the wider Sheffield district in 2023.
Ben Miskell, chair of Sheffield City Council’s transport and regeneration committee, said: “I’m really pleased to share that air quality in the city is improving.
“Data collected as part of the CAZ shows that air pollution caused by vehicles has dropped right across the city, and we’re seeing that more and more people and business are making the switch to cleaner vehicles – it’s a fantastic achievement for Sheffield.
“In the coming year we expect to see even further improvements in our air quality, but there’s much more to be done to make sure that Sheffield’s air quality levels move closer to those recommended by the World Health Organisation.”
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Ahead of the CAZ going live, Sheffield City Council launched its Financial Assistance Schemes initative, with 1,081 people taking up the offer of grants to upgrade or replace their non-compliant vehicles with cleaner ones, and 514 people applying for retrospective funding for vehicles they have already upgraded or replaced to cleaner ones.
A total of 1,595 grants have been paid up until the end of May 2024.
What’s more, Sheffield City Council’s taxi fleet is reportedly now 95% compliant, as of May 2024, compared to 64% in November 2022, before the CAZ was introduced.
The number of journeys made into the CAZ by compliant vehicles has also increased from 64% to 90% as of May 2024.
Whilst the data covers the calendar year for 2023, full charging for the CAZ did not commence until 05 June 2023, due to exemptions the council put in place for local light goods vehicles and Hackney Carriage taxis.
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