Following a £3.5 billion investment into the government’s plan to tackle harmful emissions from road transport across the country, Nottingham City Council’s hard work has paid off and can proudly announce that they are the first local authority to have their air quality plan approved by the government.
The Nottingham air quality plan seeks to reduce pollution levels in the shortest possible time and deliver compliance with legal air quality limits.
Nottingham council are committed to improving air quality by;
- Retrofitting 171 buses with technology to reduce emissions, funded through the Government’s Clean Bus Technology Fund;
- Changing the age and emissions policy for hackney carriages and supporting an increase in low emission taxis. £1m from government will be used to provide a licensing discount for drivers, a taxi rank with charging points, fund home chargers and expand the council’s ‘try before you buy’ scheme, which started this week
- In addition, Nottingham City Council has received funding from the Government to support the conversion of its own fleet, including replacing heavy, high polluting vehicles such as bin lorries with electric vehicles.
Other towns and cities are in close pursuit, with final plans being received from Birmingham and Leeds and 33 other local authorities working on their air quality action plans.
