City Hall hails ‘dramatic’ air quality improvements
12/03/2024 Air quality in the capital has improved ‘much faster’ than in the rest of the UK because of policies introduced by the London mayor, according to a report. |
UK’s first healthcare air quality alert launched
28/02/2024 Healthcare professionals in London will be notified directly about high pollution episodes, London mayor Sadiq Khan has announced. |
Councils near Gatwick raise alarm over runway plan
27/02/2024 Local authorities near Gatwick have raised concerns over the potential increase in noise and air pollution if the airport brings another runway into use. |
Work begins on Oxford traffic filters
26/02/2024 Work has started on a number of streets in Oxford to prepare the way for six traffic filters as part of a trial aimed at reducing traffic in the city. |
Sheffield to invest £1m CAZ funds to improve air quality
15/02/2024 An estimated £1m raised through Sheffield’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will be used to improve air quality near schools, the city council says. |
Major step towards airport reopening
13/02/2024 Councillors have voted to progress plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport using £138m in devolution funding. |
Newcastle CAZ generates £2.4m
31/01/2024 The Newcastle and Gateshead Clean Air Zone (CAZ) brought in more than £2.4m in its first 11 months of operation. |
Westminster revamps emissions-based parking charges
30/01/2024 Westminster City Council will revamp its parking schemes so that residents and visitors are charged based on their vehicles’ tailpipe emissions. |
Greta Thunberg joins Hampshire airport protest
29/01/2024 Residents, councillors and Extinction Rebellion activists were joined by climate campaigner Greta Thunberg to protest the expansion of a private jet facility at the weekend. |
Government faces legal action over air pollution death
26/01/2024 The mother of a girl whose death was linked to poor air quality is bringing a High Court claim against the Government. |
Stoke-on-Trent council plans to stop ‘sledgehammer’ CAZ
18/01/2024 A team from Stoke-on-Trent City Council is working on a plan to stop a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) being implemented in the city. |
BCP Council extends successful bike scheme
02/01/2024 A bike scheme in Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council area has been extended for five more years. |
Think-tank calls for ‘sensible adjustments’ to clean air zones
22/12/2023 Schemes to reduce air pollution should be designed to avoid penalising those living in more deprived areas, a think-tank has said. |
Mayor Burnham criticises fee-paying clean air zone
14/12/2023 Public investment in buses and taxis will improve air quality in Greater Manchester faster than a fee-paying clean air zone (CAZ), Mayor Andy Burnham says. |
Air pollution in most high streets exceeds guidelines, study finds
12/12/2023 Most of Britain’s biggest high streets have air pollution levels above World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, according to a new study. |
Luton Airport Expansion – how much growth is too much?
06/12/2023 As COP28 continues, Cllr Richard Roberts, Herts County Council, criticises Luton Airport's plans to increase passenger numbers to 32 million a year. |
Portsmouth CAZ ‘not enough’ as legal limits still breached
01/12/2023 A government-mandated clean air zone (CAZ) in Portsmouth is not enough to reduce emissions, with pollution on three sites continuing to breach the legal limit, the city’s council has said. |
Councillors ‘powerless and penniless’ on clean air
09/11/2023 Elected members do not believe that councils have the powers or budgets to make meaningful change on air quality, research has found. |
Government approves plans to increase Luton Airport capacity
17/10/2023 Plans by London Luton Airport (LLA) to increase its passenger cap by one million a year have been approved by the Government. |
Bus companies brand Oxford LTNs a ‘failure’
16/10/2023 Low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in Oxford have ‘made congestion worse’ and delayed bus services, operators have argued. |
Greening Up: why, where and how
03/10/2023 Nicholas Boys Smith, director of Create Streets, sets out how local councils can improve the level of urban greenery and why they should. |
Sunak launches fight for motorists
02/10/2023 The Government has announced plans to discourage English councils from bringing in 20mph and traffic reduction measures. |
Bradford claims success from watered-down CAZ
29/09/2023 Bradford Council has celebrated questionable success in its struggle to demonstrate compliance with the legal limit for toxic air pollution. |
Newcastle clean air zone brings in £500k
27/09/2023 Newcastle City Council’s clean air zone (CAZ) has brought in over £500,000 in the first six months of its operation, new figures from the council reveal. |
Tower Hamlets to remove LTN road closures
21/09/2023 Tower Hamlets has decided to remove its low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) road closures despite the majority of affected residents supporting the measures. |
Councils press for more stringent air quality targets
06/09/2023 Local authorities have dismissed claims air pollution targets cannot be met by 2030. |
Birmingham’s clean air zone less effective than previously thought
31/08/2023 Birmingham’s clean air zone (CAZ) has been less effective at reducing the levels of nitrogen dioxide gas than was previously thought, new research suggests. |
RAC urges councils to install ULEZ signs
29/08/2023 Local authorities surrounding London have been advised to install signs warning drivers of today’s expansion of the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). |
Worcester endorses 20-year transport strategy
25/08/2023 City councillors in Worcester have endorsed a new 20-year transport strategy which is aimed at delivering a more sustainable transport system. |
Gloucestershire to roll out 1,000 EV chargers
24/08/2023 Gloucestershire County Council is set to begin the rollout of 1,000 electric vehicle charging points at the end of this month. |
Vehicle emission schemes raise £418m
24/08/2023 More than £400m in fees and penalties has been generated from vehicle emission schemes in England, a freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed. |
City Hall accused of countering science on ULEZ
22/08/2023 Sadiq Khan’s office has been accused of trying to counter scientists who suggested London's ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) had little impact on pollution. |
Khan tells neighbouring councils to ‘put politics aside’ over ULEZ
18/08/2023 London mayor Sadiq Khan has urged Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire county councils to ‘put their politics aside’ and allow the installation of ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) infrastructure. |
The case for low-traffic neighbourhoods
16/08/2023 Tanya Braun, Living Streets makes the case for low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) and argues for an area-by-area approach to reducing the impact of traffic. |
LTN vandalism costs London boroughs £850,000
16/08/2023 Local authorities across London are being forced to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds repairing vandalised low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) infrastructure. |
Home County drivers face taxation without representation
14/08/2023 Cllr Phil Bibby, executive member for Highways & Transport, Hertfordshire County Council sets out why some local authorities are opposed to the ULEZ expansion. |
Labour U-turns on support for clean air zones
14/08/2023 Labour has scrapped its public support for ULEZ-style clean air zones across the country. |
Bristol rules out workplace parking levy
10/08/2023 Bristol City Council has ruled out introducing a workplace parking levy because of the cost-of-living crisis. |
MPs launch electric vehicle (EV) inquiry
09/08/2023 An inquiry into electric vehicles (EVs) has today been launched to help the Government better understand how the UK will reach net zero. |
Majority of ULEZ scrappage scheme remains unclaimed
09/08/2023 More than £71.5m of the original £110m pot for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) scrappage scheme has gone unclaimed, new figues have revealed. |
Transport planners write to PM in defence of LTNs
09/08/2023 The Transport Planning Society (TPS) has written to the PM in defence of low traffic neighbourhoods in the wake of the Government's push-back. |
Khan urges critics to join him in call for southeast scrappage scheme
07/08/2023 Sadiq Khan has urged Home Counties councils to join him in calling on the Government to fund a southeast scrappage scheme for non-ULEZ compliant cars. |
Councils invited to bid for share of £6m air quality fund
07/08/2023 Councils across England are being invited to bid for a share of £6m of Government funding to help tackle local air pollution. |
ULEZ scrappage scheme extended
04/08/2023 Sadiq Khan has announced that the ULEZ scrappage scheme will be expanded, with grants of £2000 being made available to all Londoners with a non-compliant car. |
London borough set to launch its own £1m scrappage scheme
03/08/2023 Merton Council is planning to introduce a £1m vehicle scrappage scheme, helping residents replace cars that are not ULEZ compliant. |
Now I am become Uxbridge, destroyer of rational climate discourse
01/08/2023 Jason Torrance, UK100, responds to the Government’s criticism of clean air zones, low-traffic neighbourhoods and other net zero schemes. |
Greenwich brings in parking charges based on emissions
31/07/2023 Parking charges and resident and business permits in Greenwich are now based on vehicles’ carbon dioxide emissions. |
National review of low-traffic neighbourhoods ‘unnecessary’
31/07/2023 Local authorities are best placed to make decisions about whether to implement low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTN) or not, council chiefs have told the PM. |
Mayor Khan wins ULEZ expansion legal battle
28/07/2023 There is no legal impediment to the Mayor of London’s expansion of the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) to outer London, the High Court has ruled. |
Air pollution impact on health ‘underestimated’
27/07/2023 A study in Bradford has linked healthcare attendances for breathing difficulties to breaches in daily air pollution limits. |
Hertfordshire CC refuses to allow ULEZ signs
26/07/2023 Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) signs and enforcement cameras will not be permitted in Hertfordshire, the council leader has told London Mayor Sadiq Khan. |
Driving out pollution
25/07/2023 Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, deputy leader of Lambeth Council, discusses how her London borough is phasing out diesel to protect residents’ health. |
Essex bans ULEZ signage
14/07/2023 Essex CC has voted to ban signs relating to the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) ahead of the scheme’s scheduled expansion to the county’s borders in August. |
Newcastle City Council to review LTNs
12/07/2023 Newcastle CC has insisted a review of low traffic schemes was commissioned before a former external auditor raised concerns about the way it was implemented. |
London City Airport expansion blocked by Newham Council
11/07/2023 Newham Council’s strategic development committee has voted unanimously to block London City Airport’s plans for expansion. |
Thousands more green buses needed to reach net zero
28/06/2023 More than 5,800 extra green buses are needed in England by 2030 to reach net zero and support the levelling up agenda, according to a new report from IPPR. |
LGA: Councils best placed to lead on climate action
28/06/2023 The LGA has said that only councils can lead the climate action required to meet net zero after a report described Government progress as ‘worryingly slow’. |
Get on your bike!
27/06/2023 Richard Dilks, chief executive of Collaborative Mobility UK (CoMoUK), looks at what local authorities can do to promote shared bike schemes. |
Leeds pollution still at illegal levels after CAZ ditched
16/06/2023 Toxic air pollution in Leeds was above legal limits in 2021 after the city council chose not to proceed with a government-mandated Clean Air Zone (CAZ). |
Oxfordshire unveils £200,000 air pollution plan
16/06/2023 Oxfordshire County Council has unveiled a £200,000 plan to cut air pollution which it says is the 'biggest environmental risk to public health'. |
Haringey to treble number of School Streets
16/06/2023 Haringey councillors have signed off on a plan that will almost treble the number of School Streets in the borough to 61. |
Cleaner air for those that need it most
15/06/2023 Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council, discusses the local authority's new initiative to protect residents in care homes from pollution. |
Vent-Axia supports Clean Air Day
12/06/2023 Vent-Axia is supporting Clean Air Day on Thursday 15 June 2023 and welcomes the theme “Clean up our air to look after your mind this #CleanAirDay”. |
Reducing carbon emissions with data
09/06/2023 Subu Kamal, TRL Software, looks at how councils can work collectively to reduce carbon emissions with data. |
Birmingham council launches air quality fund
02/06/2023 A funding scheme for cycle racks, school traffic exclusion plans and other measures has been launched to help improve air quality in Birmingham. |
Court widens grounds in ULEZ challenge
31/05/2023 The High Court has allowed further grounds to be added to the Judicial Review into the proposed expansion of the ULEZ to outer London. |
Bristol announces low traffic neighbourhood scheme
11/05/2023 A new low traffic neighbourhood scheme in Bristol will create a safer and healthier place for people to live and spend time, according to council leaders. |
Councils face ‘Kafkaesque’ barriers to net zero
03/05/2023 Local authorities face ‘Kafkaesque’ barriers to achieving net zero goals, a new report backed by the Government’s net zero tsar has concluded. |
Toxic air pollution in London exceeds WHO guidelines
26/04/2023 Every borough in London exceeds World Health Organization (WHO) limits for toxic air pollution, new data reveals. |
Sutton Council launches anti-ULEZ expansion petition
25/04/2023 Sutton Council in south-west London has launched a petition among residents to protest against new restrictions on vehicle emissions. |
High Court grants permission for ULEZ judicial review
13/04/2023 The High Court has granted permission for a judicial review into the proposed expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to outer London this summer. |
Air quality consultation launched
12/04/2023 The Government has launched a consultation on how councils in England can improve air quality. |
Yorkshire Dales to see ‘significant boost’ in public transport
31/03/2023 Public transport in the Yorkshire Dales is to expand after the authority running the National Park agreed to encourage a ‘boost’ to bus and rail services. |
Police called after LTN planters set on fire
29/03/2023 Rochdale Borough Council has called the police after local low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) planters were set on fire. |
Nearly 700,000 drivers in Greater London face ULEZ charges
24/03/2023 Nearly 700,000 car drivers in Greater London could be liable to pay a £12.50 charge to drive into the city from the summer, according to the RAC. |
Private cars exempt as Sheffield finally gets CAZ
27/02/2023 Sheffield’s CAZ came into force on Monday, more than five years after the Government legally directed the council to implement the air quality measure. |
Five councils launch judicial review against ULEZ
17/02/2023 Five councils have launched a judicial review against Transport for London and London mayor Sadiq Khan over the expansion of the ULEZ to outer London. |
MICHELIN’s Connected Fleet leads to nearly 50% drop in engine idling
13/02/2023 Highway Traffic Management (HTM) reports dramatic drop in engine idling, following the installation of MICHELIN Connected Fleet’s on-board telematics system. |
Council chiefs hit back at Defra’s air quality demands
03/02/2023 Councils do not hold the ‘important levers to tackle air quality’, council leaders have said in response to the environment secretary’s clean air plans. |
Three quarters of Hackney streets to become LTNs
26/01/2023 Hackney is set to ban most vehicles from most of its roads in what it says is ‘the country’s most ambitious plan’ for Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) so far. |
Khan faces new pushback over ULEZ expansion
20/01/2023 A London council has vowed to continue its fight to delay the expansion of the capital’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ). |
Gloucestershire councils sign net zero agreement
19/01/2023 Local authorities in Gloucestershire have joined forces to reduce transport emissions and achieve net zero goals. |
LTNs lead to ‘substantial declines’ in traffic, study reveals
19/01/2023 The largest ever study into the impact of low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in London found that they led to ‘substantial declines’ in motor traffic. |
Edinburgh first Scottish city to endorse plant-based diet
18/01/2023 Edinburgh Council has become the first Scottish city and first European capital to endorse an initiative aimed at tackling emissions from animal agriculture. |
Air quality campaigners warn of ‘dark stores’
08/12/2022 Air quality campaigners have called on levelling up secretary Michael Gove to tighten up regulations around last-mile delivery depots. |
Cumbria coalmine decision branded ‘dereliction of duty’
08/12/2022 The Government’s decision to grant planning permission for a new coalmine in Cumbria is a ‘shocking dereliction of duty’, planners say. |
Domus Ventilation’s Solis Air Brick wins London Construction Awards
05/12/2022 Domus Ventilation is thrilled to announce its Solis Air Brick™ has won the Product Innovation of the Year award at the London Construction Awards. |
London’s ULEZ to expand city-wide
28/11/2022 London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is set to be expanded city-wide as part of the drive to tackle air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion. |
Nottingham council set to launch fleet of 700 e-bikes
25/11/2022 A fleet of over 700 electric bikes are set to hit the streets of Nottingham next Spring, the city council has confirmed. |
Mayor renews pledge to fight toxic air street by street
28/10/2022 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that £69m per year will now go to boroughs to help them deliver even more School Streets. |
Residents struggling to find information on levels of dangerous air pollution, MPs warn
26/10/2022 Local authorities are making it too difficult for residents to find information about dangerous levels of air pollution in their local area, a new report has argued today. |
Nottingham council celebrates £34m electric bus investment
25/10/2022 Nottingham City Transport’s first electric buses will soon hit the city’s streets thanks to a multi-million-pound investment by the transport operator. |
Councils set to double number of EV chargers
24/10/2022 Local authorities are set to double the number of electric vehicle charging points they install over the next year, according to new data released today. |
Expansion of London’s ULEZ generates over £90m
21/10/2022 The expansion of London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone a year ago has generated an estimated £93.6m of additional revenue from drivers of non-compliant vehicles. |
Million children exposed to dangerous levels of pollution
05/10/2022 More than a million children under the age of 18 live in areas where air pollution exceeds safe levels, new research has revealed. |
Bradford's watered-down CAZ goes live
30/09/2022 Bradford City Council has admitted it will not meet a legal requirement to tackle air pollution, having ‘pushed back’ against pressure to comply with the law. |
Mayor Khan blasts airport expansion plans
07/09/2022 The Mayor of London has criticised London City Airport’s plans to expand, arguing that they are not compatible with the drive to net zero. |
First Bus places UK’s largest ever electric bus order
01/09/2022 First Bus has placed one of the UK’s largest EV bus orders following bids with local authorities to a Government scheme aimed at promoting zero emission buses. |
Councils should have encouraged more cycling post-pandemic, AA says
31/08/2022 Local authorities should have done more to encourage residents to continue the cycling and walking habits acquired during the lockdown, the AA has said. |
Nine councils set to benefit from £20m EV charge point pilot
24/08/2022 A multi-million-pound electric vehicle (EV) charge point pilot looks set to deliver an estimated 1,000 new chargers across the country. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.