Air quality improvement for Newcastle but some hotspots remain

Air quality in Newcastle has seen a significant improvement over the last 12 months as more drivers switch to cleaner vehicles.

New data for 2024 shows that average levels of nitrogen dioxide across the city went down by 9% since 2023, with the Clean Air Zone playing a part in achieving the reduction.

Grant funding of more than £5.2m to support over 1,000 vehicle upgrades has been paid out to local businesses, tradespeople and taxi drivers since the launch of the CAZ by Newcastle and Gateshead councils in January 2023.

And the impact of people switching to cleaner vehicles is now being reflected in the city’s pollution data.

Cllr Juna Sathian, Cabinet Member for Climate and Transport at Newcastle City Council, said: “I’m delighted that we are seeing a reduction in pollution levels across our city, which shows that the Clean Air Zone is having a positive impact on our air quality.

“As more people upgrade from older, more polluting vehicles to cleaner models with reduced emissions we hope to see even more improvements in the future.

“Poor air quality is linked to a number of serious health issues such as heart disease, cancer and breathing problems, including childhood asthma.

“It’s vital that we tackle this to protect people’s health and ensure they can live long, happy and active lives.

“These latest figures show that we are making important positive steps forward in achieving this but there are still further improvements needed.”

Data for 2024 shows that pollution levels in two specific areas of the city – Percy Street in the city centre and Stephenson Road in Heaton – continue to exceed legal limits despite improvements at both locations since 2023.

As a result of these two exceedances, the Clean Air Zone, which covers most of Newcastle city centre and routes to and from Gateshead over the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges, will remain in place.

An independent evaluation report looking at the long-term trends in air quality and the impact of the Clean Air Zone is currently being produced to help inform and update Newcastle’s Air Quality Action Plan.

The evaluation will include a review of Newcastle’s two current air quality management areas (AQMAs) – one in the city centre, which is also covered by the CAZ, and one in Gosforth, where emissions have remained in compliance with legal limits for a number of years following the introduction of the AQMA.

The independent report will be submitted to Government before being published.