Roads to be removed from city clean air zone to protect businesses

TWO of the city’s busiest roads will not be included as part of a clean air zone. councillors decided, as they warned that local businesses also need to be protected.

During a heated cabinet meeting debate on Tuesday members of Portsmouth's Liberal Democrat administration came under fire for plans to axe Fratton Road and Kingston Crescent from a chargeable clean air zone that is set to be implemented next year.

It was ultimately ruled that the zone in the south west of the city would no longer include the roads, as well as the Fratton and Holbrook Road roundabouts, to help businesses and to focus on more ‘permanent’ air quality measures in those areas.

Once the zone is in place non-compliant taxis, buses, coaches, heavy goods vehicles — and potentially vans — will have to pay to enter.

Speaking at the virtual meeting council leader Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: ‘This is about a balancing act of trying to find the best thing for the environment and for local businesses.’

The need for the zone has been set by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) specifically to reduce levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in Alfred Road and the Commercial Road junction with Church Street.

Cllr Dave Ashmore, the council's environment boss, explained funding for the zone would be pulled as soon as the areas reach compliance. ‘The modelling shows that the zone would make those areas compliant by 2022,’ he said.

‘We don't want to be compliant for a couple of years for it to then be taken away. That’s not going to make a cleaner Portsmouth.

‘Fratton Road is currently being considered as part of the future high streets fund — that will include creating a low traffic neighbourhood, which is a much more permanent way of improving air quality and a much more holistic way of improving the road.’

Alterations to the zone were first suggested following a consultation with the public as well as taxi and bus drivers where more than 2,000 people responded.

But just 1.5 per cent of the survey's respondents asked for those roads to be excluded.