COMPETITION
North Lanarkshire Council say that recorded levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate PM10 now comply with national objectives and would not now newly require to be designated as action areas.
Councillors being updated on North Lanarkshire’s three- year air quality management plan at the latest meeting of the authority’s infrastructure committee were told: “This improvement is not due to a single factor.
“[ It] will be due in part to the improving emission standards on vehicles, improvements within the major road networks and the various actions undertaken by the council through previous air quality action plans.”
However, air quality management area (AQMA) status will not yet be revoked from the town centre or from two similar areas in Airdrie and Coatbridge despite the “ever-improving picture” – as three years of constant results are required, along with new measurements for particulate matter PM2.5.
The report for councillors added: “Irrespective of whether there is a recommendation to revoke these areas, they will still be the three most polluted in the council area, and routine air quality monitoring will continue.”
Now the latest air quality action plan outlines 22 actions the council will take on pollution up to 2021 – including “work to improve bus provision”, improving emission standards from the council’s vehicle fleet, and encouraging a “shift away from private vehicles to public transport, walking or cycling for both leisure and commuter journeys”.
Councillors were told that North Lanarkshire has “significant air quality challenges, primarily as a result of road traffic emissions”; and that the latest plan “demonstrates the council’s commitment to improving air quality for the people of North Lanarkshire”.