Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a Briefing Note of the Deputy Chief executive (Place) on the development of the Coventry Local Air Quality Action Plan and the current position in relation to the Plan.

Coventry had been identified by Government as one of 40 towns and cities in the UK where roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels are likely to exceed legal limits by 2021. The Government issued a Direction instructing the City Council to develop and submit a Local Air Quality Action Plan setting out how the Council intended to reduce NO2 levels within the city below legal limits in the shortest possible time. The Board received progress reports on the development of the Action Plan July 2018 (minute 4/18 referred) and November 2018 (minute 18/18 referred)

The Action Plan, outlining the preferred package of measures that would achieve the objective of reducing NO2 levels, and which did not propose a Clean Air Zone, was approved by the Cabinet in February 2019 (their minute 106/18 referred) and submitted to Government. The Board received an update on the Action Plan in April 2019 (Minute 50/18 referred), when they requested a further report once Government feedback on the Plan had been properly reviewed.

Government responded to the Action Plan in March 2019 with a new Direction imposing the following duties upon the Council:

·  Duty to implement the benchmark option [this being the implementation of a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) Category D as set out in the LAQAP submission] – to achieve compliance with the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide by 2023 at the latest.

·  Duty to submit additional documentation–covering revised air quality modelling by 14th June at the latest. This modelling should demonstrate the applicable class of a charging CAZ, and outline the additional measures that would be required to achieve compliance in the shortest possible time.

·  Duty to prepare and submit a full business case by 27th September 2019 at the latest. 

A Clean Air Zone Category D would result in a charge being imposed upon non-compliant vehicles entering the zone, including all categories of vehicle (bus, taxi, vans, lorries, motorcycles and cars). The Cabinet has consistently opposed the principle of putting a CAZ in place in the city, and this has been supported by the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) in their previous meetings. 

The Council was complying with the latest Direction by undertaking additional air quality modelling work testing different options for the Action Plan which would result in an updated Action Plan being submitted to Government later in 2019. The aim remains to deliver an Action Plan that achieves the reduction in NO2 levels in the shortest possible time without the need for the imposition of a CAZ. 

The Holyhead Road route into the city records the highest levels of NO2 therefore, the Council was developing a revised package of measures that focussed upon reducing traffic flows on Holyhead Road, including removing a pinch point at Spon End to provide greater capacity on the parallel route into the city from the west. Coundon Road would remain open at the level crossing, with Upper Hill Street opened out onto the Ring Road to enable the closure of Barras Lane and the removal of the existing traffic signals at the Holyhead Road/Barras Lane junction. These measures would be complemented by investment in improved cycle routes, travel planning and traffic management. In addition, the Council was investing heavily, using Government grant, in upgrading the bus fleet, supporting a transition to electric taxis, and encouraging uptake of electric cars by extending the network of charging points across the city. 

The Council’s strategy was therefore to improve air quality in the city by upgrading the fleet of vehicles operating within the city, encouraging modal shift away from the car for local journeys, and to implement traffic management measures to encourage traffic away from the most polluted areas of the city whilst ensuring that displaced traffic didn’t result in NO2 levels being breached on other routes.

The process involved the submission of updated evidence based on the additional air quality modelling work testing a variety of additional measures, as well as variants on the Clean Air Zone approach. This was submitted to Government on 14th June 2019, with some further supplementary technical reports being submitted by 28th June 2019.

Once Government feedback on the evidence was received, expected to be during July 2019, the Council would publish for consultation, the updated Local Air Quality Action Plan. The consultation feedback would help to refine the proposals outlined in the Plan, and a Full Business Case would then be submitted to Government later in the year outlining the precise funding requirement being sought by the Council to deliver the measures contained in the Action Plan. Under the current Direction, the Government required submission of the Full Business Case by 27th September 2019, but the ability to comply with this date depended on the nature of Government feedback, the timing of the feedback, and the consequential impact on the consultation programme. If necessary, the Council would make representation to Government seeking a review of the submission date.

The Government had agreed to issue additional grant funding of £500,000 to support the Council in the preparation of the Full Business Case. In addition, a further £4.5 million of grant funding had been made available to the Council, linked to the work should a Clean Air Zone be required. Whilst this funding had been accepted by the Council, to comply with Government funding procedures, it was being held on account pending the outcome of the Action Plan development work.

There had been significant publicity relating to a charging Clean Air Zone being introduced in the City. The Council’s consistent view has been that a charging Zone is unnecessary, and that the NO2 levels in the city can be reduced below legal limits through a range of alternative measures. This position has not changed.

Members questioned officers and discussed the following issues:

·  Ensuring that any road proposals do not adversely affect traffic flow, particularly on entrance to/exit of the Ring Road

·  Comparisons with other towns and cities in the UK where roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels are likely to exceed legal limits – use of Government Model, strategies for passing emission level limit, progress of other Authorities in the process

·  Consideration/monitoring of particulates that could contribute to poor air quality and/or improve air quality, including tree planting and landscaping

·  Encouraging the use of public transport – subsidised travel, better routes, reliable and punctual buses

·  Electric vehicle charging points – location and usage

·  Effects of road proposals on emission levels around St Osburg’s Primary School

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3):

1)  Notes the content of the Briefing Note.

2)  Supports the steps being taken to improve air quality in the city.

3)   Supports the Council’s opposition to the implementation of a Clean Air Zone in the City.

4)   Supports the Cabinet Members’ in their direction of travel on the Air Quality Action Plan.