Agenda item

The Strategic Director of Communities and Environment

a.    presented the proposed interim Air Quality Action Plan for comments prior to referral Executive.

b.    advised that the City of Lincoln Council currently had one declared Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA), which was in place due to non-compliance with the national annual mean air quality objective for nitrogen dioxide, a road traffic related pollutant.

c.    explained that when a local authority had declared an AQMA, it had a duty to produce an air quality action plan (AQAP) aimed at improving pollution levels within the AQMA. The Council’s current AQAP was produced in 2006 and required updating to reflect the current air quality challenges within the city.

d.    advised that due to the ongoing review of the Lincoln Transport Strategy (LTS) led by Lincolnshire County Council, it was proposed that an interim Air Quality Action Plan would be published detailing those measures that could be implemented, irrespective of the outcomes of the LTS review.

e.    advised that when the LTS was complete it was proposed to review the AQAP to seek to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the updated LTS.

f.     highlighted the key priorities of the interim Air Quality Action Plan as detailed at paragraph 4.7 of the report.

g.    advised that due to the close association between air quality and climate change, the City Council’s Low Carbon Task Force had provided a steering group role in terms of developing the interim Action Plan. It was proposed that the group would oversee the implementation and monitoring of the actions contained within the proposed interim Action Plan.

h.    advised that Equality and Diversity had been considered and the report to Executive would be updated to reflect this,  also an Equality Impact Assessment would be produced for each action on interim Air Quality Action Plan.

i.      invited members questions and comments.

Comment – Staff should be encouraged to cycle to work.

Response -  There was a cycle to work scheme where staff could purchase a bike and the payment would be deducted from their wages over a year.

Question – Would areas around schools and nursery’s where there was standing traffic be a focus point to be looked at?

Response – Only the area in Broadgate exceeded the national limits and this was only at certain times of the day. The Lincoln Transport Strategy would make a significant difference to the traffic movement in the city and this policy would be reviewed once the Lincoln Transport Strategy was in place.

Question – Referred to priority 2 and asked how would taxi drivers be encouraged to use lower emissions vehicles as this would be expensive.

Response – It would be a requirement over a period of time.

Question – Could there be a limit on heavy goods vehicles going through the City Centre?

Response – It could be considered by the County Council as part of the Lincoln Transport Strategy once the by-pass was in place.

Comment – The  cycle infrastructure needed improving to encourage people to use their bikes, there was currently limited places to lock up bikes.

Question – Had Officers spoken with Stagecoach regarding the use of old buses?

Response – Officers had regular meetings with Stagecoach, they had recently gone through an extensive bus replacement programme. There were a few old buses left on their fleet but they were moving towards new buses.

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted and referred to Executive for approval.