Air quality improves in District

Improvements in air quality will see three Air Quality Management Areas in Blaby District removed.

Blaby District Council, like all authorities, has a duty to review and assess air quality in its area and submit annual reports to the Government.

If measurements show pollution is above target levels, then an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) must be declared with a plan of action to fix the problem.

The Council has five AQMAs - A5460 Narborough Road South; the B4114 in Enderby and Narborough; the A47, Hinckley Road, Leicester Forest East; Enderby Road Whetstone and Mill Hill Enderby. Read more on our Air Quality page

All are on busy stretches of road and were declared due to being pollution ‘hotspots’ where harmful nitrogen dioxide levels from traffic emissions were above Government-set limits.

Now three of these, Narborough Road South, the B4114 in Enderby and Narborough and Enderby Road Whetstone may be revoked.

Monitoring over the last five years has shown consistently low levels of nitrogen dioxide, well below Government targets (including before and after the pandemic).

Improvements have come thanks to the Council working with partners on a range on interventions. These have included behaviour change, encouraging car shares/use of bicycles and road infrastructure enhancements to encourage freer-flowing traffic and easing congestion.

Residents living near the three areas will be advised of the new status and actions taken which have reduced the nitrogen dioxide levels.

AQMAs will remain on the A47, Hinckley Road, Leicester Forest East and Mill Hill, Enderby.

A new AQMA is set to be declared in the Fosse Park area due to one instance of a high level of nitrogen dioxide being recorded.

The Council continues to carry out focused monitoring across the District. A new Air Quality Action Plan will be drawn up based on these changes.

Councillor Les Phillimore, Blaby District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing, Community and Environmental Services, said: "We are acutely aware of the health dangers posed by air pollution and the part it plays in the onset of heart disease and cancer. Nitrogen dioxide in particular is linked to respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis.

"We are committed to improving air quality across the District, especially in locations where our monitoring has found higher levels of air pollution than we would like. It’s great news we have seen improvements in some of our worst affected areas. We will continue our work with partners to act on poor air quality wherever it is needed."

Councillor Les Phillimore
Portfolio Holder for Housing, Community and Environmental Services