Agenda item

Question from Mr Tom Hayes to Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of the Council

Air pollution has gone up in parts of Oxford and the problem is likely to get worse before it gets better, contributing to hundreds of avoidable deaths every year. Public Health England report that 5.3% of deaths in the county are attributable to particulate air pollution. 

Everybody visiting, living, and working in St Clement’s is breathing air that is getting worse, possibly causing them to get very ill. St Clement’s is the most polluted part of the city and latest figures show its air quality getting worse, in large part because of emissions from local transportation.

Oxford City Council monitors air quality because it has a statutory duty to review local air quality.  The results are used to assess air pollution in relation to guidelines and objectives that are set by the European Union and the UK Government. That same Government is calling on local councils like my own to draw up action plans for tackling poor air quality. However, the council which controls the roads and how they are used in the city is this one. My council has to engage with yours on all measures to improve air quality in Oxford.

Can you tell me what five specific steps this county council is taking as local transport authority to clean the air that St Clement’s breathes every day, and the total sum of money being spent this municipal year? In choosing your five steps, I would welcome you picking those which you believe are leading to the largest and quickest impacts on air quality. 

Thank you in advance for answering this question in detail.”

Councillor Hudspeth answered as follows:

Based on 2016 monitoring undertaken by the City Council, NO₂ levels across Oxford have dropped by 35% in the last ten years. Monitoring also confirms that air quality in St Clement’s has improved albeit it is recognised that levels here are now above other areas and what are considered to be more acceptable values.

Air pollution is clearly an important factor to people’s health and the Public Health England Indicator is useful in highlighting this issue and enabling us to keep it under surveillance. The report quoted is from 2014 and later figures are available for 2015 which show the estimate for Oxfordshire is now 4.7%, however the indicator is based on a model and it is widely accepted that the actual figure could vary widely from these estimates.

Long-term exposure to air pollution contributes a small amount to the deaths of a large number of individuals rather than being solely responsible for deaths as demonstrated below:

Overall, monitoring trends in the city are very encouraging and confirm that air quality in Oxford is getting better; a reflection of the positive work both councils have done over the years.

This includes, in 2013, the implementation of the Low Emission Zone in Oxford city centre. Developed by both councils the LEZ requires all bus and coach services travelling through certain city centre streets to meet minimum emissions standards. The benefit of the LEZ is much wider given a majority of the buses and coaches that travel to the city centre also pass through other areas including St Clement’s.     

There is clearly more work to do though.  Enabling and delivering more housing including more affordable housing in the city would have a positive impact by reducing demand on the network. This is the current challenge for the City Council’s Local Plan currently out for consultation.  In the meantime, the County Council has an ambitious Local Transport Plan, which puts forward proposals, as part of the Oxford Transport Strategy (OTS), to introduce a zero emission zone in Oxford city centre by 2020. A joint County-City study is already underway and due to be published soon.

The transport strategy also includes proposals for mass transit and a step change in walking and cycling that will be enabled and supported by an ambitious agenda of road space reallocation, and a much stronger focus on reducing the causes and impacts of congestion, which is a major contributor to air pollution in the city.

Since the adoption of the OTS the County has been working on a number of corridor studies to develop further proposals for mass transit, pedestrian and cycle improvements on the city’s main transport corridors. The corridor studies mean we are better positioned to secure improvements or funding directly from development and take advantage of central government funding opportunities when they become available. Already completed studies are published on the County’s website with further studies planned in the future including, but not limited to, St Clement’s.

The strategy also suggests a Workplace Parking Levy or congestion charge scheme could be implemented in the city, and in November last year, the County Council’s Cabinet resolved to consider whether either would be right for Oxford and to report the findings of an outline business case at a future Cabinet meeting. If implemented this would help to manage traffic growth in the city and provide a more reliable funding stream to help deliver the ambitions of the OTS, including reducing transport-related air pollution in the city.  

Advances in technology will also be key to improving air quality and the County have already been supporting trials of wireless induction charged electric buses, which run fully on electricity. As technology continues to develop, with increasing speed, we expect electric buses and other types of low (or zero emission) public transport to become more widespread and we will support pilots where appropriate, working with businesses and research institutions.

Mr Hayes asked the following Supplementary Question:

Clearly the zero emission zone is the one policy area in which the city and county can have the largest and quickest impact.  I’m interested in the steps that the County are taking in moving towards that zone and specifically whether it will apply to buses by 2020 and whether you yourself have received the personal assurances from those bus companies that they will be able to meet the zero emission zone standards and in particular I would like to know whether you can give any assurances that St. Clement’s will see an improvement in pollution levels as a result of that zone.

Councillor Hudspeth answered as follows:

Back in 2007 when I first became Cabinet member for Transport one of the first projects we embarked upon was the low emission zone in the centre of the City, working jointly very well with the executive member in the City and at that stage, 2013 seemed a long way off.  At that stage the bus companies were not guaranteeing a low emission or euro6.  They have got better than that and have enhanced that.  Working together is really key to delivering the zero emission zone within the city.

It is very difficult to say what funding and implementation has a direct impact of St. Clement’s.  For example the £12.5m Scheme in Headington providing segregated bus/cycleway, improving bus services may achieve an air quality improvement for St. Clement’s.  St. Clement’s will benefit from overall strategy, not just a strategy in that area.

A zero emission zone by its definition should include all vehicles, at the moment there have been no guarantees from anybody regarding whether that will be achieved, but we are working towards it, which is what the City Council is also doing working towards it.  I think it would be unwise for anyone, even with a zero emission zone to say the air quality in one particular area will improve without knowing the impact of other emissions within that area.  Therefore guarantees cannot be given.