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In my area
Discover how to Care4Air in your area and across the region.
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Barnsley
Check out Air Quality in Barnsley, please click here
Local contact
Chris Shields
[email protected]
www.barnsley.gov.uk
01226 772452
Air quality as an issue continues to develop within Barnsley.
The consultation period associated with the publication of the Action Plan to reduce air pollution concentrations adjacent to the M1 motorway came to an end on April 30th. The action plan has been drafted in response to the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area along the M1 in Barnsley, due to raised concentrations of the polluting gas nitrogen dioxide.
Barnsley Council’s Pollution Control section will now take on board comments received from the Government, the Highways Agency and local stakeholders in order to shape the future direction of the Plan.
The Council’s Pollution Control section is also currently working on the next stage of the continuing process of assessing the Borough’s air quality. This work will look closely at pollution levels at congested road junctions in the Borough, the findings of which will be available during the summer.
The airborne pollutants that will be assessed at these junctions are the gas nitrogen dioxide, and fine inhalable particles. Traffic emissions contribute to increased concentrations of both these pollutants.
This work has raised the awareness of air quality within the Borough. In response to this, the Council is developing its own air quality web site, which will form part of the official barnsley.gov.uk website. Barnsley’s air quality information will also be viewed on the town centre South Yorkshire Communities Online Project information kiosks, and it is hoped to be available eventually on interactive digital TV. The site will be online shortly, and will also be linked to the care4air website.
Ken Eastwood, the Council’s Environmental Protection Unit Manager, said, “I am pleased that we are able to make information and advice on air quality publicly available in this way and I very much hope that this will lead to raised awareness of the issues and the actions will can all take to improve air quality locally.”
In the meantime, information on the Borough’s air quality can be obtained form the Council’s Pollution Control section, by ringing 01226 772458 (e-mail [email protected]). Further details on air quality work in Barnsley will be broadcast on the Care4Air website in the coming months.
Doncaster
Check out Air Quality in Doncaster, please click here
Local contact
Pollution Control
[email protected]
www.doncaster.gov.uk
Although Doncaster has a proud heritage of coal mining it also produced smokeless fuels which were used to combat the poor air quality of the 1950s.
The whole of the Doncaster Borough has been smoke controlled since 1994.
This, combined with rigorous enforcement, has successfully addressed the visible winter smog. Now attention is being directed towards invisible emissions notably nitrogen dioxide from vehicle emissions.
Doncaster Council has declared four air quality management areas (AQMAs) for the exceedence of the nitrogen dioxide objectives.
Our seven automatic monitoring units and diffusion tube network are used to monitor the changes in air quality. Data from the automatic units is used to notify the public and to inform action plans.
The air quality levels are reported three times a day via our website, our answer phone (01302 737580) and Trax FM radio (107.1 - 107.9).
In addition every proposed development within the Borough is assessed for their potential to impact on air quality.
Getting children on board at an early age is an important goal for Doncaster. "Freshair" is our local young person's website at www.doncaster.gov.uk/airq and was named 'Best Local Authority' website in 2005 by the Air Quality Bulletin Magazine, and has been runner up for the last two years.
In conjunction with pupils and staff we are currently carrying out air quality monitoring projects in the grounds of four schools across Doncaster. This project aims to introduce school children to the concept of air pollution and get them thinking of ways that we can all help to improve our own air.
With the same aim, but this time in conjunction with local residents, we have instigated community diffusion tube monitoring across areas of Doncaster.
Rotherham
Check out Air Quality in Rotherham, please click here
Local contact
Julie Kent
[email protected]
www.rotherham.gov.uk
01709 823193
Air pollution has been a concern for the people of Rotherham for many years. The Council has actively monitored air quality since the 1950s. The Council has regulated air pollution from domestic sources through the introduction of smoke-controlled areas, and Local Air Pollution Control of certain industries, to improve the environment.
A number of Council initiatives are taking place, which over the next few years will result in the further safeguarding of the air we breathe.
Automatic air monitoring has been in place since 1995 in Rotherham Town Centre, and the network has gradually expanded since this time to 8 automatic sites and around 70 non-automatic sites.
The air quality data is used by Environmental Services to inform the Review and Assessment of air quality of the Borough, which is undertaken as part of the Government’s National Air Quality Strategy.
The Council has declared two Air Quality Management Areas, where it is likely that the Government’s health based objectives for levels of air pollutants will not be met.
The Council produced an Air Quality Action Plan in partnership with the M1 Corridor Clean Air Partnership in 2003.
The Council has worked with Wentworth Primary Care Trust during 2003 to improve the air quality and health of residents in Brampton Bierlow.
The Council is a partner in the South Yorkshire Vehicle Emissions Testing programme.
The recycling and composting of waste are being promoted by the Council through initiatives such as the ‘Blue Box’ scheme, which is being rolled out throughout the borough, and a trial of 12,000 ‘green’ bins for the collection of garden waste.
Sheffield
Check out Air Quality in Sheffield, please click here
Local contact
Mark Daly
[email protected]
www.sheffield.gov.uk
0114 2734 655
Sheffield Airmap
UK Air Quality Archive
Sheffield has a long history of being at the forefront of tackling air pollution. The proud heritage of steel making in the city made it world famous, and "made in Sheffield" was and still is a by word for quality steel products.
Unfortunately, Sheffield was also infamous for its badly polluted air. From the early 1800s right up to 1950s Sheffield had a terrible air pollution problem. However, pioneering local politicians and council officers battled with new legislation, legal threats from steel barons and traditional practices to alter the image of Sheffield, giving the city a new tag; 'Cleanest industrial city in Europe'. The establishment of smoke control areas was so successful that by the early 1980s they covered the whole of the urban parts of the city, and the transformation of Sheffield's air was thought to have been complete. However, the new threats from traffic emissions became the next clean air challenge.
Continuing this tradition of 'keeping Sheffield's air clean', the city council's air quality team is one of the largest dealing with air quality in the UK and is highly regarded amongst the profession. In 2007 Sheffield was awarded beacon status for 'Delivering Clean Air', one of only 4 such local authorities in the country.
Beacon status recognises the work done by the city that goes beyond the required minimum to comply with legislation. A great deal of activity is being done not only on monitoring and computer modelling of air quality but also to improve air quality. Sheffield City Council has worked on, and are continuing to work on a variety of projects including electric vehicle trials, alternative fuels, green parking schemes, health research, transport brokerage, guidance for developers and planners, publicity and awareness raising events, travel plans, promotion of walking, cycling and public transport etc.
Currently Sheffield City Council measures the air at over 200 sites in the City. The majority of these sites use simple inexpensive equipment, but seven of them are fully automated un-staffed sites that work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. These sites produce over 1.5 million pieces of information a year. The information gathered is used to inform developers, planners, transport experts, the local community, health experts and the Government about the air quality in the area.
Care4Air will keep you up to date on all the latest activities that are happening on air quality in Sheffield, but should you require more information please contact Mark Daly or visit www.sheffield.gov.uk/environment/environmental-health/pollution/air.
South Yorkshire
Air quality knows no boundaries so here is where you can find out about actions and initiatives that are happening across our region.
Public Transport
Using your car less, where possible using alternatives like walking, cycling and public transport benefits air quality. South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and the 4 local authorities are working closely to achieve better quality public transport for all.
Go here for...
Bus and Rail timetables www.travelsouthyorkshire.com
Park and Ride Sites www.travelsouthyorkshire.com
Supertram routes and times www.supertram.com
SYPTE
The South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive www.sypte.co.uk web site gives you all the information you could want on public transport in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive are partners in the Care4Air campaign.
SYPTE identifies the travel needs of the people of South Yorkshire and meets those needs by promoting the best possible systems of public transport within the financial and other resources available.
SYPTE therefore:
- promotes the maximum use of public transport;
- encourages growth of the public transport network:
- funds indispensable services which are not provided on a commercial basis;
- and plans future developments in public transport.
SYPTE is also responsible for:
- the strategic planning of public transport in South Yorkshire;
- developing new products and services aimed at improving the network;
- and, through subsidiary companies, the operation of Supertram.
The South Yorkshire Local Transport Plan
View the current documents here www.southyorks.org.uk
The Local Transport Plan has been developed by the Transport Executive, the Transport Authority and the four district councils to provide a transport strategy that is integrated into the wider vision for South Yorkshire. It is a five-year programme and will seek to integrate with various other initiatives to promote a step change in the development of South Yorkshire's social and economic base.