Air quality in Portsmouth is improving in most areas, a new report has found. However, in some parts of the city persistent pollution remains as ongoing work to cut harmful emissions continues.
Portsmouth City Council has released its 2024 Annual Status Report of Air Quality, showing that while air quality has improved in many parts of the city, some areas continue to exceed government pollution limits. This issue will be discussed at the upcoming Climate Change and Greening the City meeting on Thursday 23 January 2025.
The report reveals that out of the 234 monitoring sites where we monitor Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) levels across the city, that three of these now remain just above the national legal limits: two in Alfred Road and one in Hope Street. This is a reduction from five locations in the previous year’s report, with NO2 levels at Market Way and Kingston Road dropping below the national limit.
Levels of other pollutants, such as Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), have stayed within legal limits where these are monitored.
Cllr Kimberly Barrett, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Greening the City, said:
“Air pollution is still one of the biggest threats to our health. It can affect lung health and is associated with heart disease, stroke, cancer, and asthma, among other conditions.
“While we’ve made progress, we must continue our efforts to reduce harmful emissions and improve the air we breathe for everyone in Portsmouth.”
Ongoing efforts and future plans
Portsmouth City Council continues to take active steps to improve air quality, including:
- Continuing to operate a Clean Air Zone that charges specific higher polluting vehicles to travel through the zone, as mandated by central government, until pollution levels reduce to within legal limits.
- Investing in the city’s public transport network, with the introduction of 62 electric buses as part of the ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas) scheme, helping to reduce emissions from buses travelling through the pollution hot spots.
- Creating up to 320 new on-street electric vehicle chargepoints this year as we support people to drive electric instead of petrol or diesel vehicles, which are a main source of pollution.
- Encouraging residents to make more sustainable travel choices, such as walking, cycling, or using cleaner public transport options through awareness campaigns about the impact of air pollution.
- Investment in improving the connectivity of our walking, cycling and bus routes to make sustainable travel options more attractive to everyone.
- Providing Clean Air Champions training to healthcare professionals in the city to support conversations with patients about air pollution, especially those most exposed to poor quality air.
- Our port’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 includes a UK-first shore power project, providing renewable electricity to ships when in port.
Cllr Barrett added:
“We’re committed to working with local residents and businesses to make Portsmouth a healthier place to live. There is still much to do and we will continue to explore all options to improve air quality for everyone.”
The full 2024 report produced by the council’s Regulatory Services team has been reviewed and accepted by the Government. It will be discussed at Thursday’s council meeting from 2pm, which will be livestreamed on the council website.
For more information about the CAZ visit Home – Cleaner Air Portsmouth