Cities in northern England breaching legal air quality limits by up to 150 per cent

A new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research North think tank has revealed that 11 air quality reporting zones in the North are exceeded legal limits for nitrogen dioxide.

Areas including Merseyside and Teeside were up to 150 per cent above the legal limit of nitrogen dioxide.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is expected to publish its third air quality plan in the next few weeks as part of plans to bring pollution down to the legal limit.

Changes to the previous two plans were required after the environmental law firm ClientEarth won court orders forcing ministers to produce a more effective plan following concerns that the measures did not meet requirements.

As a result, the think tank has warned that the government must do more to address the crisis of toxic fumes killing thousands in the UK’s regional cities, including phasing out diesel vehicles and introducing incentives for purchasing electric cars.

Darren Baxter, researcher at IPPR North, said: “The evidence shows toxic air is killing up to 40,000 children and adults a year. This is one of the biggest problems of our time, but too little attention is paid to this key issue, especially outside the capital.

“To prevent more avoidable deaths, we need to see big incentives for those buying a car to go electric, funded in part by a tax on the most-polluting vehicles, as well as seeing a real commitment by councils and the Department for Transport to make clean air a top priority.

“By taking the killer air crisis seriously, we can prevent many unnecessary deaths and ill-health, especially in our children, while preparing the way for a Northern green jobs revolution.”