Nottingham's air quality plan approved

Nottingham City Council's new plan to tackle air pollution in the city centre has been Government approved.

For three years the Council has been working with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Transport (DfT) to identify measures that would reduce levels of pollution in the shortest possible time.

The plan includes:

• retrofitting 171 buses with technology to reduce emissions, funded through the Government's Clean Bus Technology Fund;
• changing the age and emissions policy for Hackney carriages and supporting an increase in low emission taxis, £1 million from the Government will be used to provide a licensing discount, a taxi rank with charging points, fund home charges and expand the Council's 'try before you buy scheme';
• Government funding will help the City Council replace its own fleet, including replacing heavy high polluting vehicles, such as bin lorries, with electrical vehicles.

A ministerial direction has been issued for the plan to be implemented, which is part of the Government's wider £3.5 billion plan to tackle harmful emissions from road transport across the country.