Pollution levels across Sheffield drop following the launch of the Clean Air Zone

Pollution levels across Sheffield drop following the launch of the Clean Air Zone

The yearly average data for 2023 indicates that the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from road traffic pollution has

decreased considerably throughout Sheffield more than a year after the establishment of Sheffield City Council’s

Clean Air Zone.

The most polluting cars must pay a daily fee to enter Sheffield’s inner city and ring road under the Clean Air Zone

(CAZ), which went into effect on Monday, February 27, 2023. Heavy and light goods vehicles, vans, taxis, buses, and

coaches are among the vehicles affected. Private passenger cars and motorcycles are unaffected.

The 2023 annual average air quality data, which covers the period from January to December 2023, indicates that

NO2 emissions from transportation pollution are declining. When compared to the previous year, NO2 levels have

decreased at 100% of the monitored locations in Sheffield’s Clean Air Zone CAZ, with an overall NO2 reduction of

16% throughout the CAZ region since its inception.

In 2023, an average NO2 decrease of 21% was also noted in the larger Sheffield district outside of the CAZ area.

The amount of NO2 detected in the bus-gate region has decreased by 27% in 2023 since the bus gate at Arundel Gate

was installed in March of that year. In contrast to the previous year, when it was not, this has placed the area’s NO2

levels in 2023 within permissible limits.

The council introduced its Financial Assistance Schemes (FAS) prior to the CAZ going operational. 514 people have

applied for retroactive assistance for vehicles they have already upgraded or replaced to cleaner models, and 1,081

people have taken advantage of the grants offered to upgrade or replace their non-compliant vehicles with cleaner

ones, demonstrating the schemes’ great success. As of the end of May 2024, 1,595 awards had been disbursed.

As of May 2024, the taxi fleet of Sheffield City Council is 95 percent compliant, up from 64 percent in November

2022, before to the CAZ’s introduction. Additionally, the percentage of trips made into the CAZ by complying cars

has climbed from 64 percent to 90 percent.

Traffic flows into the CAZ have not reduced since the CAZ’s inauguration, according to data on vehicle travels. The

substantial amount of NO2 reduction seen in Sheffield in 2023 demonstrates the benefits of the vehicle upgrades

and the effectiveness of the Financial Assistance Schemes in assisting individuals in upgrading, which leads to an

expedited improvement in air quality not only in the CAZ but throughout Sheffield.

Whilst the data covers the calendar year for 2023, full charging for the Zone did not commence until 5 June 2023,

due to the exemptions the council put in place for local Light Goods Vehicles and Hackney Carriage taxis.

The Sheffield Connect electric buses makes the city centre more accessible for everyone, whilst providing residents and visitors with a cost free, quick, easy and zero emission way to travel.

The council is already collaborating with partners to advance investment in cleaner buses, but more work has to be

done to make Sheffield’s bus fleet greener and cleaner. In order to achieve our goal of having a fleet of buses in the

area with zero emissions, we will keep collaborating closely with operators, ministers, and the South Yorkshire

Mayoral Combined Authority to investigate potential future developments.

In order to facilitate the transition from polluting automobiles to electric ones, the council is also enhancing the

current network of charging stations for electric vehicles.

Although there has been a noticeable improvement in Sheffield’s NO2 reduction, some areas have seen

improvements but still have NO2 levels over the permitted limits in 2023. These may be found at the Arundel Gate

interchange, Waingate, Attercliffe Road, Sheaf Street, and Meadowhall Road. In an effort to further enhance the

quality of the air we breathe in Arundel Gate and Furnival Gate, members of the Transport, Regeneration and

Climate Policy Committee will also be asked to adopt plans on Wednesday, July 24, to permanently install bus gates

on those gates.

In order to better understand the problems and determine what can be done to hasten the decrease of NO2 at these

places, the council is evaluating the particular conditions and sources of pollution at each location in excess.

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