A new report from the UK100 network calls for areas with restrictions on the most polluting vehicles to be introduced in all of the places set to have illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide by 2021. These include – among others – Bristol, Coventry, Guildford, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle and Southampton.

An economic return of £6.5Bn could be seen across the relevant towns and cities if Government commits to an enhanced Clean Air Fund worth £1Bn, with businesses adding a contribution of £500M, the report adds.

“Cleaning up the air in our towns and cities makes sound economic sense and this study demonstrates that,” commented UK100 director Polly Billington. “It will boost the health of our communities and save the NHS money.

“Sensible investment by national Government is needed to support local authorities to take the most polluting vehicles off our roads while ensuring that the poorest in our towns and cities are not the hardest hit by pollution and measures to tackle it.”

Analysis in the report indicates that the most comprehensive ‘Class D’ style of clean air zone – which involves charging vehicles including cars and motorcycles – offers the greatest economic benefit.

Currently, only six cities or city regions have announced plans to create a clean air zone, while London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (pictured) has been in operation since April. The report proposes that for these existing and upcoming zones, the extra funding would support vehicle renewal schemes to help people switch to cleaner transport.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the capital’s ULEZ is already having a positive impact on reducing harmful emissions. “But cities including London cannot deliver further clean air zones without urgent Government funding,” he said.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “We are ready with our Clean Air Plan proposals to quickly tackle the huge problem of air pollution.” However he said Government has “so far failed” to commit enough funding to implement this and has not put forward investment to help fleet operators and businesses retrofit their vehicles or switch to cleaner models.

Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for transport and environment Waseem Zaffar said: “If the Government is serious about tackling this crisis then it needs to support other cities across the country in implementing their own clean air zones so that we can all work together to clean up our air, as well as funding a national scrappage scheme.”

A Government spokesman said: “We know the impact air pollution has on communities around the UK, which is why we are stepping up the pace and taking urgent action to improve air quality.

“We are working hard to reduce transport emissions and are already investing £3.5Bn to clean up our air, while our Clean Air Strategy has been commended by the World Health Organization as an ‘example for the rest of the world to follow’.”

(Photograph: TfL)