Air pollution at Bond End in Knaresborough meets legal limits for first time

Air pollution levels at Bond End in Knaresborough have met legal limits for the first time since it was identified as a problem area over 10 years ago.

This was one of the key findings of Harrogate Borough Council’s 2021 Air Quality Annual Status Report, which tracked levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at various monitoring sites across the district throughout 2020.

NO2 is an air pollutant produced mainly by exhaust fumes and has been linked to numerous health conditions, including asthma, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s.

The UK still adheres to EU legal limits for air pollution, which state no monitoring site should exceed 40 micrograms per cubic metre of NO2 over the course of a year.

The annual level for Bond End was 33.8 micrograms per cubic metre in 2020, which is down on 40.47 micrograms per cubic metre in 2019.

Harrogate Borough Council declared an Air Quality Management Area for Bond End in 2010. The UK government requires local authorities to take action to improve areas with particularly bad air pollution.

In September 2018, North Yorkshire County Council replaced traffic lights at Bond End with a double mini-roundabout to reduce congestion and improve the flow of traffic.

This intervention appears to have reduced pollution levels, although many towns and cities across the UK reported decreases in air pollution during 2020 due to covid lockdowns and more people working from home.

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The four Air Quality Management Area in the Harrogate district all recorded annual levels below the 40 micrograms per cubic metre limit.

The others are at High Skellgate in Ripon, York Place in Knaresborough and Wetherby Road in Harrogate.

The council also has diffusion tubes to monitor NO2 levels at more than 50 other locations across the district. It found that air pollution decreased at every location over the past year except at Knaresborough bus station, where it increased slightly.

A council spokesman said:

“It’s positive that that annual reading for nitrogen dioxide is below the EU legal limit.

“We’re keen to remain at this level, or better still continue to improve, and have a number of actions as part of our Air Quality Action Plan.

“These include working with HGV, bus and taxi providers to improve the quality of their fleet, our ultra-low emission vehicle strategy as well as air quality campaigns and education.

“We are optimistic that the improvements in air quality will continue post-covid as many people have embraced a hybrid model of working at home and in the office.

“We will continue to monitoring air quality and tailor our action plan accordingly.”

Could cars be banned outside primary schools in Harrogate?

As cars are banned from roads around primary schools elsewhere in the country, could Harrogate see new schemes introduced to do the same?

The national School Streets project aims to make streets near to schools a safer place for children, increase opportunities for them to walk or cycle, and reduce their exposure to toxic air pollution.

While North Yorkshire County Council has not said it will introduce School Streets, its Open Harrogate project – which aims to encourage active travel – confirmed on Twitter the possibility is being explored.

School Streets was pioneered in Hackney, London in 2017 and has since gone on across the country including at Yorkshire primary schools in Halifax, York, Leeds and Sheffield.

In Hackney, vehicles are able to apply for exemptions but only if they are a blue badge holder or a resident or business inside the School Streets zone.

Since School Streets first came to the London borough, children cycling to participating schools has increased by over 50%, with traffic outside the schools reducing by around two-thirds.

‘Behaviour change’

The idea of School Streets has been welcomed by environmental campaign groups. Caroline Linford from Sustainably Harrogate told the Stray Ferret that the scheme would help enforce “behaviour change” for parents in Harrogate.

She said:

“Improving congestion and pollution around schools is a bit of a chicken and egg issue. One of the reasons parents drop their children close to school is because it’s not safe for them to walk or cycle, but by doing so they’re actually exacerbating the problem.

“School Streets help enforce behaviour change and show parents that the school run can be a relaxed, safe, quiet and pollution free.”

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The walking and cycling charity Sustrans published a survey last week which involved more than 1,000 parents of children under 16. It found seven in ten (71%) parents agreed that local authorities should take steps to make it easier for families to walk and cycle to school.

According to David who runs the Harrogate-based cycling website Hedgehog Cycling, School Streets would make it safer for children to get to school.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“Children should be able to walk or cycle safely to school, but if school streets are full of vehicles parents will rightly worry about their safety. NYCC has been encouraging active travel through Open Harrogate, but it’s not enough just to encourage. Only if the local authority also makes it safe and easy will it happen.

“Small children and big SUVs don’t mix, and it would be great to see a plan to remove traffic danger around all schools in Harrogate.”

The Stray Ferret has recently heard concerns about the volume of traffic near to Killinghall and Western primary schools.

Sarah Bassitt, the headteacher of Killinghall Church of England Primary School, said she worries that traffic on Otley Road could eventually see a child killed.

Tim Broad, headteacher at Western Primary School, said the first week back was “chaotic” at pick-up time, adding:

“This is the first time I can remember feeling deeply concerned that we could have a road traffic accident.”

Knaresborough air pollution still illegal, despite Bond End changes

Air pollution at Bond End in Knaresborough remains at illegal levels, despite a mini-roundabout being put in to cut toxic vehicle fumes.

These were the findings of Harrogate Borough Council’s latest air quality report that has been submitted to the government. It tracked levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at various monitoring sites across the district throughout 2019.

NO2 is an air pollutant produced mainly by exhaust fumes and has been linked to myriad health conditions including heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s.

The UK still adheres to EU legal limits for air pollution stating no monitoring site should exceed 40 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) over the course of a year — which was breached at Bond End in 2019.

Bond End has been a hotspot for congestion for many years, with regular tailbacks towards the River Nidd.

HBC declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) for the road in 2010, which the government requires councils to do to try and improve areas with particularly bad air pollution. In September 2018, North Yorkshire County Council replaced traffic lights at Bond End with a mini-roundabout to reduce congestion and improve the flow of traffic.

There are four sites monitoring air pollution at Bond End which all reported decreases in 2019. However, one remained above the legal limit at 40.47 µg/m3. The other three monitors at Bond End measured 38.6 µg/m3, 31.2 µg/m3 and 24.27 µg/m3 in 2019.

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Across the Harrogate district, the report revealed that air pollution is falling. Concentrations within the Harrogate AQMA at Wetherby Road fell, as did Ripon’s AQMA along Low Skellgate, High Skellgate and the junction with Westgate.

During the height of lockdown in March and April, government air pollution monitors reported 50% drops in major towns and cities. However, numbers have almost returned to normal levels since restrictions have eased.

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