The draft plan sets out actions that the council and communities can take to help improve the air quality in the most polluted areas of the city.
These areas are referred to in the plan as air quality management areas (AQMAs). Newport currently has 11 AQMAs, five of which are about to be revoked having been fully compliant for several years. These five are all centred around motorway junctions.
The draft plan, which is set to run through to 2028, focuses on our six remaining AQMAs, which are:
- Caerleon
- Caerleon Road and Chepstow Road
- Caerphilly Road
- Cefn Road
- George Street
- Malpas Road.
The actions set out in the plan sit under four broad themes:
- Emissions from transport, which includes promoting cleaner vehicle fleet and alternatives
- Emissions from new developments, which is about ensuring low carbon initiatives are built into the planning process for new builds.
- Active travel and green infrastructure, which is about promoting use of active travel and building a network to help people to make this choice, as well as increasing our plant and tree levels
- Education and awareness, which is about working with schools and communities in the AQMAs on what steps they can take to improve air quality in their area.
Commenting on the plan, Councillor Yvonne Forsey, cabinet member for climate change and biodiversity, said: “I’m very pleased that we are able to publish our draft air quality action plan and get feedback from residents before we finalise it.
“Making sure every part of the city has access to clean air is a big part of our plan to build an ambitious, fairer, greener Newport for everyone.
“The actions set out in the plan are realistic and achievable, and will make a big difference to ensuring that Newport has no air quality management areas in future years.”
