Relocation of Stagecoach bus depot and new transport system among recommendations to improve air quality in Peterborough

The proposals are included in a new report from a cross-party group of city councillors which also suggests seeking ways to reduce emissions from buses and taxis.

None of the nine recommendations include introducing clean air zones which other cities are pushing forward with, but one does call for the council to undertake a parking review with the aim of “discouraging single occupancy car travel and prioritising ultra low emission vehicles”.

Peterborough currently holds the aspiration to be the Environment Capital of the UK and last year declared a climate emergency which saw the council pledge to achieve 100 per cent clean energy across its buildings and services by 2030,

Last April, the Peterborough Telegraph revealed that the council is negotiating with Stagecoach to buy the land where its depot is located in Lincoln Road, Millfield, with the bus company seeking a new base elsewhere in the city where traffic is less of an issue.

Moreover, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority - the county’s mayoral body - is considering whether to extend a new metro in the south of the county all the way to Peterborough.

Both ideas have now received the backing of the working group which was established by council leader Cllr John Holdich in May 2018.

Although Peterborough is not said to be currently breaching any national air quality targets, the council said it “recognises that there are no absolute safe levels of exposure to particulate matter”.

Stagecoach, which operates 73 vehicles in Peterborough, equating to an annual mileage of approximately 3.3 million miles and 8.2 million passenger trips, said the size of its depot restricts its ability to accommodate election vehicles, but that if a new depot became available it would consider upgrading its fleet.

The Government has described poor air quality as being the “largest environmental risk to public health in the UK,” resulting in chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as lung cancer.

According to Public Health England, it is estimated that long-term exposure to man-made air pollution in the UK leads to between 28,000 and 36,000 premature deaths a year.

The health body said that between 2013 and 2015 in Peterborough, 375 of every 100,000 premature deaths (4.7 per cent) can be attributed to air quality - more than liver disease, infectious diseases and suicide.

The working group’s report states: “It is recognised that the council is already undertaking a number of activities that have a positive impact on air quality across the city. However, the group is also aware that the rate at which Peterborough is growing, alongside the recognition that any improvement in air quality is likely to have positive impacts on health, means that there is clear evidence that further investment should be made to improve air quality.”

The recommendations, if approved, would result in a cost of £67,000 a year, but it is expected this will be secured through external funding.

The recommendations

1: Work with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) to encourage them to use its passenger transport powers to secure air quality benefits. This should include: supporting the council and Stagecoach to relocate the bus depot; improve vehicles to reduce emissions from the fleet; ensure the lowest emission vehicles only are used in areas of poorer air quality; and, encourage young people to use public transport.

2: Undertake a parking review with the aim of discouraging single occupancy car travel and prioritising ultra low emission vehicles.

3: Increase the activities undertaken to encourage residents to opt for active modes of transport including robust evaluation and monitoring.

4: Identify the feasibility of introducing a new policy to ensure that all taxi and private hire vehicles use alternative low emissions fuels only by 2030.

5: Work in partnership with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) to develop a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) proposal for the city.

6: Support local businesses to make the investment necessary to encourage the transition to active modes of travel and alternatively fuelled vehicles.

7: Identify opportunities to install or maximise the benefits of green infrastructure to provide barriers between people and emissions.

8: Explore opportunities to for further pedestrianisation in all future public realm works.

9: Work in partnership with Fenland District Council to evidence the basis for revocation of AQMA No1.