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Air quality improvements in five areas of Newport have come as welcome news to the city council, even if they cannot be fully explained.
A new report shows the reasons for sustained fall in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels along the M4 motorway are “not entirely clear” to the local authority.
But it has suggested Covid-era restrictions and changes to working and commuting patterns “will almost certainly have contributed” to the decrease within five of the city’s 11 Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs).
It said the growth in use of low- and zero-emissions vehicles is also likely to have made a positive impact.
The council is now proposing to revoke those five AQMAs, found at five locations along the M4, near Bassaleg Road, Denbigh Road, Glasllwch Crescent, Malpas Road and Royal Oak Hill.
Concentrations of NO2 in those areas have remained below air quality standard limits since at least 2019, according to the council report.
In light of this “continued compliance”, the council is expected to launch separate consultations on the future of each AQMA later this year.
If any or all of the AQMAs are removed, national guidelines recommend the local authority “should ideally put in place a local or regional air quality strategy to ensure air quality remains a high-profile issue and conditions are prevented from deteriorating in future”.
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