A report updating the Committee on air quality matters following the Council’s submission of a ‘targeted feasibility study’ to Government and the current position regarding a range of Air Quality initiatives.

The Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report that updated the Committee on air quality matters following the Council’s submission of the Targeted Feasibility Study to the Government.  The report also provided an update on vehicle idling, electric vehicle charge points in residential streets with no off street parking and Electrify Reading.

The report stated that the Government, via a Ministerial Direction, required Reading and 32 other ‘third wave’ councils to complete a Targeted Feasibility Study, considering all options to identify additional measures that could bring forward compliance with Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) limits on specific roads as soon as possible.  A short list of measures that had been considered to be the most realistically achievable in the timeframe had been drawn up.  No measures were able to bring forward compliance at Caversham Road and Census ID 6924 due to the short timescales involved.  For the other road links, bus retrofit had been identified as being the most effective single measure able to bring forward compliance.  Following a detailed submission, the Government had directed the Council to implement the bus retrofit as soon as possible and at the latest, in time to bring forward compliance, as set out below.  The scheme was estimated to involve retrofitting up to 137 buses to Euro 6 standard.  It was estimated that this could be implemented by the end of 2019.  Local modelling set out that bus retrofit could have the following impact:

·         Bring forward compliance on Friar Street from 2021 to 2019;

·         Bring forward compliance on London Road from 2022 to 2021;

·         Bring forward compliance on Kings Road/Wokingham Road from 2022 to 2020;

·         Bring forward compliance on Chatham Street from 2022 to 2021;

Following the outcome of the Targeted Feasibility Study it was proposed to update the Council’s Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) to reflect the findings.

The report stated that officers proposed to review the possibility of producing a Low Emissions Strategy which would help to provide better integration of transport, air quality, planning, public health, sustainability and other relevant Council departments and drive policy thinking.  It was proposed to put in a bid for one of DEFRA’s Air Quality Grants in order to fund this.

With regards to vehicle idling, the report explained that the powers adopted under the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations 2002 to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs), could only be used after a driver had been warned.  Therefore, licensing officers had been speaking to taxi drivers on the rank over the past 18 months to bring the need to reduce idling to their attention, 60 no idling signs had been put up in idling hotspots, and officers had run three idling action events during 2018. 

The report explained that Go Electric Reading was a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) funded project run by the Council to look at providing electric car charging for people living in homes without a drive.  The charge points would be installed using the existing supply to street furniture such as lamp columns along streets to enable residents to charge their vehicles.  An expression of interest had recently been published to test market interest for installing the EV charge points.  The response to this would aid the decision as to whether a formal procurement process would be required.

The report stated that in 2019, Electric Blue were scheduled to carry out a campaign raising the awareness with the residential and business community about the benefits of electric vehicles in Reading and encourage local support for having electric taxis. 

Resolved -

(1)        That the actions taken be noted;

(2)        That the proposal to review the Air Quality Action Plan be noted;

(3)        That the proposal to bid for funding to commission a Low Emissions Strategy be approved.