Good news! Official figures show that in the second year of the city centre Clean Air Zone (CAZ) air pollution has continued to reduce right across Newcastle. On average air pollution readings are now 22% lower compared to 2021 and 2022, with only two remaining locations over legal limits. Concerns that the CAZ would “move the problem around” or that reducing car lanes would have a negative effect have proved to be unfounded.

2024 Highlights:

• 2024 was the first full year of the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which came into force at the end of January 2023. Non-compliant taxis, private hire vehicles, buses, coaches and HGVs were charged from 30 January 2023, and vans and light goods vehicles charged from July 2023.
• Air pollution has continued to reduce right across Newcastle upon Tyne. This confirms that fears that pollution would increase in areas surrounding the CAZ were unfounded. 
• In 2024 only two locations, Percy Street (44μg/m³) and Stephenson Road (65μg/m³), recorded readings higher than the legal maximum. Blackett Street, which historically has had high pollution levels, may also have exceeded the limit but data wasn’t available in 2024 to confirm.
• Measurements from Gosforth were all within UK legal limits for the fifth year running, with the council now saying they plan to revoke the Gosforth Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).
• Repair works on the Tyne Bridge started in April 2024. Three out of four measurements on the Tyne Bridge reduced since 2023, and all are lower than 2022. Air pollution on the south bound slip road from Central Motorway has increased slightly from 30μg/m³ in 2023 to 31.5μg/m³ but is still within legal limits and substantially less than 2022 (37.7μg/m³).
• The Council is working on an update of its Air Quality Action Plan that it intends to consult on late 2025.
• The lack of action from the Council to date to address remaining “hot spots” is concerning, especially with the Government recently stating Newcastle will be the “last city [in England] to become compliant” with legal limits, with an estimated compliance date of 2045.
• It is also alarming that the Council’s report cites lack of “political buy-in” as a reason for why measures to reduce air pollution in Newcastle’s communities have been delayed. 

In response to the newly published readings, Councillor Sathian, the city council’s cabinet member for climate and transport, is quoted in ChronicleLive as saying “Poor air quality is linked to a number of serious health issues such as heart disease, cancer and breathing problems, including childhood asthma. It’s vital that we tackle this to protect people’s health and ensure they can live long, happy and active lives. These latest figures show that we are making important positive steps forward in achieving this but there are still further improvements needed.”

Even where pollution is compliant in Newcastle though, it is still up to four times higher than World Health Organisation recommended guidance. The consequences of this include poor health for residents and an additional burden on the NHS.

Chronicle Live reports on air pollution in Newcastle in 2024

Newcastle City Centre

In the city centre, Percy Street by Haymarket was the most polluted location with a Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) reading of 44μg/m³ averaged over the year, a decrease of 4% compared to 2023, the only city centre locations still above the 40μg/m³ legal maximum for the UK.

The map below shows air pollution measurements in the city centre.

City Centre Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) NO2 readings

The greatest improvements in air quality were measured at Tyne Bridge East Tower and Strawberry Place, with both recording over 30% less pollution than in 2023.

Despite this improvement, Newcastle City Council state in the annual pollution report that it “anticipates that further additional measures not yet prescribed will be required in subsequent years to achieve compliance and enable the revocation of Newcastle Centre AQMA”.

Central Motorway and Coast Road

The Council’s pollution plan analysis from 2019 was that air quality on The Coast Road would be compliant by 2021 and that no additional measures would be required. In answer to a parliamentary question the Government has now said they “expect Newcastle-upon-Tyne will be the last city to become compliant due to a localised hotspot. There is considerable uncertainty in current estimates for when this location will become compliant, but we estimate this will be by 2045, at the latest.” The localised hotspot in question is on Stephenson Road by Jesmond Park West at the east end of Armstrong Bridge which is a major east-west walking and cycling route.  

This is despite a 2016 UK High Court order stating that “the Secretary of State must aim to achieve compliance by the soonest date possible, that she must choose a route to that objective which reduces exposure as quickly as possible, and that she must take steps which mean meeting the value limits is not just possible, but likely.”

City Centre AQMA and Coast Road NO2 in 2023

The Council have commissioned work to quantify traffic movements at the nearby Corner House junction. This may be used to inform future actions to be included in the Air Quality Action Plan.

Newcastle Corner House Junction

This junction is also a key crossing point for families and children walking and cycling to Jesmond Park Academy and to primary schools south of the Coast Road. Walking and cycling do need to be better prioritised at this junction as currently it can require up to five separate green lights to cross the road.

Newcastle City Council say their “main priority is to update the AQAP [Air Quality Action Plan] in 2025 and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Newcastle/Gateshead CAZ.” We understand both pieces of work  are underway and are due to complete in 2025, with the plan to be subject to consultation later this year.

Gosforth

Newcastle City Council says that “Gosforth AQMA (AQMA 5) [Air Quality Management Area] has been compliant (monitoring below 36 μg/m³ when corrected to relevant exposure) for 5 years now so NCC will pursue its revocation”.

Official guidance is that revocation should be considered after “three consecutive years of annual mean NO2 concentrations being lower than 36 μg/m³“. Newcastle City Council have sensibly held off for a further two years to ensure that this is a permanent reduction and not a one-off due to lower traffic levels during the Covid-19 pandemic.

While we welcome this result – a massive turnaround from 2017 when Gosforth High Street was the most polluted location in the city –  we hope the Council will continue to monitor pollution levels and seek further reductions to achieve the World Health Organisation target of no more than 10μg/m³ averaged over a year.

Gosforth Air Quality Management Area (AQMA)

The largest drop of these since the CAZ was implemented has been at DT50 (84 Station Road) where NO₂ has reduced by 22% compared to the average of 2021 and 2022. In 2019 it was barely under the legal limit at 39.4μg/m³.

Chronicle Live reports SPACE for Gosforth’s concerns about the lack of action at Stephenson Road

Denton Burn

All the readings west of the city were also within legal limits though with little change since 2023. Air pollution at Cowgate roundabout, which was over the limit in 2022, is 35% lower than it was prior to the Clean Air Zone being implemented. 

Denton Burn air pollution readings

This is SPACE for Gosforth’s ninth annual pollution blog covering official air quality monitoring in Newcastle upon Tyne. In all eight previous years, air pollution in Newcastle exceeded legal limits. 

The main pollutant of concern in Newcastle is Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂). The UK legal maximum for NO₂ is 40μg/m³ (micro grams per cubic metre) averaged over a calendar year, however the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend that NO₂ should be no more than 10μg/m³ averaged over a year.

For anyone thinking that there must be a better way to cut air pollution than a Clean Air Zone, the Council’s city centre Air Quality Plan, in place since 2008, includes 38 non-CAZ actions to improve air quality. None of these other actions have had anything like the same impact as the CAZ.

SPACE for Gosforth has previously summarised official air pollution measurements for 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016.