Poor Air quality is well known for its ability to make people ill and to shorten lives and has been linked to cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and dementia. You may have heard of Alive After Five, the late night shopping initiative in Newcastle City Centre that has free parking as a major feature to attract shoppers. SPACE for Gosforth has had a long-standing concern that driving is the only means of transport being promoted for access into the city at this time and that this is contributing to illegal levels of air pollution in Newcastle City Centre.
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This is our sixth annual pollution blog covering official air quality monitoring in Newcastle upon Tyne. In all six years, air pollution in Newcastle has exceeded legal limits. In 2021, the highest reading was 98μg/m3, over double the limit. Read more [...] 
Newcastle City Council have proposed that Blackett Street and parts of New Bridge Street are made into a pedestrian area linking Northumberland Street, Monument and Old Eldon Square. This blog is our response to the Council's consultation. 
We now have the official air pollution measurements for 2018 and the air we breathe in Newcastle still hasn't met the legal limit that should have been achieved in 2005. 
Newcastle City Council have released the Air Quality Feasibility Study that will be used for its forthcoming consultation. Whatever the final plan that is chosen, it must by law meet air quality limits within the shortest possible timescale. The question for the consultation therefore is how should that be achieved. 
The Council has just released its Air Quality Annual Status Report 2018 and it is not looking good for Gosforth High Street. We had expected that the 2016 reading of 51μg/m3 for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) was a one-off due to the roadworks at the junction with Salters Road, but in 2017 the figure had increased again to 59μg/m3.. Both are substantially higher than the legal maximum of 40μg/m3. 
2018 is the 10th anniversary of the Gosforth & Grainger Town Air Quality Management Areas. Will this local election year bring decisive action to clean our filthy air? 
Every year the Council is required to provide an annual status report covering its Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) in the City Centre and in Gosforth. Figures have just been released for 2016 and, contrary to the longer term trend, there were significant increases in pollution across many sites in Gosforth and in the City Centre. 
On Sunday 2nd July 2017 Newcastle will be hosting the HSBC City Ride.
The ride takes place in Newcastle City Centre and will be traffic free on closed roads and is for everyone.
Whether you're 8 or 80, regardless of your ability, all you need is a bicycle or tandem or tricycle. In fact any wheeled contraption powered by you! Oh and it's free!
SPACE for Gosforth folks are going to meet up at the War Memorial at 10:30am in Gosforth Central Park and then head off to join the Let's Ride 
In previous posts we looked at air quality data on Gosforth High Street and on Jesmond Road in the run up to Christmas last year, which showed a marked increase in pollution after Black Friday, 25 November 2016. In this post we look at what has happened to air quality at these sites since then.