This is the area of Chester covered by a ‘top priority’ pledge to clean up air quality.
The entire city centre as well as main roads out to Boughton and Newton are included.
Levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are too high around and inside the ring road.
Cheshire West and Chester Council declared its Air Quality Management Area in Chester today (May 23).
CWaC director of place operations Maria Bryne said: “The new AQMA covers an extensive area, to give the maximum benefit for Chester.
“Tackling poor air quality and improving the health of our residents continues to be one of the council’s top priorities.”
CWaC said it had been tracking NO2 levels around Chester’s inner ring road for a while and it is now ‘above permitted levels’.
Council officers will now draw up an action plan for the city which must be completed in the next year.
All parts of the community will be invited for their input before a final consultation is held.
No objections were received over the area of the AQMA.
Nitrogen dioxide is a pollutant released from combustion of fossil fuels such as what goes on in your car engine.
It can cause difficulties for people with asthma or other pre-existing breathing problems.
According to a Defra Government report, there is evidence ‘high levels of it can inflame the airways in our lungs and, over a long period of time, affect how well our lungs work’.
