West Northants Council given more than £290K to improve air quality

North Northampton council has been given more funding for air quality improvements

West Northamptonshire Council has been given more than £290,000 in government grants to improve air quality.

The council said it was important to put initiatives in place to help current and future residents.

Funding would be used for monitoring and surveys to identify patterns of fuel use in the area, the authority said.

Jonathan Nunn, leader of the council, said it was "great news" given the council's net zero commitments.

The authority has received £292,378 - in addition to £148,297 it received in the financial year 2021-22 - which focused on traffic management to improve air quality.

Other work with the new funding will look at advising residents on how to burn solid fuels, like coal and wood, effectively and give details of alternative options.

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Currently the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) considers the air pollution level to be low in the East Midlands.

But during 2019, twelve monitoring locations across West Northamptonshire reported annual average nitrogen dioxide concentrations above or equal to 40μg/m3.

Air quality objectives for England recommended 40μg/m3 as the annual average for nitrogen dioxide levels.

Mr Nunn said: "Given our bold net zero commitments, it's great news that we have been successful in our funding bid to secure nearly £300,000 towards putting measures in place to improve air quality in Northampton, and wider West Northamptonshire.

"Burning solid fuels such as coal and wood produces small particles which can be harmful to health, however, we recognise that these fuels may be the only reasonable cost option during the cost-of-living crisis."

Work to look at the health and economic effects of controls on solid fuel burning will be examined as part of the project, Mr Nunn added.