Tree cutting could help air quality, Stoke-on-Trent councillor says

The overgrown trees on the A53 Etruria Road will be cut back for the first time in 18 years

Cutting back trees at a pollution hotspot could improve air quality in the future, a councillor says.

Part of the A53 Etruria Road, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, will shut for two Sundays so the tall trees can be cut back for the first time in 18 years.

The trees have created a canopy over some of the route and councillor Carl Edwards said working on it could help.

"The removal of the tree canyon will help dispersion of the pollution in the area," he said.

Tree surgeons will carry out the work from 07:30 to 17:00 GMT on 19 and 26 February.

Etruria Road will be shut during those hours between the junction with the A500 and Basford Park Road.

Removing the upper branches of the trees could boost air quality by letting pollution disperse, Councillor Carl Edwards said

The emergency services will be allowed to use the route if needed and residents will be allowed to get to and from their homes, the council said.

The trees will remain healthy after the work and it will be carried out before the breeding season for nesting birds, it added.

The route has been highlighted as having high nitrogen dioxide levels by the government, which has ordered them reduced.

Proposals for a bus gate, which would block access to all vehicles other than buses, have been drawn up by the local borough and county councils.

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