LIBERAL Democrat Councillors have called on Bradford Council to do more to tackle air pollution across the district, including the introduction of ‘no idling’ zones outside schools.

A motion was put to the Full Council by Councillor Brendan Stubbs (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) in which he voiced concerns that, according to a recent air quality report, Bradford had a 4.2 per cent mortality rate attributable to particulate air pollution in 2015, equating to around 2,300 years of life lost per year due to the health effects of particulates.

Cllr Stubbs said one of the biggest issues was cars outside schools being left with the ignition on “pumping toxic fumes into children.”

He said: “It is an urgent problem in our city. Air pollution is something that slowly takes its toll and attacks the youngest, the most vulnerable, and the oldest in our society. Because we can’t readily see it we risk not taking the action we should do.

“This is about stepping up and taking this action further so that the residents in our city are breathing clean air. I’d hate to think we wouldn’t all stand up and fight for the best-possible air quality for our citizens.”

Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the Council, added: “”It is not okay to sit outside school with your engine running because you need to get away that little bit sooner. We do need to start a public awareness campaign that tells people to turn off their engines. It is unacceptable and we need to stop it.”

Councillor Val Slater, the Council’s portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, said the authority was currently bidding for government funding to support work around improving air quality.

Putting forward an amended Labour group motion, which was passed, she said she was “quite happy” to talk to officers about an awareness campaign about the impact and dangers of air pollution around schools.

She said: “We do want to do more, but I’m a pragmatist and we have to be cognisant of what is achievable in the current budget situation and the wider regulatory situation.”

On no-idling zones, she said: “I have some practical worries about how we would go about it. It sounds easy, but there are lots of processes to go through.

“When you’re trying to get behaviour change you have to have a carrot and a stick. To get the stick you have to take legal steps, and then you need the powers to enforce. I’m not ruling it out, and if we get this money from the government it is one of the things we can have a proper look at.”

In response, Cllr Stubbs said: “We have a duty to be inspirational, not pragmatic. I think sometimes pragmatism is actually inertia, and that is what I was trying to avoid.”