THE Government has been accused of pushing Bradford’s air pollution problem “on a generation” by dropping plans to create a clean air zone in the city.

The Government yesterday announced plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 onwards, in a bid to clean up Britain’s air.

But at the same time, it revealed that Bradford was no longer among the cities where clean air zones would be forced on local authorities.

Glyn Turton, of Baildon Friends of the Earth, has been involved in recording illegally-high levels of air pollution outside some of the district’s primary schools.

He said while he welcomed the Government’s decision to stop new petrol or diesel cars from being sold from 2040, it did not help today’s children.

He said: “I’m still extremely worried about them. Essentially, this is pushing the problem on a generation, really.

“If I survive, I will be 95 in 2040, and this doesn’t really give me very much confidence that the Government is taking on board the threat to the health of people at the present moment.”

Clean air zones place restrictions on heavily-polluting vehicles from going into certain areas, which can sometimes see drivers charged an entry fee.

London already has a clean air zone and five more are being introduced across the country, including in Leeds.

But whereas Bradford had been expected to be one of the next cities on the list for a clean air zone, this is now no longer the case.

The Government has said that it expects Bradford’s air pollution to fall to legal levels by 2021, meaning it is no longer on the the list of priority areas.

Councillor Val Slater, executive member for health and wellbeing at Bradford Council, said: “Although we’ve not been identified by the Government as needing a clean air zone, we’ve already been looking at other solutions locally in Bradford as we recognise the challenge and we would welcome more government funding and support to build on our progress to benefit everyone’s health.”

And she said the Council was concerned that the Government was “going back on their commitment to rail electrification”, saying this should be a key priority if the Government wanted to improve air quality.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said: “Today’s plan sets out how we will work with local authorities to tackle the effects of roadside pollution caused by dirty diesels, in particular nitrogen dioxide.

“This is one element of the Government’s £3 billion programme to clean up the air and reduce vehicle emissions.”

National motoring experts have raised a host of concerns about banning petrol and diesel cars, saying electric cars were more expensive and less effective than those with traditional engines.