FIVE years ago Bradford Council was awarded a grant of £102,000 from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) – the largest amount of cash given to a single authority – to draw up plans to tackle the problem of air pollution and cut the number of people in Bradford at risk from its effects.

The resulting Low Emissions Strategy, only the second in the country, was billed as a hard-hitting action plan to slash air pollution.

It included plans to encourage cycling, developing agreements with bus companies to speed up the take-up of cleaner vehicle technologies, promote the production of renewable energy, support car-sharing schemes and apply for grants to support the use of electric cars.

Since then, the £19m Cycle Superhighway between Bradford and Leeds has opened.

Projects working in partnership with local bus companies have seen 25 buses retro-fitted with greener technology.

All school buses have been similarly retro-fitted, using grant money administered by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Housebuilders are now asked to include electric car charging points in their developments and so far this has seen plans for 2,500 charging points approved.

Bradford Council has introduced a fleet of seven electric vans and two electric pool cars.

The authority led a further bid to Defra to secure funding to develop a West Yorkshire-wide Low Emissions Strategy.

It was awarded £150,000 and the strategy has been drawn up, with help from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Public Health England.

Bradford Council’s decision-making Executive formally signed up to the West Yorkshire-wide approach at a meeting on December 6. The four other West Yorkshire authorities are now in the process of doing the same.

The strategy covers a range of pollution-busting initiatives, balancing these with ambitions for economic and housing growth.

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