A £1.6 MILLION grant could help upgrade the 100 buses in Bradford that currently do not meet clean air standards.

Bus companies providing services in the Bradford District are being invited to apply for grants to make their vehicles cleaner and produce less pollution.

It is part of a major effort to tackle Bradford's illegal levels of air pollution.

The Clean Air Bus Fund will provide £1.632m worth of grants to help businesses meet Clean Air Zone standards ahead of its launch in the district in January.

The CAZ will see the most polluting vehicles, including older buses, HGVs, vans and taxis, charged a daily fee to enter the City Centre, the Canal Road Corridor and parts of Shipley.

Private cars will not be included in the plan.

Vehicles that meet certain standards will be exempt from the charges.

For buses this is a minimum of Euro 6 diesel. Buses that do not meet this standard will be charged £50 a day to enter the CAZ.

There are thought to be around 100 buses operating in the District that currently do not comply with the Clean Air Zone standards.

Grants of up to £16,000 will help operators to replace or retrofit their buses with equipment to reduce the pollution they emit.

Funding is available for both scheduled and tendered services.

Bradford's Clean Air Zone to be introduced in January

The council will be announcing further funding applications shortly for taxis, vans, minibuses, HGVs and coaches and business owners can submit an expression of interest form.

This fund is in addition to £3.96m of Government grants that have already been given to upgrade 217 vehicles ahead of the Clean Air Zone coming to Bradford.

In 2018 the Government issued a ministerial direction to Bradford Council to come up with a plan to reduce the District's illegal air pollution levels.

The Council decided that a Clean Air Zone would be the best way of improving air quality in a short amount of time.

The plans have split opinions, with health experts and environmental groups hailing the proposals, but many businesses and taxi operators raising concerns about the added cost to them.

The Government has awarded £39m funding to Bradford to help implement the zone, and support the upgrade of the most polluting vehicles.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council said: “We are under a Government directive to clean up our air. Legally and morally we are compelled to act.

"So we are pleased to have secured this funding which will make a significant difference to people across the Bradford district and beyond. Not only will people get access to cleaner and more efficient bus services, but this will also help to improve the quality of life for everyone in the district by reducing the amount of Nitrogen Oxides in our air.”