Sheffield air quality: Air pollution on major city street found to exceed recommended level

Air pollution on one of Sheffield's busiest shopping streets exceeds internationally recommended levels, a new study has found.

The air quality on Fargate, in Sheffield city centre, was measured along with that on high streets across the UK as part of a study by sustainable energy provider GRIDSERVE.

The level of PM2.5 pollutants - particulate matter which is less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter and can cause illnesses including asthma, heart disease and lung cancer - was found to be 6.3 micrograms per cubic metre of air (µg/m3). That's significantly higher than the World Health Organisation's recommended limit for annual PM2.5 levels of 5µg/m3.

Fargate was not alone in exceeding the threshold, with all but six out of 25 high street locations assessed found to exceed the limit. It actually had the 10th best air quality of those 25 sites.

Parliament Street, in Stoke-On-Trent, was found to have the most polluted air, with PM2.5 levels of 11.7µg/m3, followed by Northumberland Street, in Newcastle, with 11.5µg/m3.

The cleanest air out of the high street locations to be measured was on Glasgow's Buchanan Street, at 2.2µg/m3, followed by Princes Street, in Edinburgh, at 2.7µg/m.

GRIDSERVE said the pollution spot checks had been carried out on the main high streets of the 25 largest towns and cities in Britain over a two-week period.

Sam Clarke, the firm's chief vehicle officer, said: "With millions set to hit the high street this festive period, we wanted to look at the state of the nation’s air quality in the locations people will be doing most of their Christmas shopping.

"It's shocking to see that so many were above the World Health Organisation’s annual recommendations for air pollution, and that one in 10 shoppers are even planning on foregoing the high streets altogether due to air quality.

"If we're to reach the World Health Organisation’s annual target of 5 µg/m3 of PM2.5 in our air, collectively we need to change our behaviours. With vehicle emissions being a key contributor, anything we can do to travel more greenly, from walking more to cycling, and including electric vehicles, is a very valuable step forward to improve the air we breathe daily."

Sheffield Council recently said the number of 'polluting' vehicles driving through Sheffield had fallen by up to two thirds since the Clean Air Zone, which less environmentally friendly commercial vehicles are charged to enter, was introduced.

How high streets across the UK ranked for air pollution

The figures below show how all 25 locations measured performed, ranked from cleanest to most polluted, with the figure being the average PM2.5 score.

1. Glasgow (Buchanan Street) – 2.2
2. Edinburgh (Princes Street) – 2.7
3. Reading (Broad Street) – 4.1
4. Cardiff (St Mary Street) – 4.7
5. Bristol (Broadmead) – 4.7
6. Plymouth (New George Street) – 5.0
7. Portsmouth (Commercial Road) – 5.1
8. Leeds (Briggate) – 5.3
9. Brighton (Western Road) – 5.6
10. Sheffield (Fargate) – 6.3
11. London (Oxford Street) – 6.8
12. Derby (St Peter’s Street) – 6.9
13. Liverpool (Church Street) – 7.1
14. Birmingham New Street – 7.3
15. Northampton (Abington Street) – 7.3
16. Manchester (Market Street) – 7.6
17. Luton (George Street) – 7.6
18. Nottingham (High Street) – 7.7
19. Southampton (Above Bar Street) – 8.8
20. Bradford (Broadway) – 10.6
21. Hull (Jameston Street) – 10.7
22. Coventry (West Orchards Way) – 11.1
23. Leicester (Gallowtree Gate) – 11.2
24. Newcastle (Northumberland Street) – 11.5
25. Stoke-On-Trent (Parliament Street) – 11.7.