Draft Air Quality Action Plan 2025 - 2030

Overview

Addressing poor air quality is crucial as poor air quality affects people’s health and damages the environment. Over the last Air Quality Action Plan period, Leicester City Council has made significant progress on improving air quality in Leicester. Since 2022, Leicester has been fully compliant with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs' Air Quality Objectives at all Air Quality Monitoring Stations across Leicester for NO2 and Particulate Matter (both PM10 and PM2.5).

Notable measures and actions that were undertaken by Leicester City Council during the last action plan include:

• Delivery of Phase II ‘Connecting Leicester’ programme.

• Delivery of the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme – this has improved transport alternatives for commuters to travel by bus, walking and cycling on key radial corridors.

• Redeveloped two city centre bus stations, with St. Margaret’s Bus Station being the UK’s first net zero carbon bus station.

• Development and progression of goals under the Leicester Enhanced Bus Partnership: Leicester Bus Plan. This includes the introduction of the Greenlines Electric Bus Project and delivery of 120 electric buses into the commercial bus fleet.

• Ongoing delivering of behavioural change interventions, working with schools, communities and businesses.

• Appointment of an Air Quality Education Officer, that helps to run air quality related events in schools and promotes the key message of anti-idling.

In order to continue to improve air quality across the City of Leicester, Leicester City Council have produced a new draft Air Quality Action Plan (2025-2030), as part of the council's statutory duties required under The Environment Act 2021.  

The new plan builds on our previous action plan and outlines the action we will take to push further to improve air quality in Leicester.  The actions fall into the following categories:

Theme 1: Air Quality Monitoring, Public Awareness and Engagement

Theme 2: Promoting, Supporting, and Encouraging Sustainable Transport

Theme 3: Reducing Emissions from Transport

Theme 4: Optimising Traffic Management

Theme 5: Development Control and Regulatory Services

Please click the link below to view an executive summary of the proposed action plan. 

Useful Links:

Air Quality Action Plan (2025 - 2030) executive summary  

Why your views matter

During the previous Air Quality Action Plan period, Leicester City Council has been successful in securing government funds to deliver air quality improvements.  Further government funding is required to deliver our actions over the next action plan period to benefit the health of the people of Leicester.

We are asking businesses and residents in Leicester to have their say on the proposed new Air Quality Action Plan. Once you have looked through the Draft Air Quality Action Plan and supporting documents, please provide us with your comments.

Once the consultation has closed we will analyse the results and all feedback and comments will be used to agree the final Air Quality Action Plan.

Supporting Documents 

Draft Air Quality Action Plan (2025 - 2030) 

What happens next

We will now analyse the results and all feedback and comments received will be considered in developing the final Air Quality Action Plan.