ISLE of Wight drivers could be forced to pay £8 a day to use their cars in Portsmouth if the city is declared a clean air zone.

However, the leader of Portsmouth council, Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, has drawn up a series of demands in a bid to prevent this from happening.

In a letter to the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, MP Michael Gove, Cllr Vernon-Jackson has lobbied for funding for a number of schemes to help with air quality in the city.

These include free bus passes, trolley buses, electric taxi fleets and a transfer system to bring lorry loads into the city via electric vehicles.

It comes after the latest readings of dangerous nitrous dioxide (NO2) in the city showed that 16 areas in Portsmouth were above the ‘safe’ level last year – up from four in 2017.

Cllr Vernon-Jackson said: "The data shows a significant increase in NO2 in what are known as our air quality management areas (AQMAs).

"We have to provide a report on this to government by October. If we can’t prove that we can improve on this within a short space of time they will impose a clean air zone on us.

"There are different types of clean air zones, such as some that just charge heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). But it could also mean charging to drive cars in the city.

"I was looking at plans for a clean air zone in Birmingham that will charge £8 a day for cars and £50 for HGVs.’

It is estimated more than half of air pollution in Portsmouth is caused by cars, HGVs and buses.

He added: "We are asking for the cost of bus passes to be covered because we know many people say they don’t use public transport due to the cost.’

For the council’s environment boss, Cllr Dave Ashmore, the health implications of poor air quality were a concern.

He said: "The threat of bad air quality affects the wellbeing of people and a lot of people suffer from illnesses, such as asthma, related to this.

"We know that some deaths in the city are linked to air pollution, we need to take this seriously. It is a matter of life and death.

"The fact the government have set a ministerial directive on us shows how serious it is.’

EU directive and UK law states that NO2 levels must not be more than 40 micrograms of NO2 per cubic metre of air.

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