The British government has launched a £ 7M fund for local action to cut air pollution. Here are some ideas for what ideas to implement.
- Birmingham City Council
- Central Bedfordshire Council
- Airly and Evotech on CleanAirDay
- Lambeth Council
The government is inviting local councils across the UK to bid for funding from a £7 million funding to tackle air pollution in their areas.
Worried about air pollution? Download the Airly Mobile App.
The government’s Air Quality Grant helps councils develop and implement measures to benefit schools, businesses and communities and reduce the impact of air pollution on people’s health.
Applications for the grant are open from Tuesday 26 July and close on Friday 23 September.
As the official government page says, the criteria for this year’s grant period will prioritise three areas:
- Projects that reduce air pollution where there are nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exceedances;
- Projects focusing on improving public knowledge and information about air quality, including steps individuals can take to reduce their exposure to air pollution; and
- Projects that include measures to deal with particulate matter, which is the pollutant most harmful to human health.
We have prepared a few interesting case studies for local governments of what types of projects can be implemented to use UK money to tackle air pollution :
Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council are providing sensors for 140 schools (with each ward in the borough having at least 1 sensor). The aim of the project is to provide hyper-local data to families and residents across the borough with the long-term goal of raising further awareness across our communities of how the air pollution situation is progressing.
Central Bedfordshire Council
The Central Bedfordshire Council did not have a platform that could inform citizens about air quality in real-time. Data about air quality was being delivered with a delay of 12 or even 24 hours. So the government decided to install 25 Airly gas sensors that collect and interpret data in real-time. This project has been delivered in cooperation with Westcotec Ltd, industry leader in Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) and other related technologies.
#LetSchoolsBreathe UK campaign
Airly started installing air pollution sensors in schools across the UK in April 2021 to help children and parents understand more about air pollution levels. 50 UK schools received Airly pollution monitors to learn more about air quality and combat high NO2 levels filtering into British cities.
The devices measure concentrations of NO2, O3 and PM1, PM2.5, PM10 in real-time allowing people to quickly react to emergency scenarios but also to put in place longer term measures to safeguard their environment.
Many of the schools are located in flight paths or near main roads in the most polluted areas of the UK and will benefit greatly from the data insights and trends. The campaign has caught the attention of parents, teachers and activist groups who all want to help improve the air young people breathe. Local authorities have also taken note. So this is a good way to use UK money to tackle air pollution.
Read the #LetSchoolsBreathe case study
Airly and Evotech on CleanAirDay
On June 17th, which marks Clean Air Day in the UK. Evotech Air Quality offered five schools in Calderdale (in West Yorkshire, UK) a fully funded air quality monitoring program for the next academic year. The schools were also provided with learning resources to help increase awareness around air quality and encourage engagement within the school community.
The chosen schools received sets consisting of both outdoor and indoor air quality sensors (by Airly and Airthings respectively) to provide accurate, real-time data, and expertise throughout the year on how schools can actively improve air quality, along with monthly reports.
Read more about the project CleanAirDay
Lambeth Council
Lambeth are increasing their network of sensors across the borough and will have over 60 Airly sensors within the next few weeks. The sensors have been strategically placed across the borough at congested junctions, hospitals, and schools.
Sheffield Children’s Hospital
We are proud to deliver an air quality monitor to Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The device measures the current concentrations of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 as well as NO2 and O3. It also provides current weather parameters such as temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure.
We sincerely hope that knowledge about air quality will allow us to take steps to reduce the impact of poor air quality on young patients and allow them to recover faster.
The air quality sensor works thanks to our partnership with Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
Read also what causes air pollution in the UK.
Interested in partnering with Airly? Contact us now