Good air quality is vital for all of us and in North Staffordshire alone, estimates suggest that as many as 200 deaths a year can be attributed to poor air quality caused by emissions from fossil-fuelled road traffic.

The Government requires local authorities to take targeted action in those locations where the concentration of roadside nitrogen dioxide exceeds a statutory limit.  Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council are therefore preparing for two major changes to the local road network:

– A Clean Air Zone (CAZ) category C will introduce a daily charge on older buses, coaches, taxis, lorries and vans that don’t meet the latest emissions standards and drive within a defined area of Stoke-on-Trent, covering parts of Fenton, Joiners Square and the city centre. This CAZ will not have any impact on cars travelling within this defined area and will only affect older vehicles in other vehicle categories.   This will reduce pollution on Victoria Road in Fenton, as well as improving air quality across a large part of the city where nitrogen dioxide concentrations are close to the statutory limit.

– At peak times of the working week, a bus gate on the A53 Etruria Road at the bottom of Basford Bank will limit traffic heading in a westbound direction from the A53/A500 junction, towards Newcastle-under-Lyme.  This will reduce pollution on Etruria Road.

As a Chamber, we welcome any improvements to air quality but we are concerned about the impact of both schemes on the local business community, which is why we urge you to join our free webinar on Thursday 15^th September from 2pm, to get a detailed overview of the proposals.

Green Travel Week

Here at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, we will be holding our annual Green Travel Week during September, with staff invited to look at smarter travel to work choices such as:

1. Cycling
2. Walking
3. Using public transport
4. Lift sharing

We have a Cycle-to-Work scheme in place, that gives staff the opportunity to buy a new bicycle or e-bike and equipment such as a helmet and lights, while spreading the cost in a tax-efficient way from salary deductions. There are miles and miles of cycle paths across the local area and many of these are off-road, offering a safer way to avoid the traffic and get to and from work. Cycling and walking are great ways for your staff to integrate exercise as part of the daily commute, helping to boost health and wellbeing. Introducing a cycle-to-work scheme is a relatively simple process for you as an employer. Would your business benefit from having a healthier and motivated workforce?

Staffordshire also has an extensive network of public transport with buses and trains offering excellent connections to and from our cities and towns.

If cycling, walking and public transport are not feasible options, then how about encouraging your staff to lift share – either as a driver or a passenger? If you can implement a “guaranteed lift home”, this will help to reassure any lift share participants, if circumstances should change during the working day and someone needs to be home in an emergency, such as a child being taken ill at school.   It could be a simple measure such as meeting the cost of a taxi from work to home or getting a colleague to provide a lift home.    Lift sharing means fewer cars on the roads and sharing the cost of petrol/diesel, which has risen significantly during 2022.

Have you considered flexible working hours for your staff?  It could be offering staff the chance to come into the workplace outside the main rush hour peak for travelling.   Again, this reduces the number of cars on the road, at peak times of the working week.

If you would like to chat about travel to work options for your staff, feel free to contact declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk