Research finds Bradford clean air zone could be saving NHS £30k a month

A new study has found that Bradford's clean air zone has reduced air pollution and saved the health service about £30,7000 a month in its first year of operation.

The Bradford clean air zone is the second biggest in England, covering an area of 22.4 square kilometres. 20 per cent of the city's population live within the zone. That population within the zone tend to be the city's poorest and most likely to suffer ill health, while at the same time, less likely to cause pollution.

Since September 2022, older lorries, buses and taxis have had to pay if they drove into the zone.

Air pollution currently contributes to around 7 million prematures deaths a year and in Europe the economic cost of air pollution is around £1.4 trillion every year. In the UK alone, there are 64,000 deaths a year due to air pollution.

The researchers investigated nearly 200,000 visits to GPs and to the emergency department at the Bradford Royal Infirmary. After one year of the zone being in operation, GP visits for respiratory illnesses decreased by 25 per cent and for heart problems by 24 per cent. This is the equivalent of 732 fewer visits a month compared to pre-Covid levels.

Meanwhile, there were also fewer patients with breathing problems at the Bradford Royal Infirmary emergency department. There was no reported changed for cardiovascular visits.

Health benefits were recorded across the city, not just within the clean air zone.

The researchers found that nitrogen dioxide coming from traffic was lower. NO2 concentration decreased by 11.5 μg/m3 and continued to decrease by 0.2 μg/m3 post-implementation

The researchers concluded that policies which restrict the movement of polluting vehicles have the potential to reduce air pollution and improve health, though noted that evaluating the impact of such policies is challenging and further study of the long-term impact of such is warranted.