Bradford Council has been given a year to draw up plans to reduce pollution in the district, after it emerged that nitrogen dioxide levels on some roads were unlikely to reach legal levels until 2027.

In March, the Council was told to carry out a feasibility study to identify solutions to Bradford’s air quality problems and bring forward the date that the district would achieve compliance with the legal limit of an annual mean level of 40µg/m3 for nitrogen dioxide.

The study was submitted to Defra in July, and revealed that it now may be years before some areas reach the legal levels on NO2.

Some areas of high pollution will reach legal levels next year, including Bingley Road and Rook Lane. However, the A650 in Shipley will not reach legal levels until 2027, and Shipley Airedale Road in the city centre will not reach legal levels until 2024.

Defra was under the impression Bradford would have reached legal levels by 2021.

Due to this, Bradford Council was issued with a Ministerial Direction to come up with a more detailed plan of how to reduce air pollution. The authority only has until the end of January to come up with an initial plan to “set the case for change and identifying, exploring, analysing and developing options for interventions which the local authority will implement to deliver compliance in the shortest time possible and an indicative cost for those options.”

The final plan will have to be delivered in just over a year, October 31, 2019.

The issue will be discussed by members of Bradford Council’s Regeneration and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday. A report to members says: “Defra have indicated that Bradford will receive similar levels of funding and support as other local authorities previously required to undertake these studies. It is envisaged that the plan and expected government support and funding for implementation works will improve air quality over and above current plans in Bradford prior to the serving of this ministerial direction.”

Defra has made similar requirements in over 50 other towns and cities including Manchester and Sheffield.

As part of the work Bradford is expected to work with Leeds Council, which was notified in December 2015 of the need to take action and is now pursuing a Clean Air Zone.

In Bradford five per cent of all early deaths are attributed to air pollution, which is the equivalent of approximately 200 early deaths a year.

The committee will meet in City Hall at 5.30pm on Tuesday.