A GOVERNMENT minister said he was “pleased to see Bradford taking a lead in tackling air pollution” on a visit to its Clean Air Zone (CAZ) team.

Jesse Norman, Minister of State for Transport, visited Bradford yesterday (Wednesday) to meet the team and Born in Bradford representatives.

The CAZ was launched in September and sees the most polluting commercial vehicles charged to enter areas of the district.

It followed a Ministerial Direction given to the Council by Government in 2018, demanding the Council reduce Bradford’s illegal pollution levels.

Mr Norman was shown the ANPR systems that manage vehicle passage through the zone, the CAZ contact centre and back office customer service operations as well as the enforcement systems used to issue penalties to non-compliant vehicles which have not paid the CAZ charge.

Mr Norman said: “It’s vital to reduce nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants which we know can lead to respiratory illness and dementia, which is why I am pleased to see Bradford taking a lead in tackling air pollution with their Clean Air Zone.

”We’ve provided £32 million to support Bradford City Council’s scheme, which is being used to help local businesses and make buses, taxis and HGV fleets greener.”

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