Air quality 'to worsen' in Oxford

Air quality looks set to get worse along one Oxford city centre street, it has been reported.

Despite St Aldate's being the ninth most polluted street in the country, according to government data seen by the Oxford Times, the local county council has admitted that air quality in the area is likely to deteriorate due to the re-routing of more buses along the road.

However, a spokesperson for Oxford's city council contradicted the claims, saying that air quality is actually improving with pollution peaking along the street three years ago.

"Air pollution levels have improved following measures such as traffic restrictions and the High Street bus gate," she told the newspaper.

She added that a low-emission zone will be fully effective by 2014.

Meanwhile, another British city also hit the headlines recently for its efforts to monitor the environment, as plans to create a map of Cambridge's air quality were due to be put into action by volunteers earlier this week.

Written by Joseph Hutton