The air quality in Bradford on Avon is improving after the town was subject to an Air Quality Management Area order.

Wiltshire Council said it was investigating the air quality on Masons Lane in the town for a decade where it installed Defra-approved monitoring equipment.

It was on Masons Lane that the levels of particulate matter have been over the last five years, and importantly for the town, below the levels set out in air quality law.

Now the historic town has met its clean air target and the order has been lifted, town council leader, Dom Newton, welcomed the news but added there was a need to ensure there was no reduction in the importance of air quality in Bradford.

“Developments like the Bath Clean Air Zone, the likely increase in traffic volumes post-Lockdown, and the potential impacts the draft Local Plan need to be carefully examined, particularly in light of the climate emergency which Wiltshire Council – like the town council – has declared,” he said.

“Ticking one box is not enough – we need a sustained plan to reduce risks to pedestrians and cyclists, to protect the health of future generations.”

Particulate matter is a mixture of small solid particles found in the air with pollution from traffic being a major cause of this.

A council spokesman said: “As required by law, the council monitors for PM10, which includes particles with diameters that are 10 micrometres and smaller.

“At Masons Lane, the AQMA order required PM10 to be below 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air; and since 2015 it has been below 30, falling to below 25 in the latest figures for 2019. The 2020 figures are currently being ratified, but are expected to show that PM10 has fallen again from 2019’s levels.”

Cabinet member for public health, Simon Jacobs, said: “This is fantastic news for Bradford on Avon and underlines our commitment to improving air quality throughout Wiltshire. The recent lockdowns and the current one-way system may have also had a positive effect on air quality in the town, as fewer cars are queuing.

“However, we are still monitoring this and will be able to provide independently ratified data imminently.

“Unfortunately, the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) remain higher than levels required by the AQMA order at two locations in the town, so there is more work to do on this front and this part of the AQMA order remains in place. But as more people use electric vehicles and change their habits, levels of NO2 will also come down.

“We’re taking all steps available to us to improve air quality throughout Wiltshire.”