Bypass to divert traffic from Doncaster village labelled worst air pollution in England will not start for at least five years

Pressure group Friends of the Earth has labelled two spots in the borough village of Hickleton as having the seventh and tenth highest levels of nitrogen dioxide micrograms per cubic metre of air.

A spot at the junction Fir Tree Close recorded a level of 86 and an area at John O’Gaunts in the village hit 82. The legal annual limit for NO2 is 40 micrograms per cubic metre but no level is said to be safe.

Doncaster Council, in conjunction with Barnsley Council and the Sheffield City Region, included a plan for a bypass in their road network strategy after a concerted effort by campaigners in Hickleton and nearby Marr.

But the bypass was supposed to be built over 30 years ago - the Barnsley end in the Dearne Valley was completed but the Doncaster side never got off the ground.

Campaigners have previously said the lack of a bypass results in large lorries from warehouses to and from the Dearne Valley accessing the A1 which has prompted a steep rise in air pollution over recent years.

Simon Bowens, clean air campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said failing to fix air pollution costs lives and showed a failure to address the climate crisis.

"If ministers want to avoid a return to the health-damaging and illegal levels of air pollution we had before lockdown, their enthusiasm for 'active travel' needs to be a permanent switch and not just a short-term gap plugger.”

Gill Gilles, assistant director for environment at Doncaster Council, said: “While air quality is good across the majority of our borough we do have some isolated areas on some of our main roads which we are tackling by implementing the numerous initiatives set out in our Air Quality Action Plan.

“We have promoted sustainable transport but we really need the public to play their part too by car sharing, using public transport or walking and cycling to make journeys and help tackle the air quality issue.

“South Yorkshire leaders including Mayor Ros Jones, Sir Steve Houghton leader of Barnsley Council and Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis, recently issued a joint letter to residents of Hickleton which outlined that, while a bypass – prior to the arrival of the new HS2 line - would appear the best solution to air quality, congestion and road safety issues, there are obstacles to overcome.

“These include the lobbying of Government to consider the case for funding and the likelihood that construction would not commence before 2025. Therefore Doncaster Council will continue to look at options for interim measures, which would seek to address the immediate concerns.”

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