Yorkshire Design Group encourages more business engagement in Clean Air Day 2020

Yorkshire Design Group are giving their support to Living Streets Leeds to help deliver a series of events on Clean Air Day, June 18^th.  We’d love to see other businesses joining us to celebrate the positive message that everyone can take simple steps to reduce air pollution in our city.

YDG, a property development and management company, have worked in Leeds for over 30 years to create sustainable locations for business and education amongst residential and leisure uses in the Calls Waterfront and South Bank areas of Leeds, within a short walk from the city centre. The company’s work to rescue and re-purpose the redundant post-industrial warehouses next to the river in Leeds kickstarted the original regeneration of the city’s waterfront.

Living Streets is a UK charity with a mission to achieve a better walking environment for all and inspire people to walk more. In 2019 Living Streets Leeds brought together more than 20 organisations with the Local Authority to create the Leeds Clean Air Alliance to celebrate Clean Air Day.

Paul Ellison, Managing Director of YDG, said “Lots of good things happened in Leeds last year for Clean Air Day, with people walking and cycling to work and several streets closed to traffic, but awareness could be higher. The impact could be much greater if we better connect those events and push the agenda harder to be more ambitious in 2020. We have a keen interest in making Leeds a better city for all its citizens. Reducing air pollution is proven to have a huge impact on health and quality of life and businesses in Leeds have a key role to play.”

Ruth Gelletlie, Living Streets, adds “Air pollution is the largest environmental health risk we face today, and in recent years, Leeds has been highlighted in several reports for poor air quality, due to traffic-related air pollution. In 2019 Friends of the Earth said that Neville Street in Leeds was the most polluted road outside London and data from Public Health England has shown that air pollution is linked to five in every 100 deaths of people aged 30 and over in Leeds.

The more that we can draw attention to transported-related air pollution and clearly demonstrate that both residents and employers in Leeds want to see real, rapid improvements in air quality in Leeds, the sooner we can see positive effects on health in our local communities. We are working hard to draw together key partners and confirm plans for ambitious actions to make Clean Air Day 2020 in Leeds a hugely positive event. ”

Paul and Ruth want to hear from businesses who are willing to get involved in Clean Air Day 2020. If you are planning an event and can share this information, or want to discuss ideas for an event, please email Ruth Gelletlie at leedsgroup@livingstreets.org.uk.