Climate and environment progress snapshot
Our Equalities and Human Rights 'snapshot of progress' will be updated every 6 months to provide details of our activity, as we work to deliver the Council Plan; One City, for all.
For our core commitment to Climate and environment and the climate emergency, we know the race to net zero is more urgent than ever and we will understand the impact our actions have on the environment. We will prepare for the future, adapting our city to extreme climate events and enhancing our environment for future generations to enjoy.
Priority actions
Find out more about progress on each priority action related to climate and environment:
- Improve air quality beyond the UK’s national guidelines
- Prioritise safe active travel in our Movement plan and in routes to school
- Showcase renewable energy and retrofit expertise, with a ‘Green Skills Village’ at its heart
- Ensure the benefits of a low carbon society are shared widely, while also supporting those who stand to lose economically
- Develop a Movement Plan as a statement of intent to make it easier to move through the city, reducing traffic around primary schools and making significant progress towards reducing carbon by 71% and traffic by 20% for discussion with the new Mayor
- Take decisive action to reduce emissions improving the quality of existing council housing and launch a one-stop shop to support households retrofitting their properties
- Increase biodiversity and plant an additional 4,000 trees across the city
- Work with city partners to adapt the city to withstand extreme weather events
Priority action: Improve air quality beyond the UK’s national guidelines.
Progress from August 2025 to present:
- York Green Streets has completed the planting of over 2,700 trees in York's urban environment, including 2 new micro-woods at Burnholme and Rawcliffe. We have now reached a total of 5,300 trees and exceeded the Council Plan target of 4,000 trees by 2027. This work was fully funded by over £450,000 in external grants. Due to the exceptionally dry spring, some trees failed. This was monitored, and the trees will be replaced this winter at no cost to us.
- We met national targets at all air quality monitoring points for the first time outside the COVID-19 pandemic, when national travel restrictions were in place. We ran a consultation on expanding the Smoke Control Area to the whole of York, in line with our commitments under Air Quality Action Plan 4 (AQAP4). We continue to work on this alongside the actions in our Local Transport Plan and upcoming Movement and Place Plan. On 6 March 2026, the Executive approved proposals for the Smoke Control Area to cover all of York. We confirmed in June that the city had met national air pollution targets for the second consecutive year. New monitoring data for 2025, presented at the Combined Executive Member Decision Session on 2 June 2026, shows that the significantly lower nitrogen dioxide levels recorded in 2024 have been sustained, with further improvements in some areas. In many locations, maximum annual concentrations are now the lowest recorded in over 15 years of monitoring.
- Our 12-month Gillygate air quality trial successfully concluded, yielding highly positive results. By adjusting traffic signal timings to reduce standing and queuing traffic, nitrogen dioxide levels have dropped significantly. A full report detailing these achievements was recently presented at our Transport Decision Session.
- We provided financial support to taxi drivers through our Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)-funded Low Emission Taxi Grant scheme until June 2024, when all funding had been allocated. The project encouraged the transition to low-emission taxis within York through incentives and awareness-raising. As of March 2026, 45% of our licensed taxis were using low-emission petrol hybrid or zero-tailpipe-emission electric vehicles.
Priority action: Prioritise safe active travel in our Movement plan and in routes to school.
Progress from August 2025 to present:
- The consultation on the Local Transport Strategy (LTS) invited residents, including children and parents, and stakeholder groups, including businesses, to explore the importance of prioritising safe active travel. The Local Transport Strategy was approved by Executive and is now shaping other policy work, such as the city's Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, adopted in late 2024, and the regional Local Transport Plan, which is currently being developed by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. A work programme for the LTS, the Local Transport Strategy Implementation Plan 2024 to 2026, was adopted in late 2024, and officers have been working to deliver the projects within it.
- One of the priorities identified in both the LTS and the Movement and Place Plan framework relates to work around education sites to reduce school-related traffic and inconsiderate parking and create an environment which encourages active travel. One solution is to create School Streets, where non-essential vehicles are banned from the immediate area around the school during school start and finish times. An initial officer workshop was held where the viability of school streets at all primary schools in the city was assessed. This enabled us to draw up a shortlist, and a subsequent bid to the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to fund a trial at several of those schools was successful. Work to create those school streets will begin shortly.
- We have submitted bids to the Active Travel Fund for two sustainable travel behaviour-change packages: one focused on expanding cycle-parking provision and another supporting wider active travel initiatives. We have also submitted two infrastructure project bids to the Mayor's Active Travel Fund. In addition, we will support community organisations that wish to apply to the Mayoral Combined Authority's community active travel fund, where proposed projects align with York's ambitions for sustainable transport and healthier, low-carbon travel choices.
- The Executive approved a £4.25 million investment in Park & Ride in October 2025. This programme will upgrade facilities across the city's Park & Ride sites, with the ambition to introduce overnight parking, deliver a new hub building at Grimston Bar and improve existing buildings at Rawcliffe Bar and Monks Cross.
- Following the successful trial of a 20mph speed limit covering most of Bishopthorpe village, the scheme has now been made permanent and will be used as a blueprint for a rollout to other areas or villages around York. This is part of our commitment to making our streets safer for everyone and enabling more people to choose to walk, wheel and cycle. We have now secured funding to deliver more community speed-reduction schemes and will progress these over the coming year.
- As part of the Rougier Route scheme, which seeks to create a priority route for sustainable travel between Rougier Street and Coppergate, opportunities have been taken to provide safer facilities and higher priority for active travellers along the corridor. A citywide consultation on the scheme has been completed, and the feedback will be used to refine the design before a trial of the measures begins later in 2026.
- Work continues on the Station Frontage scheme, where much-improved active travel facilities will be provided to make the area safer and more attractive to walk, wheel and cycle through.
- A programme of barrier redesign or removal on parts of the active travel networks has commenced, and further phases of the work will be delivered over the next few years. This work seeks to make access easier for walkers, wheelchair users, other types of wheelers and cyclists.
- Between August 2025 and February 2026, significant improvements have been made to bus stop infrastructure across the city. This includes the installation of 66 real-time information displays, mostly at new locations, with a small number replacing life-expired units. A further 31 bus stops have been upgraded with accessibility improvements, such as raised kerbs and enlarged hardstanding areas. In addition, 12 bus shelters have been installed or replaced, with most replacing life-expired structures and a small number providing new shelters or additional seating and lighting.
- Alongside this programme, 33 new Outdoor shelters have been installed to date as part of the contract to replace all 126 existing shelters.
- We have implemented an active travel project to reduce waiting times for pedestrians at key junctions across the city. 40 pedestrian crossings have now had their waiting time reduced to 40 seconds or less, helping to reduce pedestrian crowding at busy junctions such as Blossom Street and Nunnery Lane and encouraging more people to choose to walk.
- Our transport vision aims to create inclusive, safe networks by prioritising walking, cycling, wheeling and public transport. Forthcoming sustainable travel and healthy streets initiatives, such as Hamilton Drive and Acomb Road, are a key focus for local neighbourhoods and travel corridors.
Priority action: Showcase renewable energy and retrofit expertise, with a ‘Green Skills Village’ at its heart.
Progress by September 2025:
- We continue to work with York Central developers and the wider Construction Skills Partnership on the potential for a Construction Skills Centre in the city, taking into account the findings of a feasibility study (funded by UK Government) that was completed earlier this year.
- Earlier this year, we worked in partnership with local employers and industry skills partners to deliver a Construction Taster Day for 25 Year 11 students at York Central.
Priority action: Ensure the benefits of a low carbon society are shared widely, while also supporting those who stand to lose economically.
Progress from August 2025 to present:
- The Retrofit One Stop Shop York (ROSSY) project is now complete, and YorEnergy has been established as a support service for all York households with retrofit requirements.
- We have completed one Passivhaus-certified new-build housing development at Duncombe Square, and a second Passivhaus-certified new-build housing development at Burnholme Green is due to be completed soon.
- As part of the Warm Homes scheme, we have upgraded 13 properties with insulation, low-carbon heating and solar panels. The scheme will run for another 2 years, and we aim to improve 80 to 100 homes by the end of the scheme.
- We continued to promote our 'Kick the Habit' anti-idling and 'Fuel for Thought' solid-fuel-burning and health-awareness campaigns, and supported the Clean Air Day and Clean Air Night campaigns. On Clean Air Day and throughout the year, we worked with partners, including schools and businesses, to reduce vehicle idling across the city. This included installing permanent anti-idling signs in all our car parks, at most city centre bus stops and taxi ranks, and at other key locations across the city. The next Clean Air Day will be on in June 2027. Further information about the campaign can be found on our Kick the Habit webpage.
- We are currently carrying out a detailed analysis of climate-related risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities to support effective resilience planning.
Priority action: Develop a Movement Plan as a statement of intent to make it easier to move through the city, reducing traffic around primary schools and making significant progress towards reducing carbon by 71% and traffic by 20% for discussion with the new Mayor.
Progress from August 2025 to present:
- The Movement and Place Framework, approved by the Executive in July 2024 as part of the wider Local Transport Strategy, is now moving into its delivery phase. The specification for commissioning has been agreed, and we expect to appoint a consulting partner in summer 2026, with Phase 1 of the programme scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.
- Following the public consultation on proposed improvements to Park & Ride, we are now moving forward with a £4.25 million investment approved by the Executive in October. This programme will upgrade facilities across the city's Park & Ride sites, including the introduction of overnight parking, new electric vehicle (EV) charging points and modernised facilities such as toilets and ticket offices. A new hub building will be delivered at Grimston Bar, with further improvements planned for Rawcliffe Bar and Monks Cross. Visitors will also benefit from enhanced signage, pathways and lighting. With the support of First Group, operating hours have already been extended from 5.30am to 10.30pm, Monday to Saturday, across all sites. The contract for bus service operation and site management has been extended until February 2028 to ensure continuity during the upgrade programme.
Priority action: Take decisive action to reduce emissions improving the quality of existing council housing and launch a one-stop shop to support households retrofitting their properties.
Progress from August 2025 to present:
- The Retrofit One Stop Shop York (ROSSY) project is now complete, and YorEnergy have been established as a support service for all York households with retrofit requirements. The project supported the development of the YorEnergy website and saw the creation of two demonstrator homes: a period property on Vine Street and a more modern property on Kingsway West. Our team are now sharing this work with other local authorities as a model of best practice, as well as exploring options for continuing some of the benefits beyond the funded project's lifespan.
Priority action: Increase biodiversity and plant an additional 4,000 trees across the city.
Progress from August 2025 to present:
- York Community Woodland opened to the public in August 2024 providing access to new tracks and trails and almost 200,000 new trees and shrubs. It will continue to develop and mature over the coming decades.
Priority action: Work with city partners to adapt the city to withstand extreme weather events.
Progress from August 2025 to present:
- The Riverside Path Improvement Scheme - focused on the section between Jubilee Terrace and Scarborough Bridge - is progressing. A public meeting was held on 22 September 2025 to consider updates on the project and links to the York Central Development.
Also see
Comment on this page
