Asthma + Lung UK: How the next Mayor of West Yorkshire can tackle air pollution in Leeds

And there’s one issue that should be at the forefront of the candidates’ plans, a charity has said, as thousands of the county’s residents are still exposed to high levels of air pollution.

Asthma + Lung UK hosted a hustings event at the University of Leeds earlier this month to call for urgent action.   

The charity claims over 800,000 people in West Yorkshire, including 56,000 children under six, are exposed to harmful pollution levels well above recommendations from the World Health Organisation and warns the air quality in Leeds is putting the health of our communities, especially children, at serious risk.

We attended the panel discussion with the West Yorkshire mayoral candidates, as they discussed how to tackle air pollution in the county. 

Harriet Edwards, the charity’s head of policy and external affairs, told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We had a really brilliant debate, we covered issues like inclusive cycling, school streets, and what communities can do and contribute to help find the solutions that work for them.

“Toxic air is a killer and we know that across West Yorkshire, 84% of the schools are located in areas that have levels of air pollution over what the World Health Organisation recommends. 

“This means that children are breathing in toxic particles that can stunt their lung growth and leave them with life-long problems. If they have conditions like asthma it can also cause an attack which can leave them hospitalised and in the very worst cases, can even be fatal.”

The panel heard from each of the candidates on their plans to combat air pollution, ahead of the West Yorkshire mayoral election on Thursday May 2. 

Watch the video above to find out more - and hear from one local resident on why the issue is so important.