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Contact Information:

Prof Rosemary McEachan
rosie.mceachan@bthft.nhs.uk


Ms Emily Nix
emily.nix@bthft.nhs.uk


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Be Part of Research - Trial Details - Born in Bradford Breathes: evaluating the health, air quality and economic impact of a city wide intervention to improve air quality
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Born in Bradford Breathes: evaluating the health, air quality and economic impact of a city wide intervention to improve air quality

Not Recruiting

Open to: All Genders

Age: All

Bradford

Medical Conditions

Respiratory health, cardiovascular health, birth outcomes

This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.


The UK has high levels of air pollution, which costs the NHS and society around £20 billion a year. Poor air quality is a major cause of early death and illness. It has been linked to lung and heart disease in children and adults and low birth weight. During periods of poor air quality, health gets worse, leading to more hospital admissions and deaths. Children and the elderly are particularly affected by pollution. Poorer areas of the country have worse air quality and this increases inequalities in health. Thirty three local councils with high pollution levels have to put in place air quality plans which include Clean Air Zones. Bradford will introduce a Clean Air Zone in 2021 in order to reduce pollution using policies such as charging people for driving polluting vehicles. However, there is little evidence whether these policies improve air quality and health and what effect they might have on health inequalities.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of a Clean Air Zone on air quality, health and health inequalities in the city of Bradford.

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

15 Mar 2021 20 Jan 2025

Publications

2023 Results article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37390911/ (added 14/08/2023)2023 Results article in https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2023.101654 (added 14/08/2023)2025 Results article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39884541/ Health and nitrogen dioxide (added 19/02/2025)2024 Results article in https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13730.1 Process and implementation evaluation (added 19/02/2025)2022 Protocol article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36464683/ (added 05/12/2022)2024 Other publications in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38899121/ Qualitative study (added 30/10/2024)2025 Other publications in https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ubtr.2025.100016 A qualitative study relating to the process and implementation evaluation work-package (added 09/01/2026)

We will explore changes in air quality in the city using regularly collected data that is already available on air pollution and will also collect additional data from 12 schools throughout the city. In addition, 240 children in these schools will help us collect data by using mobile air sensors for three months before the Clean Air Zone is put in place and for three months in the year after. The impact on lung, heart health and birth weight will be measured by comparing the health of over 500,000 Bradford residents in the three years before and three years after the Clean Air Zone is in place. The research will examine whether the impact is different for people from more deprived areas or different ethnic groups. This will use detailed information collected on 13,500 children who are part of the Born in Bradford study. We will look at whether the policy changes the way people choose to travel by conducting a survey with 4000 families. We will also conduct group discussions and interviews with key groups of people including businesses, transport companies, families, and pedestrians. These discussions will explore what may have helped or hindered the success of the policy and any unexpected effects. We will also explore if the Clean Air Zone is good value for money, e.g. do any improvements in health justify the costs.


People living within Bradford District.

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


Participants who move out of Bradford district during duration of the study.


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • Bradford Institute for Health Research
    Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Duckworth Lane
    Bradford
    BD9 6RJ

This study will use anonymised routinely collected health data from residents living in Bradford collected before and after the B-CAP is implemented. As such there are no direct risks of taking part. To explore the impact of the B-CAP on air quality Primary school children will also be asked to carry portable air quality sensors in the year prior, and year following B-CAP implementation. We do not forsee any risks with taking part in this part of the study. In return we will work with participating schools to develop curriculum based air quality research materials which we hope will inspire learning in science related subjects.
100 community members and two schools have been involved in developing our proposal and thinking about how to test if the policy will work and what effect it will have on the residents of Bradford. We have also worked closely with Bradford council and the UK Government department responsible for air quality nationally (DEFRA). Community, school and local authority representatives are part of our study team. They will be actively involved in the development and management of our research. DISSEMINATION: We will share our findings widely using a range of approaches depending on the audience. Researchers, policy and decision makers will receive academic papers, policy briefings, and be invited to events. We will communicate our research with communities through a series of short 'in a nutshell' reports publicised widely through social media channels, local media links, and engagement events. We will also develop materials for schools based on our findings to inspire and inform the next generation of researchers.

Prof Rosemary McEachan
rosie.mceachan@bthft.nhs.uk


Ms Emily Nix
emily.nix@bthft.nhs.uk



The study is sponsored by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and funded by Public Health Research Programme.



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Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN67530835
Last updated 09 January 2026

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