The air we breathe today has never been cleaner than at any time since the industrial revolution. London, the city of the great smog, has just reached an air pollution landmark it wasn't expected to achieve for another 200 years. So why — as we approach the 70th anniversary of the UK’s first ever clean air act — are we launching a new clean air network?

Well, sadly, it’s not all rosy. Every year, air pollution still contributes to tens of thousands of premature deaths in the UK — accounting for more than 7% of all the lives we lose. And we continue to discover the ways in which it worsens children's asthma, drives NHS costs higher, deepens health inequalities, and hits the poorest communities hardest

By any reasonable measure, we’ve come a long way. But we’ve still got a lot further to go.

And the local role in that journey is critical. The air people breathe is shaped by the roads we lay; the homes we plan ,build and retrofit; the buses we run and the industrial sites we permit. For councils and combined authorities, clean air sits in the middle of almost every decision they take - whether they like it or not. As the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill completes its passage through Parliament, it is about to sit there more consequentially than ever before.

That is why UK100 is launching our new Clean Air Network (CAN). We are bringing combined and strategic authorities together with local authorities to share what works, build common positions, and embed clean air at the heart of devolved decision-making.

A pivotal moment for local power

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill represents the most significant shift in local government powers in a generation. And the positive news is that it has already been amended to strengthen its focus on clean air.

Strategic authorities (and their elected Mayors) will take on expanded powers over transport, planning, housing and economic development, and the accountability that comes with them. The decisions they take, will directly affect the health and quality of life of their communities, whether or not clean air is explicitly on their agenda.

But it should be. We want to see air quality embedded in these new settlements. Our communities can’t afford to have it crowded out by the immediate demands of growth, housing delivery and fiscal pressure. With the right support, local leaders are ready to make sure it isn't.

Why a network, and why now?

Across our network, councils and combined authorities are already showing what works. From Clean Air Zones in Birmingham and Bath and North East Somerset that are already cutting respiratory GP visits, to indoor air quality interventions in Westminster, to integrating clean air into Local Transport Plans. But too often this work happens in silos. Too many resources are ploughed into reinventing wheels, with limited collective voice when it comes to shaping national policy.

CAN is designed to change that. By bringing representatives from combined and strategic authorities together on a quarterly basis, we can do things individually we simply cannot do alone: pool evidence, align advocacy, share what works and what does not, and speak with one voice to government departments on what local government needs to deliver on clean air.

The timing is deliberate. As the Devolution Bill receives Royal Assent, strategic spatial plans and local growth strategies are now being drawn up. Build clean air in at the foundation, and it shapes a generation of decisions. Leave it out, and councils will be retrofitting it later at far greater cost and far less impact. The window to get this right is open, but it will not stay open for long.

For UK100, in our tenth anniversary year, the CAN is also a return to our roots. A decade ago, our founding work was city leaders calling for tougher air pollution targets — and the air quality summits that followed. Ten years on, we are still making the case that climate action and clean air are two sides of the same coin and that local leaders are best placed to deliver both.

What CAN we do

CAN will be practical, member-led, cross-party, and independently-chaired. It is being built for open discussion and genuine knowledge exchange, which leads to real change. Members will shape the agenda, identifying the themes that matter most to their authorities and their communities.

Over the next two years, the Network will deliver a flagship policy report launched at our 10th anniversary conference, Breathing Life: A Decade of Local Air Quality Ambition (at the Royal Society of Medicine on 13 July 2026) followed by a best practice policy checklist in 2027 to help authorities embed clean air across all their strategies. We will develop case studies that showcase what works, and pursue collective advocacy with national government alongside campaigners and partners across the sector.

The secretariat support will be provided by UK100, drawing on our extensive experience coordinating cross-authority networks and our established trusted relationships with government, academics and delivery partners.

An invitation to local leaders, businesses and partners

As the former leader of Southampton, I know how challenging visionary action on clean air can be when we took the strategy through the council. How it is political leadership, with the right officer support, that is vital to unlock the transformative change required, which is now delivering nationally recognised cleaner air.

The clean air challenges of today are slightly different from those of seven years ago, but the need for long-term planning, political courage and proactive communications remains unchanged. At UK100, we know the pressures councils and combined authorities are under. Capacity is still stretched. Powers and funding aren't always aligned. Politics is increasingly even more contested. Every new initiative competes for attention. The Network is designed to make delivery easier, not harder.

The devolution moment is here. The powers and responsibilities are coming. The question is what we do with them. UK100's Clean Air Network exists to make sure that when strategic authorities step into their expanded role, clean air comes with them — embedded, evidenced and advocated for.

If your strategic authority is interested in joining the Network — or you are working on clean air and want to be part of what we’re building — we would love to hear from you. Get in touch at membership@uk100.org. And don’t forget to join us on 13 July at Breathing Life, where we will mark a decade of local air quality ambition and the next.

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