A HAMPSHIRE council is set to spend £40,000 in a bid to tackle air pollution levels.

Eastleigh Borough Council is putting forward funds for a scheme to put top environmentally-friendly buses on its streets. Further funds will be spent on staff to focus solely on the problem.

Council documents reveal how officers have been working on a joint bid with Southampton City Council and bus firm Bluestar for the buses for a pot of Government funding.

Under the scheme, new ultra low emission buses would operate on a route between Eastleigh and Southampton which passes through the areas of pollution concern in Eastleigh.

It is hoped their introduction will improve emission levels in that area as a high number of buses pass through Eastleigh town centre.

This comes after the Daily Echo reported in January on how the Eastleigh Borough Council was looking at banning lorries from the town centre and a park-and-ride scheme as one of many actions being considered in a bid to reduce pollution.

The borough currently has four areas where air pollution, caused by vehicle fumes, is a concern – one for Eastleigh town covering Leigh Road, Romsey Road, Southampton Road and Wide Lane, another near to the M3 junctions 12 to 14 and others at Bursledon and Botley.

High levels of nitrogen dioxide have been detected and a recent survey showed efforts designed to reduce it had failed with levels remaining above national guidelines.

Southampton has 10 areas, including Town Quay, Millbrook and Bevois Valley Road.

The Office for Low Emissions Vehicles has a £30m low emission bus fund to support buying eco friendly buses between 2016 and 2019.

Officers from Eastleigh Borough Council, Southampton City Council and Bluestar are working on a joint bid which would see them buy eight Enviro 400 double deckers buses to operate on the Bluestar 2 route which runs between Fair Oak, Eastleigh and Southampton.

A further Bluestar 5 route between Eastleigh and Romsey could also be looked at, the report says.

Buses could also be bought for use on the Millbrook corridor and Bluestar is looking at all air pollution hotspots in Southampton where they run services.

A £40,000 contribution is needed, though Eastleigh council’s report says it is not known how much Southampton City Council will be willing to put in.

Bluestar will buy the buses as the funding only covers the difference between the standard bus and these eco friendly models – eight of them will cost £1.3m.

A bid must be submitted by October 31 and, if successful, funding would come April next year.

Council estimates are that through their 27,000 vehicle movements through the Eastleigh town centre these buses could reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the borough by 67 tons a year.

Eastleigh Local Area Committee has agreed £20,000 from developer contributions for the bus scheme alongside a further £20,507 of developer contributions for an intern, hopefully a science graduate, to work on air quality issues in the borough for at least a year.

Ed Wills, operations director at Bluestar, said the scheme could potentially involve other Hampshire councils and bus companies, adding: “We’re working really closely with the council and it’s exciting.”

Chair of Eastleigh Local Area Committee Cllr Paul Bicknell said: “Both announcements are a positive step towards reducing poor air quality, something Eastleigh Borough Council and councillors take very seriously.

“We are hopeful the bid for grant funding for new enviromentally friendly buses is successful as this will be a direct positive impact on air quality for Eastleigh residents in the Air Quality Management Areas.”