Drivers across Gloucestershire could see pressure ramped up to drive electric vehicles, cycle or walk to destinations in a bid to save some of the county’s hardest hit areas for air pollution.

A report released by a task force dedicated to cracking down on large traces of air pollution in Gloucestershire outlined ways the county could reduce congestion and pollution.

Report finding suggest that air pollution contributes to 278 deaths a year in the county.

A task force wants Gloucestershire County Council to place air pollution in mind when constructing planning and transport policies, and called for highways intervention to reduce congestion on the county’s roads.

The task force ordered the authority to do more work in encouraging drivers to switch to electric vehicles, on top of the £470,000 investment to install more on-street charging points.

More access to cycle routes and footpaths could be pushed forward if the plans go ahead.

The efforts to incentivise drivers to change the way they travel would come into effect if the report is approved by the county council’s cabinet meeting on June 6.

Councillor Jeremy Hilton, who chaired the task force report, said there is “little co-ordination between public bodies” and “we need to do more”.

Councillor Hilton (Lib Dem, Kingsholm & Wotton) said: “Public bodies in Gloucestershire need to do much more to reduce vehicle air pollution.

“We have a number of poor air quality hot spots in the county.

“Nitrogen Dioxides and particulate matter from vehicle emissions is a hazard to everyone’s health in the county. We have to take action to reduce these pollutants.

There are less than 100 charging points in the county, a figure that Councillor Hilton said was “not enough”.

Roads could be spaced out more to ease concentration levels, but councillor Rachel Smith said this would be a “backwards step”.

Councillor Smith (Green, Minchinhampton) said: “A lot of the recommendations are what we would do anyway, it is not as strong as it could be.

“If we give cars more space, we will bring in more cars. We need to get people to take alternative routes.

“It is not about creating more space for cars, it is about creating bus lanes and walking paths.”

Councillor Smith was the only member of the environment and communities scrutiny committee to vote against the report, despite being one of its architects.

The worst-hit areas in the county which exceed regional averages are Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, just off the M5 junctions.

Cheltenham is one of 33 towns and cities across the country which sees illegal levels of pollution, a High Court ruling in February revealed.

The Department for Environment has ordered officials at Cheltenham Borough Council and the county council to propose by July 31 how it will comply with EU legal limits for Nitrogen Dioxide.

Meanwhile, there are 16 areas in Gloucestershire which the World Health Organisation says exceeds recommendations on Nitrogen Dioxide, according to a study.

These areas are:

11 in Cheltenham

4 in Gloucester

1 on the Air Balloon Roundabout in the Cotswolds.

The report lays out how exposure to particulate matter air pollution contributes to around 278 deaths a year in Gloucestershire, representing an annual loss of 2,848 life years.

Particulate matter, the major source of which is road transport, is estimated to be at its highest in the Churchdown and Ashchurch areas of Tewkesbury and the west of Cheltenham.

The task force also called for greater public awareness and engagement about air pollution.

They added that a website should be created to show real-time air quality monitoring data, but details on who would be take on the responsibility is to be decided later in the process.

Seven people voted in favour for the recommendations to be elevated to cabinet.