RESIDENTS living near the busy motorway where air quality was deemed to be poor, can now breathe a sigh of relief.

New research shows that potentially harmful fumes do not travel from the highway as far as previously thought. And anticipated traffic levels on motorways will not increase at the rate previously predicted by experts.

Fall out from vehicle exhausts may not be as bad as feared either, say the experts.

Consultants reviewing air quality for Bromsgrove District Council pinpointed areas of concern at Lydiate Ash, Lickey End and Coopers Hill, Alvechurch.

But the council has now found that the Highways Agency over predicted future vehicle levels and its nitrogen dioxide test results may not be as accurate as needed.

Consequently, air quality management areas (AQMA) at Lydiate Ash and Coppers Hill will be scrapped. Sensitive equipment will instead be installed at Lickey End, where tests will continue for the next six months.

The findings there will determine whether this AQMA can likewise be withdrawn or made smaller.

David Williams, director of environmental services at Bromsgrove District Council, said the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs agreed the findings only last week.