Winchester has done it. After more than two decades of living under the shadow of an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA), the city centre has finally been declared clean enough to lift the designation. DEFRA confirmed what many residents had already sensed: Winchester Air Quality is clearer, pollution levels are down, and the “dirty city centre” tag can finally be scrubbed from Winchester’s record.

Back in late 2022, we published a piece on Winchester Air Quality progress and questioned whether the city’s efforts – coupled with the rise of EcoDesign stoves – could eventually lift the AQMA. Almost three years later, that prediction has become reality.