DRASTIC measures to slash city centre pollution levels by 2005 could mean a car ban in some parts of York.

Environment chiefs have found amounts of nitrogen dioxide, a gas created by traffic, are already breaching Government set limits due to be introduced. And they have only four years to reduce them.

Andy Hudson, City of York Council's acting assistant director for environmental regulation, said: "We are not ruling anything out.

"There may be areas of the city where we have to restrict access to emergency vehicles or to certain times of the day, but it is too early for us to have drawn up any proposals. If we do that, it will be with full consultation of the city's residents."

Nitrogen dioxide causes problems for people suffering respiratory disease.

Monitoring has shown that Government levels set to be introduced would be breached in Gillygate and Bootham, Fishergate, Holgate Road, Foss Islands Road and Prices Lane, which joins Nunnery Lane. But public consultation has shown that the majority of York's residents want the problem dealt with city-wide, rather than concentrating on just these five areas.

"There was concern that making only the five areas action zones would shuffle the problem away from those areas and into others," said Mr Hudson.

Proposals to treat the whole of the inner ring road and roads linking it to the trouble spots as an action zone will go before the council's executive next week. If they are approved, they need to be considered by the full council early next year.

Firm plans to deal with the problem can then begin to be made.

Updated: 10:12 Friday, November 23, 2001