Worries over air pollution following the introduction of the Oxford Transport Strategy have been raised in a city council survey.

Oxford City Council's recent review and assessment of air quality revealed that following the introduction of the OTS, some city centre streets will not meet Government guidelines for 2005.

These include George Street, Magdalen Street and Queen Street.

The OTS, which removed buses from Cornmarket Street, and closed High Street to the majority of traffic during the day, has led to a 20 per cent reduction in city centre traffic. Council officers say that while pollution levels would be much higher if the OTS had not been introduced, work still needs to be done.

At Friday's OTS working party, councillors agreed to set up an action plan following advice from air quality experts.

Work has already started on relieving congestion in George Street and other areas. Improvements in emission standards for vehicles, including taxis and public transport, will play a part in improving air quality.

Last year, the city council cut pollutants in 200 of its vehicles, including bin lorries.

David Young, director of the county council's environmental service department, said: "We have achieved a lot with OTS, but we know we have to go further to protect the health of Oxford residents.

"Our Local Transport Plan has acknowledged this and set out the main proposals to reduce traffic growth right across the county as well as tackling problems in the city centre."