Agenda item

Jim Lynch from BoACAN reported on the work of the Task and Finish Group in developing an Air Quality Action Plan for the town. A report was tabled which gave details of discussions held to date and recommended next steps.

The long-term goal is to achieve a Clean Air Town by 2020 with a medium term

goal of Legal Air Quality by 2015.

Recommendations:

a. An Air Quality Partnershipengaging all relevant Departments of Wiltshire Council, our Town Council, relevant Parish Councils, plus voluntary/community groups and organisations (including our schools) and the local business community.

b. An Air Quality Networkengaging all our citizens in a concerted campaign.

c. A Project Management Groupmandated to act upon and deliver the desired outcomes with minimum bureaucracy.

Despite the long history of previous efforts there is an immediate and important need to provide up-to-date information in the following areas:

i) Origin and Destination Traffic Information: Who is creating this problem? Where are they coming from; going to, and why? Is it ‘us’ i.e. is it town-based, area-based or from further afield?

Answers require a properly resourced and funded Origin and Destination Survey. Any differences regarding cost, organisation, purpose (and so forth) are entirely secondary to the imperative need for top-quality data. This project is the absolute sine qua non for further action.

ii) Public Health: a Health Impact Survey is now available (c/o Rosemary Brown). The survey must be linked to existing data and engage both Wiltshire Council Public Health initiatives and the Primary Care Trust, Health Centres etc

iii) Safety Impact: although it is obvious that traffic in and around the town is a constant danger to pedestrians, this information needs to be collated and assessed. The HCZ initiative is looking at this material, as are others concerned with mobility and safety.

 iv) Environmental Impact: It is important that we support the work of the Environment Health Department whilst also looking at other methods of collecting data on the environmental impact; town fabric, pollution etc. A new air quality monitoring station is to be sited on Masons Lane by the end of this year to record nitrogen dioxide and particulates in real time.

The full range of potential actions requires much more detailed work along ‘SMART’ lines (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely). Producing this would, again, be a first priority for a Project Management Group.

Work in Progress: Some groups are rightly keen to act on their own initiative in solving this multi-faceted problem. Climate Friendly Bradford are engaged in encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles and related actions as part of their long-term commitment to change.

Points raised from the floor included:

·       That we need to be looking at electric/zero emission vehicles in the near future, with Bradford on Avon having its own electric car charging points in car parks, hotels etc.

·       We should demonstrate the benefits through the use of electric community buses in the town centre.

Questions raised from the floor included:

·       Can Wiltshire Council carry out an Origin & Destination Survey?

a.     Alan Creedy – Head of Sustainable Transport, Wiltshire Council advised that an Origin & Destination Survey may not give the answers that residents were looking for, it was also difficult and expensive to carry out.

Cllr Rosemary Brown requested that Alan Creedy reports back to the first meeting of the new Air Quality Partnership on how much an Origin & Destination Survey would cost to carry out.

Decision

·       That the Bradford on Avon Area Board endorses the Action Plan and agrees to work with BoACAN to take forward the recommendations.

The Chairman thanked Jim Lynch for his presentation and Alan Creedy for attending the Area Board.