Agenda item

Mandy Bradley, Service Director, will invite the community to come up with local actions that they would like to implement to improve air quality. This will be followed by a short question and answer session.

Mandy Bradley, Service Director, gave a presentation about air quality in the local area.

This covered the following:

·       Wiltshire Council’s legal obligations with respect to air quality – Wiltshire Council had a statutory duty to manage local air quality under part IV of the Environment Act 1995.

·       Action so far in Calne – monitoring of air quality had taken place over the last ten years. In 2010 elevated levels led to an extension of air quality monitoring at key sites around the town. This new period of monitoring was known as a ‘Detailed Assessment’ and conducted with a view to declaring an Air Quality Management Area with respect to New Road and Curzon Street.

·       The next steps for Calne – complete Detailed Assessment and report findings to the area board and d

·       DEFRA in summer 2012. The intention was to develop an Air Quality Action Plan by spring 2014.

·       What Wiltshire Council was doing in the meantime – implementing the new county-wide Air Quality Strategy, working on a county-wide action plan, working with colleagues to ensure that air quality was a material consideration in the Core Strategy, producing guidance for developers, working with local transport groups, developing practical measures (for example to encourage walking) and continuing monitoring and working with colleagues in Public Health.

·       There were actions that could be put in place now – there was no need to wait for the formal declaration of an Air Quality Management Area.   

Mandy introduced Alison Bell, Public Health Consultant at NHS Wiltshire, and both answered questions from the floor on the subjects below:

·       The link between air quality and breathing difficulties suffered by vulnerable people – the Department of Health had held a conference in 2011 and concluded that levels of air pollution in England could not cause disease, however they could exacerbate symptoms in certain groups of people.

·       The exclusion zone in London for polluting vehicles – Mandy was not aware of an exclusion zone that had been put in place in a rural authority or how enforceable this could be. Emission levels for Wiltshire Council vehicles and the vehicles of contractors were being looked into.

·       Travel plans for schools – Calne had the highest level of obese children in the county – encouraging children to walk to school was very important.

·       Concern was expressed regarding the two year time period of the plan – this was the length of time needed to complete the prescribed process, however measures could be taken in the meantime.

·       The influence of vegetation on air quality – there was evidence that vegetation could absorb some pollutants – this would vary throughout the year with deciduous plants.

·       The link between planning and the environment – the Government had recently published national guidance on this and the adoption of Supplementary Planning Guidance was being worked on at present. The Wiltshire Council scrutiny team was ensuring that a joined up approach to air quality was being taken.

Decision

Calne Area Board would set up a working group, led by Councillor Hill, to link with existing groups and work on air quality issues in the Calne Community Area.