Cheltenham Green Party described the recent decision by the borough council to revoke the town’s Air Quality Management Area as “incomprehensible”.
Green spokesperson Jessica West, who is standing in All Saints, said:
“The Lib Dem cabinet decided on 21 January to replace the existing air quality management area, covering the whole town, with just a 250 metre stretch of Poole Way/Swindon Road in the town centre.
“How can the council tackle this crisis if it doesn’t take air pollution measurements from all over Cheltenham? It’s exactly the same mistake as they made in the Boots Corner debacle.”
At the cabinet meeting, Lib Dem leader Steve Jordan said that he “was pleased that pollution levels have decreased”, and that “progress on air quality so far is good”.
Cheltenham Green Party submitted a detailed report after the cabinet meeting, pleading with the council to reconsider. The report shows that:
- Using the council's own Nitrogen Dioxide monitoring data, there has been no change in Cheltenham's air quality over the last 10 years
- The council's Air Quality Action Plan has had no effect on traffic volumes in the centre of town
- The decision to revoke the Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) contravenes DEFRA guidance on when an AQMA may be revoked
The council’s own Nitrogen Dioxide monitoring data shows nitrogen dioxide levels are generally higher or the same compared to previous years, across many monitoring sites, with no reduction at all in the last four years at two key town centre sites, and no reduction in traffic.
Peter Frings, the local Green Party spokesperson on air quality, added:
“Cheltenham council has had an Air Quality Action Plan in place since 2011 – but their own data shows it has had no effect on reducing nitrogen dioxide pollution in the town centre, and that traffic levels are unchanged. Oxford City Council has achieved a 37% fall in Nitrogen Dioxide over the period 2008 to 2018. Why has Cheltenham been unable to achieve this kind of improvement?”
The Green Party's report also pointed out that the borough council was ignoring evidence that pollution from particulate matter was a serious issue across the whole of Cheltenham.
Peter Frings commented:
"We submitted evidence from particulate air pollution monitors in Leckhampton, which are run by the parish council there, that the average level of small 2.5 micronparticles (PM2.5) was higher than the World Health Organization annual thresholdlevel of 10 microgrammes/m3. And also that the WHO daily limit of 25microgrammes/m3 is breached regularly. The latest data shows that hourly peaks during rush hour and school drop off times, can exceed over 80 microgrammes/m3."
"If this is the level of air pollution in Leckhampton, how can the council pretend that there is only a problem on either side of a 250 yard stretch of road in the towncentre?"
"DEFRA's Clean Air Strategy, published in May 2019, commits the government to implementing the WHO guidelines on particulate air pollution. Very shortly, the council will have to tackle the fact that most of Cheltenham is likely to be in breach of the WHO guidelines on PM2.5 pollution – and the decision to revoke the Air Quality Management Area will look misguided at best, negligent at worst."
The full report can be found here.
Further information:
Jessica West (07837 828085, jessica.west@cheltenham.greenparty.org.uk)
Peter Frings (07595 081516, peterfrings@macace.net)
Sources and Notes
Cheltenham Borough Council Cabinet papers/agenda for Cabinet meeting 21 January 2020
Cheltenham Borough Council Nitrogen Dioxide data
Traffic data - Available from Department of Transport website
- DfT Traffic Count Point 18552 (Tewkesbury Road): a manual count in 2008 showed an Average Annual Daily Flow (AADT) of 20,731 vehicles. A manualcount in 2018 showed an AADT of 20,632 vehicles.
- Traffic Count Point 70125 (North St/Portland Street): the manual count figures for 2008 and 2018 are 11,965 and 12,201 respectively.
- Traffic Count Point 38656 (Albion Street/Winchcombe Street): the manualcount figures for 2010 and 2018 are 11,441 and 12,201 respectively.
Particulate pollution monitoring in Cheltenham
Peter Frings can also provide downloads of data readings, either daily or hourly averages, for any period from mid July 2019 onwards.
