The top judges in the land are clearing the air – literally. They have ordered the government to draw up a fresh – ok, let’s say a new – air quality plan. The current approach is claiming lives – and, more importantly in the setting of a court – it falls foul of the requirements of European Union law.
Brighton and Hove forms a key part of one of Britain’s 43 air quality zones. Pollution levels are measured at dozens of sites in each zone. And some sites locally continue to exceed safe and legal levels for nitrogen dioxide.
Unsurprisingly streets with high buildings and plenty of traffic, such as North Street, tend to trap exhaust fumes from the hundreds of vehicles that use them every hour. The stop-start nature of bus and lorry movements up North Street is a problem that is being addressed. The pressure is now on to speed up the improvements.
Clean-tech vehicles such as buses with hybrid engines are part of the solution. The Supreme Court judgment requires the government to come up with a more robust air quality plan by the end of the year. And Brighton and Hove City Council will be expected to play its part in working out what to do next. A low-emission zone has already been agreed.
Chris Todd, from Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth, said: “The ruling by the Supreme Court on air pollution, ordering the government to come up with a new plan by the end of the year should be a wake-up call for both local and national politicians.
“For too long this deadly killer has been ignored. Government must now come forward with plans to bring the pollution down to safe levels as soon as possible.
“While we need national investment in cleaner buses, lorries and cars, locally we have got to look to traffic reduction and sorting up the hold-ups on the bus network at the Clock Tower and in Valley Gardens.
“We need to create a coherent cycle network while also improving the pedestrian environment, otherwise we are never going to be able to address this invisible killer – one reason why the Valley Gardens scheme is so important. Politicians also need to consider more car-free developments in the city centre and to stop pandering to the motoring lobby on car parking charges.”
Ian Davey, who retired as a councillor at the local elections, used to lead on transport policy for the council’s outgoing Green administration. He said: “Previously there was a high degree of complacency both locally and nationally.” He said that there had been too much reliance on the magic wand of technology.
He said: “The action we’ve taken over the past few years at least points us in the right direction. We’ve got to a point where the local authority and other stakeholders are taking this really seriously.”
And he added that 45 out of 47 monitoring stations in the city had shown an improvement from 2010 to 2013. Those that hadn’t were in the North street, Clock Tower and Western Road corridor. He said: “That’s why we’ve introduced the low emissions zone and are working with all stakeholders, including the bus companies, taxis and technology firms, to tackle this.”
Brenda Pollack, from Friends of the Earth South East, said: “It’s a scandal that high levels of nitrogen dioxide have been allowed to continue for so long. UK air pollution kills tens of thousands of people prematurely every year and places a huge burden on our overstretched NHS.
“Thanks to this ruling the government will have to take immediate action on our filthy air. This should include bolder measures to ensure that vehicles are cleaner and traffic levels are cut.
“Cycling must be made safer, public transport more attractive and new road-building plans – which add to the problem – should be scrapped.”
To read the Supreme Court, click here.
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