Residents in High Street St. Lawrence, Ramsgate are being asked for their views on plans to declare an Air Quality Management Area in a bid to tackle air pollution.
Nitrogen dioxide levels in a small area of St. Lawrence High Street, likely to exceed national guidelines, mainly due to the amount of traffic in the area. The failure was discovered during routine checks by the council’s Environmental Health team, whose job includes monitoring air quality.
This poor air quality will not affect people who travel through this area, but for those who live or work in the affected area, if they suffer from asthma or lung problems, then the pollution could make the existing health problems worse.
As a first step to addressing this problem, the council has to declare an Air Quality Management Area and will then work with Kent County Council Highways and partners to draw up an action plan to improve the situation, with residents also helping to decide on the exact coverage of the Air Quality Management Area. The action plan, which will be a detailed, technical document is likely to take around 18 months to draw up and will help to inform planning policy in the future.
Letters have been sent to around 50 properties in the affected area, explaining this and asking for residents’ feedback.
Cllr. Zita Wiltshire, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, said: “Having identified this as a potential issue, the council needs to take action to try and improve the air quality in St. Lawrence High Street. To do that, we want to get the views of local people as to what they think would work in the area. It’s important to stress that these results pose no danger for those who travel through the area every day. Driving, walking or cycling in the area is perfectly safe, with the only possible concern for residents or workers in the area who have existing health problems, such as asthma or lung problems.”
Once the council has received local people’s views, the issue will be considered by the council’s Cabinet early in 2010.
One Air Quality Management Area already exists in Thanet, around the Square in Birchington. For up to date information on air quality for Thanet, please visit www.kentair.org.uk
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