Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member for Customer and Regulatory Services

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    the draft Air Quality Action Plan attached be approved;

2.    the Bureau Veritas Air Quality Action Plan be approved;

3.    the Bureau Veritas Modelling Study be approved.

The Cabinet Member for Customer and Regulatory Services introduced the report, saying an enormous amount of excellent work had gone into it, for which he thanked officers. Although air quality in Cheltenham is generally good, it is an important issue and the report presents an Air Quality Action Plan for the whole town, together with a plan for a specific area around Poole Way, identified in 2019 as falling below the expected national standard and now designated an Air Quality Management Area. The former Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency made a clear commitment for the council to take concrete actions, including smoke control zones, schools quality projects to protect small children, steps to take the most polluting taxis off the road with a clean fleet by 2030.  A lot of the work will be undertaken with partners such as the NHS and GCC as the highways authority – road traffic is overwhelmingly the biggest contributor to air pollution – and there is a clear commitment to keep monitoring air quality across the town, working continually towards improving it and people’s health. He commended the report to Cabinet, and asked them to approve the Air Quality report, and Bureau Veritas management plan and modelling study.

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Culture, Tourism and Well-being said this was a good report, with 16 action points, some for Cheltenham alone and some to be undertaken with partners.  He noted the legislative quirk that CBC is reliant on the county council – run by a different political party - as the authority with the power to implement some of the action points; it has made some progress but is not moving far enough to make big changes.   He paid tribute to Clean Air Cheltenham, who pushed for a plan for the whole of Cheltenham, not just the small area in breach of NO2 levels, and commended the report.

The Cabinet Member for Cyber, Regeneration and Commercial Income was delighted to note that Golden Valley was mentioned in the report, saying how important it was the do things properly from the start.  The transport hub currently under construction in west Cheltenham would make a big difference, and these green developments can be showcased to other authorities embarking on similar plans.

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    the draft Air Quality Action Plan attached be approved;

2.    the Bureau Veritas Air Quality Action Plan be approved;

3.    the Bureau Veritas Modelling Study be approved.