Agenda item

Objective : Exploration of air quality in Cheltenham, including national context, measurements, actions to address them, and future actions. Impact of role of Air Quality Education Post and feedback from DEFRA on annual report.

Gareth Jones, Senior Environmental Health Officer and Hannah Leatherland,  Air Quality Education Projects Officer

Gareth Jones, Senior Environmental Health Officer, and Hannah Leatherland, Air Quality Education Projects Officer, introduced their work briefly, the details of which were set out in the report.  They were happy to take questions.

Members were impressed with the report and very pleased with the progress being made, particularly with the schools project.  They were also given an opportunity immediately before the meeting to examine the equipment being used and to ask questions in relation to it.  In response to questions, officers confirmed that:

-       although particulate matter from electric vehicles is nowhere near as bad as that from diesel, it is acknowledged in most reports as it is still a source of PM2.5;

-       they were unsure whether road-sweeping vehicles have extra filtration to protect drivers from the particulate matter picked up from the roads;

-       regarding air pollution at  the junction of Gloucester/Shelburne/ Lansdown Roads, this area sees peaks from short-term traffic and trains, but data from monitoring close by – where the housing starts – shows that levels do not give undue cause for concern and fall within national legal limits.  The council doesn’t have many of the monitors which measure short-term peaks but could consider deploying one in this area;

-       identifying which of the different sources of PM2.5 - including diesel and wood-burning fires or stoves - are worse for the environment and for individuals is expensive and requires specific expertise that equipment that CBC cannot access, so unfortunately we cannot undertake closer examination of this.

A Member thanked officers for the update and good progress made, particularly the education initiative.   He would like O&S to be involved in the creation of the new Air Quality Strategy and the review of the smoke control zones, and felt that the update would benefit from some further definition of environmental pollution, which for air pollution purposes relates mostly to NO2 and PM.

In response to further questions from Members, GJ confirmed that:

-       there is overlap between his work and that of the climate change team, who will be presenting to O&S in the new year and explain further;

-       regarding the positioning of monitoring stations and the suggestion that monitoring air pollution for safety and for climate change reasons would be useful in the Kingsditch Lane area, officers try not to move these around too much in order to maintain continuity of data. There is currently a monitoring station for NOX on Swindon Road which cannot be moved, and one near St Paul’s Medical Centre, which indicates that NOX is decreasing.  This is significant because it is easy to measure and a proxy for other pollutants, therefore helpful in identifying areas of concern;

-       regarding the possibility of introducing a clean air zone in Cheltenham, as has been done in Bath, this would have to be a collaborative initiative between CBC and GCC, and would probably not work in a town of this size, scale and lay-out.  The main aim of the Boots Corner scheme was not specifically to improve air quality but would probably have done so with the right support structures in place. Clean air zones need the support of many agencies, and although officers keep a watching brief on what is happening in other towns and cities, it is not felt to be a priority in Cheltenham; 

-       regarding educating users of solid fuel to use the right sort of fuel in the least destructive fashion, there are more efficient ways to use appliances, and campaigns to encourage and endorse this, including Clean Air Night in January, focussing on burning the right fuels in the right way, which can make a significant difference.

In response to Members’ questions about the engagement with schools, officers confirmed that:

-       the education officer post is a temporary one, and with regard to sustainability and on-going training for teachers, officers hope that the projects will continue as schools and individuals have been very engaged and we would like to continue in a working relationship with them into the future.  It is difficult for teachers to manage the workload however, and they really need a dedicated point of liaison and case worker to facilitate, research and maintain links.  Officers hope an important legacy will be left in some schools, with culture changes and new ideas and processes becoming embedded even without further engagement from CBC now that operations are in motion;

-       a lot has been achieved in schools already, but much more is possible if the time and manpower was available, not only around air quality but potentially around other public health-related work such as healthy eating and exercise – the possibilities are endless, and officers are never short of ideas to make the subject interesting and engaging for children of all ages, including smoke zone reviews and self-built pollution monitors.  Some elements, like cycling update or actions to encourage outdoor play and walking, would also address air quality by reducing reliance on cars.

In response to further Member questions, GJ said that:

-       the council has very limited power against noise from idling vehicles outside people’s homes, despite its negative health impact, although it may be that dealing with idling vehicles from an air pollution point of view will contribute to controlling the noise problem as well.  He agreed that it is a real nuisance for some residents but not something that can be dealt with under Environmental Health powers since it is almost impossible to enforce against;

-       some of the latest equipment includes acoustic data and can be used in specific places where there is an issue that can be monitored – although officers are more likely to deal with any matters informally before taking any formal action.

A Member thanked officers for an interesting report and Members for a good discussion.  He noted that the emphasis in the report is about focussing resources on education and awareness rather than enforcement, which he felt was the right track, although difficult.  The officer said the council has some powers of enforcement but the law regarding idling, for example, is not very helpful and not up to the task.  He said education in the first place is far more effective, and the county council had provided a grant to roll out more engagement with schools where idling is a problem in the new year but unfortunately the education officer will be on maternity leave.  He said officers are unlikely to have capacity to deliver the campaigns,  although education is the key and far more effective than trying to pin fixed penalties on idling vehicles.

The Chair thanked everyone for their contributions.