Council to draw up action plan over air quality

West Berkshire Council is to investigate ways of reducing air pollution at a Newbury junction

WEST Berkshire Council is to investigate what can be done to improve air quality in an area of Newbury that has high pollution levels.

Under the Environment Act, the council has a responsibility to check on the levels of pollution in the air across the district and in one part of Newbury, at the junction with the A339, A343 and Greenham Road, the level of Nitrogen Oxide (NO2) pollution exceeds the national target.

The last recorded figures in 2008 show that the level of pollution at the junction was 54.4 micrograms per cubic metre, while the national target is only 40 micrograms per cubic metre.

This area has subsequently been declared an Air Quality Management Area and as there are no major industrial sources of pollution in this area, the council said it is most likely that the air pollution is caused by traffic levels.

As a result, the district council has started to draw up an action plan to explain the approach needed to reduce pollution in the area and prevent levels from rising further.

A workshop has also been organised for Tuesday, March 1 at the council offices in Market Street, Newbury, when invited guests will be asked for their views on possible solutions.

Once this has taken place, the action plan will be published and the public will be given a chance to comment on the proposed plan.

West Berkshire's executive member for the environment, Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley), said: “There are more than 200 councils in this country who like us, have to draw up action plans to prevent pollution levels from increasing.

“It is a serious problem and the issues are unlikely to be resolved by the council in isolation.

“That is why we need to work in partnership with others to develop actions which will protect the environment of West Berkshire.”