Issue - meetings

RESOLVED: That the Air Quality Action Plan attached at Appendix 3 to the report, be approved.

The Cabinet Member for Environmental Services introduced the item and stated that the Council was required to deliver the Air Quality Action Management Plan after a public consultation. The consultation received 471 responses and priorities 1 and 2 in the Action Plan, improvements to the bus fleet and traffic flow, were highlighted as the most effective actions the Council could take against air pollution. It was stated that the Plan included an action to explore expanding the ‘No Stopping’ zone which had been introduced in Upper Stone Street.

The Environmental Protection Team Leader stated that the Air Quality Management Area was declared in 2022 which focused on Upper Stone Street and that an Air Quality Action Plan had to be enacted within 18 months of the declaration according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The Action Plan had been finalised by a steering group comprised of officers from the Council and external partners, which would continue to meet quarterly to monitor the progress of the Action Plan.

The Committee expressed support for the Air Quality Action Management Plan but Several Members of the Committee expressed concern over enforcement of the ‘No Stopping’ zone in Upper Stone Street. During the discussion it was raised that there were not enough trees planted in Upper Stone Street to mitigate against air pollution and that there were health concerns associated with air pollution.

In response the Committee were informed that Civil Parking Officers enforced the ‘No Stopping’ zone in Upper Stone Street, and that Officers corresponded with the Kent County Council (KCC) Control Room over traffic enforcement concerns.  The Committee were also informed that a measure in the Air Quality Action Plan included an information campaign to residents of the new Air Quality Management Area and that while trees had been planted in Upper Stone Street, planting further trees in the area may not allow pollution to disperse. The Cabinet Member for Environmental Services stated that they could work with the landowners in Upper Stone Street to explore the possibility of planting hedges instead of trees.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET:

That the Air Quality Action Plan be adopted.