Rayleigh Air Quality Falls Short of EU Limits

On London Road sitting in traffic? Or perhaps queuing going up Crown Hill, then again you could be on Rawreth Lane queuing to turn into Hullbridge - All of these are familiar commuter routes that we all endure. Getting from A to B in and around Rayleigh has become slower and slower with some residents reporting journey times of 1hr to get from Down Hall Road to Rayleigh Weir 'for no apparent reason' All these cars on our roads have led to Rochford District Council declaring in February 2015,  Rayleigh Town Centre becoming an air quality management area (AQMA) due to the levels of  vehicle exhaust emissions. More than 18 months on, the air quality targets are NOT being met. I've questioned why London Road, Down Hall Road & Rawreth Lane are not included in the AQMA as we all see the volume of traffic queuing on these roads frequently. Is it because the council's own policy restricts new residential development in air quality management areas and these were the areas destined for development under the core strategy?

Air pollution has a major impact on human health. It is associated with a range of deadly diseases including cancer, heart disease, strokes and asthma, and is the number one environmental cause of death in the EU, responsible for over 400,000 early deaths in 2010 alone. Source: www.clientearth.org

We, the Lib Dems are vigorously challenging the council's approach to air quality measurements. We believe that every resident is entitled to clean air and not just in selected areas. The council's existing data on pollution is a minimum required standard.  We want the best for our residents and we propose that more areas are monitored for pollution and over a longer period of time. Our council needs to up its game and exceed the expectations of all our residents.

29% of emissions are caused by car's in the High Street

Do you want to know more? Here's the Local Air Quality Management report prepared by the council [download id="1015"]