Give your views on our Air Quality Action Plan
Residents, businesses and community groups are urged to give their views on proposals to improve air quality across St Albans District.
St Albans City and District Council, which is responsible for managing local air quality, has produced a draft Air Quality Action Plan to cover the next five years.
Air pollution is primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels, including emissions from cars, lorries and buses.
It can damage people’s health as it is recognised as a contributing factor in the onset of heart disease, respiratory illnesses and cancer.
The most vulnerable people are often most at risk, including children, older people and those with heart and lung conditions.
The Action Plan contains proposals to reduce pollution by promoting low-emission transport and active travel such as cycling and walking.
One priority would be to limit the type of buses allowed on certain urban routes to electric ones.
The Action Plan also commits the Council to raising public awareness of environmental issues and encouraging changes in behaviour.
This includes the promotion of the annual Clean Air Night campaign when households are urged to refrain from using wood burners.
The introduction of a District-wide smoke control area will also be considered. This initiative could place legal restrictions on the type of fuel that can be burned.
To ensure the Action Plan is responsive to the needs of residents, the Council is asking them to give their views in a short online survey.
This is intended to assess if residents agree with the proposed policies, visions and priorities.
The draft Action Plan can be viewed here and the survey can be accessed here with the consultation running until Friday 27 September. All feedback will be analysed before the Plan is finalised.
Councillor Raj Visram, Lead for Air Quality and Pollution Control, said:
The Action Plan is an important document as it outlines what we will do to reduce air pollution.
These actions have the potential to improve the health and the quality of life of residents across the District.
We want people to support our efforts to improve the environment and one way they can help is by looking at our Action Plan, completing the survey and putting forward any suggestions they have.
Recently, we launched the St Albans Greener Together project which is building a network of residents, schools and other organisations committed to creating a more sustainable District.
I would ask people to take a look at that as well and get involved in our mission to ensure the District is an even better place to live and work.
More information about St Albans Greener Together is available here.
Contact for the media: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer, 01727 819533, john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.
QR code for survey:
