Air quality plan ‘never going to solve problem’
Proposal criticised for not going far enough
Councillors have criticised a plan to decrease pollution on a busy Perthshire street as not going far enough.
At a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council’s environment and infrastructure committee on Wednesday, councillors agreed on an action plan to tackle unacceptable levels of pollutants on Crieff’s High Street.
Recent studies of the main road through the Strathearn town have shown it to be above the level acceptable, forcing the council to come up with an ‘air quality action plan’, which will be funded by the Scottish Government at a cost of £112,000.
The plan will look at improving public transport links, bring in incentives to park outwith the town centre, relocate pedestrian crossings and prioritise vehicles turning right onto the High Street.
Council officers will also look to promote car sharing, active travel such as cycling, and link up walking routes to and from Strathearn Community Campus.
They will also be made to keep air quality at the forefront of council decisions, such as procurement and housing issues.
A ‘steering group’ has also been set up to help create the plan and will monitor it and report back to both the council and the Scottish Government.
Councillor Willie Robertson (Kinross-shire), said he was disappointed in the plan, and would rather see a bypass built around the town.
He said: “I have to say I find this report really disappointing in as much as we know the traffic situation in Crieff and how bad it gets.
“But when I read we are doing all this work, I thought there will be really good proposals coming out of it which would give encouragement to those living in Crieff.
“But immediately dismissing a bypass banning HGVs, I thought that would have been the starting point. We are never going to do much to solve this problem.
“This plan will take a year or two, what will the position be in two years?
“Will the air quality be much better or at the end of the day will be still be saying we should get HGV traffic out of the centre of Crieff?
“Give me some encouragement, because it seems like shuffling a deck of chairs in the depths of the Titanic.” He was told by council officer Kirsty Steven the cost for creating a bypass was too high.
His comments were also criticised by Strathearn councillor Stewart Donaldson, who said bypassing the town would negatively impact on local businesses.
Other councillors criticised the fact the paper before them
Crieff’s High Street is over the level acceptable stated “the ‘do nothing’ option will also be considered”.
Elected members were told this was in case the introduction of electric and hybrid cars solved the problem without the council doing anything.
Despite the negative comments at the meeting, the decision to agree on the air quality action plan was passed unanimously.