We should not have to live with this level of pollution

LIVING in a town that has Derbyshire’s most polluted street is no accolade – but it comes as no great surprise either.

Buxton Road has been dogged with heavy traffic for generations.

It wasn’t that long ago that the road actually started to collapse into the drain network below due to the huge pressure it faces.

And anyone who has lived or worked in Market Place will know how much of a battering the buildings are getting every day as lorries thunder past.

But Buxton Hill is very much a pinch point, where lorries struggle to pass one another and chug out fumes as they tackle the steep climb.

For those living on Buxton Road, the contents of the air they breathe can be seen on their windows, which require daily cleaning due to the particles being thrust into the air settling on the glass.

It’s disgusting and something needs to change.

Some councillors in the recent meeting we reported on this week seem quite pessimistic about our hopes for an A515 bypass, which we know will take most of the heavy traffic out of the town.

But it’s right that we’ve never been quite this close to our much-needed relief road, and we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that it could happen sooner rather than later.

But we also need to take steps in the meantime. We need to improve the air quality for all the road users and the residents. We shouldn’t have to live with the grim spectre of having our lives shortened by fumes and particles that fill the air with every passing truck.

Whatever the council does next, it’ll be about time. Managing air quality in any town, least of all Ashbourne, should always be a high priority.