Why our air must be made safer

THE air we breathe matters to everyone. Air pollution may be causing up to 36,000 excess deaths a year in the UK. While only a small area in Cheltenham has air pollution above limits set by national regulation, the science increasingly suggests there is no completely safe level of air pollution.

The biggest threats in urban areas like Cheltenham are nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter, or PM2.5 – tiny particles less than 2.5 micrometres across that penetrate deep into our lungs and cause heart health problems too.

NO2 comes mainly from vehicles, particularly older diesel vehicles. Particulates come from a variety of sources including wood burning and cooking but vehicles are again a major culprit.

Nine year old Ella Adoo-kissi-debrah lived near London’s South Circular Road. She died in 2013.

An inquest found that air pollution “made a material contribution” to her death. This tragedy was a wake-up call for everyone.

Mercifully, air pollution levels here are nowhere near as bad as those that contributed to Ella’s death.

But if there’s no completely safe level then we’re still right to take action not just in that small area that has broken national limits, but across the whole borough.

So Cheltenham Borough Council has just begun consultation on a new townwide Air Quality Action Plan at haveyoursay.cheltenham.gov.uk.

There are changes the borough council itself can take, for instance to the taxi fleet we license and to our smoke control zones.

But with vehicles causing so much air pollution, we expect our transport and roads authority Gloucestershire County Council to do much more too.

And this isn’t just about councils. Private car owners, businesses like Royal Mail who have a lot of vehicles on our roads, schools, hospitals and community leaders can all take action.

And national government can help too by raising air quality standards for vehicle and other emissions as the European Union is doing.

And why not give more power to councils like ours to take tougher action locally?

We can all play our part in making the air we breathe ever safer and cleaner.