Local Agenda 21 (LA21)

10. Pollution

Air Quality

10.1 Dramatic improvements have been made to the quality of the local atmosphere over the past thirty years, largely as a result of the implementation of the clean air legislation, which has led to a marked reduction in the levels of smoke and sulphur dioxide. This improvement has also been helped by the move away from heavy industry to a more diverse economy with service sector employment being much more widespread.

10.2 Over more recent years the emphasis on air quality has focused on different, less visible pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and benzene, which mainly originate from road traffic. The rapidly growing use of motor vehicles, particularly private cars, gives rise to concerns that emissions from road transport will continue to grow and it is anticipated that the air quality gains from the introduction of catalytic converters may soon be off-set by the continuing traffic increase. Electricity derived from the burning of fossil fuel benefits us all, but its production contributes to global warming through carbon dioxide emissions and points to the need to consider the introduction of alternative energy sources and energy conservation measures.

10.3 The United Kingdom Air Quality Strategy was published in March 1997 and legislation to implement it came in to force in December 1997. The strategy sets out national air quality objectives to be achieved by the year 2005 covering eight key pollutants and describes a range of policies for achieving the objectives. Local authorities will be required to assess air quality in their area by December 1999 and to designate as Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) those parts of its area where the prescribed standards are unlikely to be achieved. Measures will then have to be introduced to improve air quality in any declared AQMA.

10.4 To help in the assessment of local air quality, the Council has recently installed an automatic monitoring station that will provide real time information on pollution levels and clear up-to-date information for the general public. When the site has been operational for a suitable period of time an application will be made for its inclusion in the National Automatic Urban Monitoring Network.

Water and Land

10.5 Other indicators of environmental quality such as water and soil pollution are additional issues of local concern. Although there have been improvements in the quality of the River Tame in recent years, some stretches are still classified as "poor" and the Council is mindful of the need to work with the Environment Agency and United Utilities to bring about the necessary improvement. The extent of contaminated land in the Borough has not been fully quantified, although some work has been carried out in respect of former landfill sites which has resulted in the identification of seventy three such sites. Proposed government legislation is likely to require all local authorities to identify contaminated land in their area and compile public registers of these sites. This will obviously refocus attention on this issue and should stimulate action to remedy identified problems.

10.6 Litter and fly tipping continue to degrade the surroundings in most parts of the Borough despite the best efforts of the Council's cleansing services to alleviate the problem. New mechanical sweepers are presently being deployed which are expected to make a significant improvement to the cleanliness of the street scene. Not until people's attitudes and behaviour change and the whole community co-operate in ensuring that we keep the Borough clean and free of litter will the cause of the problem be rectified.

N.B. Joint Management Team / Joint Strategy Group / Joint Purchasing and Commissioning Group: These groups form part of the inter-agency planning system for health and community care.