Air pollution and our neighbourhoods
How Lambeth Council is reducing air pollution, particularly around schools, to improve the health and wellbeing of the London borough’s residents
INNOVATION & IMPROVEMENT
Image: Istock
Cllr Rezina Chowdhury
Deputy Leader, Lambeth Council
Cllr Rezina Chowdhury
Deputy Leader, Lambeth Council
Issue 69 | December 2023
Air pollution has devastating effects on people’s health in London. It is the single biggest environmental risk to health and disproportionately affects children, older people and people with health conditions. Long-term exposure to air pollution has also been shown to stunt the growth of children’s lungs. This is particularly worrying, given around one-third of London’s schools have been found to be close to busy roads that suffer illegal levels of NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) pollution.
In Lambeth, around 100 deaths each year are attributed to poor air quality and at a cost of between £1.4 billion and £3.7 billion a year to London’s health service. Even though Lambeth has one of the lowest levels of car ownership in London, 24% of carbon emissions in Lambeth are attributed to road transport. Motor traffic also contributes significantly to air and noise pollution and is the main cause of road danger. What can be done?
Radical transformation
In his annual report in 2022, England’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Chris Whitty, wrote: “With national government, local authorities are central in the response to air pollution. Urban planning should support reducing air pollution concentrations locally – such as reducing air pollution near schools and healthcare settings. Shifting to active travel, where possible, has direct health wins as well as reducing air pollution from vehicles – planning should support this.”
This translates as a radical transformation of our streets. In the absence of leadership from central government it soon became obvious that local government would need to do all the heavy lifting.
“In Lambeth, around 100 deaths each year are attributed to poor air quality.”
Lambeth response
In Lambeth we have been leading the way in improving local street and air quality by cutting traffic, helping people to embrace cycling or walking, and ‘greening’ our neighbourhoods. We are doing this in a number of ways but the key areas are:
- Low-traffic neighbourhoods: Since 2020, we have installed eight LTNs with more in the pipeline. LTNs are central to our vision for Lambeth by making the roads away from the main network safe, calm and pleasant for walking and cycling.
- Rolling out secure cycle parking: Secure and affordable cycle storage is an essential condition for wider uptake of cycling. In Lambeth we will be installing 5,000 new spaces by 2026. In addition to this the cost of cycle parking has been reduced to £30 per bike per year using the Family of Four principle. The Family of Four principle is simply that a family of four should not pay more to park their bikes than a family with a car.
- School streets: The CMO was clear on reducing air pollution near schools, but we also want to make sure our children can go to and from school without danger from car traffic. This year we announced an expansion of our School Streets programme. By the end of 2026 we will have 62 School Streets covering 85% of our primary schools, resulting in cleaner air and safer roads for children.
Collaboration is key
We are all on a journey in our knowledge and understanding of the climate and ecological emergency. Some have been taking actions to reduce their carbon footprint for decades, while others are still unsure what this means for their day-to-day lives.
Collaboration is key here, regardless of where someone is on the journey. And in an age of misinformation and disinformation, it is vital that local authorities provide rigorous and credible data from an independent source that withstands public scrutiny. For example, in Lambeth we have been rolling out air quality sensors and a live map of air quality, along with our air quality information service and Air Quality Community Forum. This is all part of the important process of empowering all our residents (not just those with a keen interest!).
Transforming our streets and discouraging motor traffic is central to our long-term efforts to reduce air pollution in Lambeth. These changes can be hard for some people, and it is vital that we understand the legitimate concerns people have about what it means for them personally. However, it is also true that if we don’t make the small changes today, we will have to make drastic changes tomorrow.
“In an age of misinformation and disinformation, it is vital that local authorities provide rigorous and credible data from an independent source that withstands public scrutiny.”
