Issue - meetings
Air Quality Challenge Session
Meeting: 24/05/2021 - Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Item 8)
8 Air Quality Challenge Session PDF 244 KB
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Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received a report in relation to the Challenge Session which had examined the Council’s commitments to air quality and made a number of recommendations for members consideration. The main points raised as result of the questioning on the report may be summarised as follows:
The Committee:
v Was informed that the Challenge Session, chaired by Councillor Faroque Ahmed, Scrutiny Lead for Environment and Community Safety, had taken place on 30th March 2021. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the challenge session was held virtually in order to comply with the Government’s requirements for social distancing. v Noted that the Challenge Session had resulted in the development of a number of recommendations including that the Council should set up more air quality monitoring stations in key areas including around construction sites, by prioritising funding of air quality monitoring in future capital programmes so that it is proactive in collecting long-term accurate live air quality data from all parts of the Borough not just certain sites; and to make monitoring data more accessible so residents are better informed to make decisions and promote behavioural change. v Commented that the Council needed to identify existing air quality measures in the current capital programme and prioritise them for delivery, such as EV charging points. v Stated that there should be a more ambitious programme in regard to the installation of EV charging points as this is also likely to encourage further uptake of electric vehicles. As a key deterrent in the purchase of EV’s is the inconvenience of charging and so this would demonstrate an ideal solution to this concern. v Commented that with the Government announcing all cars sold by 2030 are to be electric, the demand for more convenient charging stations that suit drivers’ lifestyles is only going to increase. Therefore, it was important to identify new locations for installing charging points. v Indicated that it wished to receive an update from the relevant Chief Officers on the current situation and what has been done to (i) monitor the environment, (ii) controlling emissions; and (iii) what enforcement action is being taken. |
Recommendations:
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee is recommended to:
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1. Noted the attached Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Challenge Session Report and agreed the recommendations; and 2. Agreed to submit the attached report to the Mayor and Cabinet for executive response.
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