Blackpool council to launch air pollution strategy
Chiefs are set to spend £15,000
Town hall chiefs are set to spend £15,000 on experts to investigate air quality in Blackpool.
The council is advertising for a consultant to pull together a 10 year strategy as part of moves which also fit in with tackling climate change.
Data shows while Blackpool does not suffer as badly as other places from air pollution, it remains a factor in up to 75 deaths a year in the town.
A council document published as part of the tender process says: “The Air Quality Strategy should explore the effects of air pollution towards all aspects of life in Blackpool, taking into consideration the social, economic and environmental implications of air pollution, and propose ways to address these issues.”
While sea breezes tend to disperse most airborne pollutants and there is no large-scale manufacturing in the resort, traffic is considered the most likely threat to clean air.
The Blackpool Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) says air quality “is largely dominated by traffic emissions.”
It adds: “Large amounts of tourist traffic can often lead to congestion, particularly during the holiday seasons.”
But measurement of air quality in the town generally does not show levels exceeding guidelines set down by the World Health Organisation.
Mapping indicates the two areas most likely to be affected by higher levels of pollution are around the Hawes Side area, and around Talbot Road/Queenstown area.
Meanwhile figures from Public Health England show 4.3 per cent of deaths amongst Blackpool residents are estimated to be attributable to poor air quality which equates to around 75 deaths each year.
The JSNA document adds: “Blackpool has higher than national average rates of many diseases associated with poor air quality, including asthma (particularly in children), COPD and cardiovascular disease.
“While we cannot be sure of the proportion of these cases related to air pollution, we know air pollution combined with other risk factors such as poor quality and overcrowded housing and fuel poverty correlates with illness and lost years of life.”
Work already being undertaken to improve air quality in Blackpool includes planting more trees and encouraging use of electric vehicles.
In March it was revealed Blackpool Transport had been awarded £20m of government funding towards buying 115 electric buses following a successful bid to the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) fund.