Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Public Health concerning the Air Quality and Health Partnership Action Plan 2024-28 and asked for the Committee’s comments before the Action Plan was presented to Cabinet for approval.  A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8, is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman welcomed Mr Morgan CC, Mrs Seaton CC and Mrs Newton CC, Members of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to the meeting for this item.

In presenting the report, the Director explained that delivery of the actions within the Air Quality and Health Partnership Action Plan increasingly relied on partnership working and the contribution of many partners within the Air Quality and Health Partnership such as district councils and the NHS, as well as internal colleagues in the Department for Environment and Transport.

Arising from discussion, the following points were raised:

      i.         Plans were in place to roll-out the Wheeze project, run in South Wigston, across the county, once it had been evaluated fully. Blaby District Council was very keen to explore such a project.

     ii.         Following concern expressed by a member about congestion in South Wigston caused by buses stopping on the carriageway for passengers to alight, it was explained that bus stops could be planned in a layby or on the highway, and there were benefits to both options. It was recognised that the example given was on a very busy road and that it was a balance of encouraging and supporting public transport as well as managing traffic flow on the highway.

    iii.         Officers were working closely with Network Rail to keep travel disruption to a minimum and manage traffic flow on what was a busy route when the bridge in South Wigston is closed due to the network rail works for Midland Mainline electrification.

   iv.         Progress made by the district councils on addressing air quality was regularly monitored through the Air Quality and Health Partnership, as all district councils attended the meetings and reported on progress made. Additionally, the Director of Public Health signs-off Annual Status Reports produced by district councils before they were submitted to DEFRA and could ensure that different health and active travel considerations were reflected in the reports.

     v.         It was the district councils’ statutory duty to develop Local Plans and content around air quality. However, Public Health officers were consulted on the content of Plans and would comment on the inclusion of key health policies, including air quality. Members expressed concern about whether feedback given, especially related to air quality, would be taken on board and were informed that it was a balance to manage what was a statutory duty of district councils, whilst ensuring that key health policies were reflected in Local Plans. Officers were working with all six Local Plans that were currently being developed to embed health impact assessment requirements, including air quality. Public Health aimed to have data and evidence available in the future to strongly influence district councils to include a health impact assessment for specific developments.

   vi.         A mapping process would be undertaken to address the cumulative effect on air quality of smaller local developments, with health issues and data overlaid, to identify areas of risk of harm to health, potential mitigation and a focus for Partnership activity.

  vii.         Longer term, there was aspiration to influence the Section 106 process to include healthy design principles to influence the use of funding so that actions that addressed air quality were included and healthy developments were achieved.

 viii.         The Chairman expressed concern about air quality and how it was measured so that live data could be used for planning purposes. The Director emphasised that the Partnership was much stronger than in previous years and used the monitoring and measuring of air quality to inform action. He acknowledged that more zephyrs were needed for more thorough measuring but highlighted that resources were prohibitive.

RESOLVED:

That the vision, aims and priorities set out in the draft Air Quality Action Plan 2024-28 be supported.