Agenda item

Resolved: that the report be noted. The Committee also agreed that it would carry out further scrutiny of items relating to air quality later in the year. In particular, it would seek to comment on any future consultation on the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone.

4.1      Christopher Howard (Senior Environmental Protection Officer) introduced the report, the following key points were noted:

·         The air quality action plan was agreed by Mayor and Cabinet in December.

·         Additions suggested by the Sustainable Development Select Committee on political leadership, electric vehicle charging points and an anti-idling campaign had been incorporated into the action plan.

·         The Mayor had appointed Councillor McGeevor as champion for air quality.

·         A number of new initiatives to improve air quality were being considered.

·         There had been a delay in installing additional electric vehicle charging points. However, work was progressing to develop new options for charging points.

·         Transport for London (TfL) were looking for locations for rapid charging points in the borough.

·         More work would be carried out in the Autumn/Winter of 2017 to promote the use of electric vehicles.

·         Lewisham had joined with a consortium of 12 other London boroughs to develop an anti-idling initiative (more information was available online at idling action dot London).

·         The campaign would recruit volunteers to develop community initiatives to reduce idling. This work would focus mostly on schools.

·         The Council did not have sustainable school, workplace or commuter strategies, but the sustainable transport team worked directly with schools on sustainable travel and air quality.

4.2    Christopher Howard and Geeta Subramaniam (Head of Crime Reduction and Supporting People) responded to questions from the Committee. The following key points were noted:

·         Officers were attempting to encourage people to be proactive about tackling poor air quality and change their behaviour.

·         Kings College London were going to support the Council’s work with schools in monitoring and improving air quality.

·         There was a TfL audit being carried out with schools to determine which were worst affected by air pollution.

·         The Council is investigating road closures around school times at appropriate schools. Three pilot schools are being considered for 2017. One primary school already had road closures around school times.

·         There had been some modelling carried out on the impact of 20mph speed limits on air quality. This found that the 20mph speed limit helped keep traffic moving (thereby reducing air pollution) in areas that were previously congested.

·         If the area was not previously congested, the 20mph zone might have a detrimental effect on air quality because car engines at low speeds were not operating at their optimum efficiency.

·         The Greater London Authority (GLA) had released a list of ‘focus areas’ for improvements in air quality in each borough. Officers were working to target initiatives and resources in those areas.

·         Officers were exploring the use of a mobile application for smart phones that helped people to find walking routes in areas of low pollution.

·         The Mayor of London had made a commitment to improve emissions from the London bus fleet.

·         Officers were working on delivering electric vehicle charging points but it was likely that the market would determine where charging points were located in the future.

·         The expansion of the ultra-low emission zone would focus on reducing pollution from heavy vehicles.

·         The expansion was due to be in 2020/21 following consultation. It would not include the south circular, which would be used to divert traffic that was not compliant with the emissions standards away from central.

·         TfL believed that people would ensure that they were compliant with the new standards and that the exclusion of the south circular from the ultra-low emission zone would not have a significant impact on air pollution in Lewisham.

·         In the response to the consultation on the ultra-low emission zone, officers had raised concerns about the exclusion of the south circular.

·         It was likely that the Mayor would find it difficult to expand the low emission zone to the whole of Greater London, due to resistance from outer London boroughs.

·         Officers would bring the next consultation on the ultra-low emission zone to the Committee for comments.

4.3    In the Committee discussions, the following points were also noted:

·         There was a difference in opinion amongst Members about the ease of carrying out the school run and/or commuting without a car.

4.4    Resolved: that the report be noted. The Committee also agreed that it would carry out further scrutiny of items relating to air quality later in the year. In particular, it would seek to comment on any future consultation on the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone.