15 March 2016
Campaigners are to hold fresh talks with council officials in an effort to tackle traffic congestion and pollution on Boot Hill.
At a public meeting before Christmas residents in Weymouth’s most polluted street called on officials to do more to protect their health.
Now campaigners will be sitting down with Highways and Public Health officials to ask what progress is being made.
Green campaigner Jon Orrell said:
“One of the big concerns raised by residents is that they’ve not been getting accurate readings over the quality of the air they breathe.”
Jon, a local GP, added:
“They are right to be worried. We know people die early from breathing polluted air. Particles from diesel car and lorry exhausts are particularly bad.”
At the latest meeting Green Party campaigners and residents will be getting an update from County Council and Borough Council officials before deciding their next step.
Jon will be joined at the public meeting by Rodwell’s Green County Councillor Clare Sutton.
Jon and campaign colleagues have been visiting homes along Boot Hill to gauge concerns ahead of the meeting with officers on March 8th.
Dr. Orrell said: “I’m delighted officials have agreed to report back to residents. This is a great opportunity for the County Council and the Borough Council to show that they have been listening to people and that they really do care about their concerns.”
“We want to work together to make things better for residents and for motorists.”
One of the issues to be debated will be just how accurate the air quality monitors installed on Boot Hill are when it comes to measuring pollution levels inside peoples’ homes and in their gardens.
The latest moves come as new research shows that air pollution may be an even bigger threat than first feared.
Professor Jonathan Grigg of Queen Mary University London -- a leading expert on the effects of air pollution on children -- said:
“Air pollution is the modern invisible killer. The levels of air pollution that we’re now exposed to are a public health disaster.”
The meeting, on Tuesday evening March 8th at 7.30 at the Old Town Hall, is being organised by the Green Party and is open to everyone.
Anyone who can’t come to the meeting but wants to express an opinion can email Caz Dennett at TeamWE@wpgreenmatters.org
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