Can we do more to stop the damaging impact of air pollution in Scotland? And how can we put an end to urban areas with traffic-choked streets, which repeatedly breach EU air quality laws? These are just some of the questions the Scottish Parliament’s Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee will explore as it invites views into Scotland’s air quality as part of a new inquiry. Continue reading Are we doing enough to improve air quality?
Councillors on the city council’s Transport and Environment Committee will hear next week that air quality in Edinburgh is improving. However the latest figures produced by Friends of the Earth Scotland show that there are now more pollution zones across Scotland than there were twelve months ago – and that much more needs to be done to address a problem they say is becoming a ‘public health crisis’. Continue reading Putting the brakes on air pollution
‘We desperately need housing but the local planning authority isn’t addressing the basics’ – Colin Keir MSP
Colin Keir MSP for Edinburgh Western has called for infrastructure to be put in place to allow sustainable housing development in Edinburgh. Continue reading Keir: Housing situation ‘pressing on being critical’
Corstorphine chokes – and it could get worse
Corstorphine’s St John’s Road is officially Scotland’s most polluted road – and local residents fear the air quality will get even worse as a planning application for a massive new supermarket with 140 parking spaces is to be considered by city councillors next week.
The developer’s own figures reveal that up to 22,000 car trips will be made in and out of the supermarket every week – with up to 70% of this new, rather than passing, traffic. Local campaigners argue that streets which are already congested will be unable to cope
New figures have revealed that St John’s Road has the worst air pollution in the whole country. According to estimates, poor air quality is causing 3,500 thousands premature death in Scotland every year.
Friends of the Earth Scotland air pollution campaigner Emilia Hanna said: “Last year, Edinburgh Council approved its new Transport Strategy which commits to achieving clean air across the city. But these results show that levels of air pollution, which were already at illegal levels, are reaching appalling new heights. St John’s Road is now Scotland’s most polluted road, and traffic congestion is the reason why.
“These worrying figures further the case for refusing planning permission for the supermarket. The developer’s plans would see 3000 new vehicle visits to heart of the Pollution Zone each day, worsening traffic congestion and further adding to the soaring levels of pollution. The developer’s documents are riddled with flaws and fail to predict air quality impacts of the supermarket in key locations. We are confident that when Councillors consider the evidence, they will turn down the proposal.
“Air pollution has been linked with asthma attacks, strokes, heart attacks, and cancers. It can lead to children’s lungs not growing to their full potential. Schoolchildren would have have to walk in front of the proposed car park entrance each day on their way to Corstorphine Primary School, if it were to go ahead.
“For the sake of people’s health, St John’s Road needs a transport transformation. Priority should be given to walkers, cyclists and public transport users, and car use should be restricted through a Low Emission Zone, which would require vehicles to meet cleaner emission standards or pay a fine. This would create a cleaner, safer, and more attractive environment where everyone could breathe clean air.”
Local resident Becky Lloyd, a mother of two who chairs the Corstorphine Residents Action & Information Group, said: “The Birmingham-based developers want to build a massive supermarket and multi-storey carpark which is out of scale with its surroundings and which can only be accessed from a street so narrow it is currently one-way.
“We trust the Council will come to the same conclusion as residents and rule this development entirely inappropriate for the site. Corstorphine is saturated with supermarkets and there is no demand or need for another one.
“This development would cause more congestion and pollution on a street already ranked the most polluted in Scotland. Buried in the developer’s own figures is the true picture: an estimated 22,000 car trips in and out of the supermarket every week, with up to 70% of this new, rather than passing traffic.”
Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, has today urged the Scottish Government to take urgent action on dangerous air pollution levels in the capital.
Ms Johnstone, who is the Scottish Green Party candidate for Edinburgh Central for Holyrood 2016, said: “It’s shocking that we keep hearing news about alarming levels of pollution in our cities while thousands of Scottish people are dying prematurely because of poor air quality. We’re not just talking about a minor environmental nuisance here – we’re talking about a public health crisis.
“Despite continued warnings from health professionals, charities and community groups over the years, both Labour and SNP governments have failed to take this issue seriously.
“Green Councillors in Edinburgh have worked hard, with others, to get the city to introduce 20 miles per hour zones and to invest properly in cycling and walking infrastructure. We know that these policies work, and they now need to be implemented on a bigger, bolder scale. The Scottish Government must recognise its responsibilities and take urgent action to tackle this crisis.”
The city council’s Local Transport Strategy commits to clean air across Edinburgh. Transport convener Cllr Lesley Hinds said: “We monitor air quality continuously across the city and the Air Quality Management Area enables us to direct actions more effectively at those locations. We are aware there are improvements which can be made to limit emissions across Edinburgh including at St John’s Road and Clermiston Road junction.”
The City of Edinburgh Council proposes to introduce 20mph speed limits for large parts of the city centre, main shopping streets and other residential streets.
You can find out more – and give your opinions – at an information session in North Local Office, West Pilton Gardens, on Wednesday 3 September from 10am – 1pm.
Alternatively, you can express your views online at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/20mph
Maps detailing the proposals will be on display in local libraries from 1 September, and if you need more info you can also email 20mph@edinburgh.gov.uk
All comments must be received by 17 October – so don’t put it off!
Local MP Mark Lazarowicz is calling for a precautionary moratorium on three pesticides – imidacloprid, clothianidin and TMX – linked to the decline of the UK’s bee populations. The North and Leith MP is a longstanding member of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee and its new hard-hitting report on Pollinators and Pesticides is published today.
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Mark Lazarowicz (pictured above) said: “As part of our inquiry into insects and insecticides we looked at the sharp decline in the number of bees in the UK and there’s growing concern that the use of certain chemicals might be to blame. Bees matter to both gardeners and farmers because of their role in pollinating fruit and vegetables as well as flowers. They are fundamental to our ecology and economy. The scientific evidence points to the need for a precautionary moratorium to be introduced. DEFRA should listen to it and act.”
Two-thirds of wild insect pollinator species – such as bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies, carrion flies, beetles, midges and moths – have suffered population declines in the UK. Managed honeybees have also experienced unusually high mortality rates, decreased fertility, increased susceptibility to disease and the loss of hives. Similar trends have been observed in the US and other European countries.
Disease, habitat loss and climate change can all affect insect populations, but a growing body of peer-reviewed research suggests that the use of one group of insecticides is having an especially damaging impact on pollinators — neonicotinoids. Applied to seeds, these systemic pesticides are widely used in the UK on oilseed rape, cereals, maize, sugar beet and crops grown in glasshouses.
Authorities in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia have already suspended the use of some neonicotinoids in certain circumstances. The European Commission has also proposed an EU-wide moratorium on the use of imidacloprid, clothianidin and TMX on crops attractive to bees, following a recent risk warning from the European Food Safety Authority. The UK has refused to take domestic action or to support the EU proposal.
Many of the UK’s largest garden retailers, including B&Q, Wickes and Homebase, have voluntarily withdrawn non-professional plant protection products that contain neonicotinoids. The report recommends a full ban on the sale of neonicotinoids for public domestic use in order to create an urban safe haven for pollinators.
Pesticide manufacturers often claim that studies linking their products to bee decline are flawed or inconclusive and that other factors are primarily to blame, such as the Varroa mite. But although the agrochemical industry has produced many studies on the environmental effect of pesticides, it keeps most of its data secret on grounds of commercial confidentiality.
The report warns that this lack of transparency is preventing a fuller understanding of the problem. The MPs call on the industry to place the results of its trials and studies in the public domain so that they can be subjected to open academic scrutiny. Defra should help companies establish which genuinely commercially sensitive details need to be redacted to make this possible.
