THE GOVERNMENT has been called on to ‘act urgently’ to improve air quality in Warwick and Leamington.
It comes after the World Health Organisation last year reported Leamington among the 31 most polluted areas in the country for the third successive year.
Environment chiefs named the top three pollution hotspots in the district as underneath the railway bridge on Clemens Street, Jury Street in Warwick, and the village of Barford. Heavy traffic was blamed for the high levels of pollutants.
And Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western has called on the government to provide councils with air quality monitors to be fitted to waste collection vehicles to show the true scale of air pollution.
A similar scheme is set to be trialled in London.
Mr Western said: “Polluted air in Warwick and Leamington poses huge risk to our health. I’ve urged the government to urgently act.
“One of the issues we have in tackling it is that we simply don’t have enough data to understand the scale of poor air quality on every street. My proposal will make residents aware of just how poor the air has become even on their doorsteps and force a shift in policy.
“I will continue to push for reductions in air pollution, for the sake of our health.”
Campaign group Clean Air for Leamington backed Mr Western’s calls.
Spokeswoman Susan Rasmussen said: “We support any means of providing better data on air quality across our towns.
“Solutions to the problem of air pollution must be evidence-based and strategically coherent.
The call comes as Warwick District Council announced plans for a referendum on establishing a Climate Action Fund.
