Leominster continues to make steady progress in building the case for a solution to worrying levels of traffic pollution.
Hard on the heels of an independent survey, which concludes that there are unacceptably high levels of nitrogen dioxide at the lower end of the Bargates road, comes a county report from Herefordshire Council which accepts that the Government’s objective is still being breached at this notorious spot.
At the same time, the town council has received a number of requests from concerned local people anxious to view the full report of an independent traffic survey compiled by consulting engineers Morgan Tucker.
The report has been commissioned by the town council, which has long sought to ease increasing problems of traffic congestion and pollution at the busy Bargates’ junction. Claims within the independent survey that the junction is “already failing to clear standing traffic at peak times” and fears that the situation will worsen in the future, are generally seen as a significant lever in the town’s long-running campaign to secure an east to west bypass for Leominster.
Herefordshire Council has announced details of an annual Air Quality Progress Report for the county, interpreting data from more than 50 sites throughout Herefordshire.
“Although the report finds that Herefordshire’s air quality is generally very good, it does find that pollution from traffic is still increasing in many areas and that the Government’s objective for a pollutant called nitrogen dioxide is still being breached at three locations,” said a spokesperson for the authority. “These are at Hereford city’s A49 corridor, Bargates in Leominster and the A40 corridor from Wilton to Pencraig in south Herefordshire.” It also concludes that rural ozone seems to be increasing, being formed by pollution drifting into the county from industrialised areas such as South Wales, the Midlands and the Bristol area.
The spokesperson continued: “The progress report and its later revisions will provide an excellent benchmark to review the impact of the council’s newly released ‘Hereford City Air Quality Action Plan’ which recommended 15 traffic management measures aimed at reducing congestion in the city, and traffic pollution.”
The recently published progress report also provides “invaluable information” to help finalise the draft ‘Bargates Air Quality Action Plan’ and an emerging A40 action plan.
Deputy town clerk at Leominster, David Russell, confirmed that a number of people had asked for copies of the independent traffic survey since its publication.
“We are waiting for a response from Herefordshire Council,” he said.
Further information on either the new Air Quality Progress Report or the Hereford City Air Quality Action Plan can be found on the council’s web page at http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/environment/pollution/2264.asp
