Protesters make their voices heard as they call for clean air in West Vale

Calderdale Council has called on its residents to take steps to cut local air pollution – but also drawn a protest  and criticism from villagers.
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To mark support for national Clear Air Day this week Calderdale Council, which has declared a climate emergency, recommended some ways in which people can help in addition to its own measures.

However, the council’s message has drawn criticism from Greetland Pressure Group, upset by the council Cabinet’s recent decision not to make West Vale subject to air quality management area (AQMA) status, which they say would help address their concerns.

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The council said Clean Air Day raises awareness of air pollution, how to avoid it, and the practical things people can do in their everyday lives to reduce the problem.

The Greetland air quality campaigners at West ValeThe Greetland air quality campaigners at West Vale
The Greetland air quality campaigners at West Vale

The authority says air pollution can harm every organ in people’s bodies and can shorten lives, contribute towards chronic illness and put people more at risk from COVID-19, and that it continues to work with local communities to improve local air quality and to tackle climate change.

Considerations people can make include how they travel, including walking, cycling or using the bus instead of driving, considering whether cars can be replaced by lower emission vehicles, considering reducing the use of solid fuel burning appliances and getting involved in community activities to improve air quality.

The council’s Cabinet member for Climate Change and Resilience, Coun Scott Patient (Lab, Luddenden Foot), said all could play a part and outlined lifestyle changes he has made himself.

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“We want to improve air quality through everything we do, so that Calderdale is a place where residents are healthy, businesses and nature can flourish and visitors enjoy themselves and want to return.

“I choose cycling, running and the train over car travel wherever possible, having got rid of my car last year.

“Not only does this reduce the impact I make on Calderdale’s distinctive environment, it also makes me feel healthier, happier and more connected to nature,” he said.

The 1,400 member Greetland campaigners said they agreed air pollution had to be tackled at a local level – but claim having voiced concerns they have been “repeatedly ignored”, sparking a protest in the village on Clean Air Day.

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The group says the council’s Place Scrutiny Board agreed with them that West Vale should be made an AQMA due to high levels of pollution recorded in the area where roadside buildings include homes, a primary school and an old people’s home.

A spokesperson for the group said: “The council has released a statement for Clean Air Day, but this is just empty rhetoric, because Calderdale Cabinet have refused our community access to accurate, real-time monitoring.

“Cabinet went against the recommendation of Place Scrutiny to make West Vale an AQMA, and the reason they gave is that the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) would not allow it.

“However, we contacted DEFRA, and they gave us a very different story.”

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Having read a briefing paper from officers which indicated, although close, monitoring figures for nitrogen oxide did not breach the trigger figure of 40 microgrammes per cubic metre,

Cabinet members voted against making West Vale an AQMA and argued that if it did, the Government department would question its doing so.

The Greetland campaigners say they believe the council is reluctant to grant the status because of potential impact it might have on the borough’s Local Plan – the plan is now being considered by a Planning Inspector.

If green-lighted, it could see around 600 homes built in the village and the pressure group claims this would make issues worse.

The group disputes how samples are currently measured but Cabinet said it was open to looking at changing how this was done.

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