Our Response to Eastleigh Borough Council's Air Quality Plan

Following Eastleigh Borough Council's consultation on the Air Quality Plan, the Parish Council's Planning Committee considered this and its response is below:

Hamble Parish Council welcomes the opportunity to comment on the draft AQP and is supportive of the general trust of the plan and the actions proposed. Residents in Hamble are very concerned about Air Quality and this goes hand in hand with concerns about congestion and journey times in and out of the village. When we commissioned a survey of our residents back in 2017 we asked about traffic and emissions and at the time, of the 404 that responded, 342 identified emissions as a cause for concern.

In terms of the specifics of the AQMA (Air Quality Management Area) there is a feeling that the current area should be reviewed to take in the lower sections of Hamble Lane rather than focusing on the upper end. The level of monitoring at Coronation Parade is not sufficient to establish levels of pollution in the Parish but this is certainly something that the Parish would like to see, with monitoring points at Hamble Secondary School, Hamble Primary School (maybe in Mount Pleasant Car Park) and Coronation Parade. These are all locations where there is high footfall and frequent congestion.

A long standing project that would help to reduce car trips is the Car Park at Hamble Holt Station. This has been a proposal for many years now and despite agreement across all agencies there seems to have been little progress in taking this forward. A multi-agency project plan and brief would be a helpful and visible sign that the project is going forward and a target date in the plan which can be monitored.

As part of its consideration of the Plan the Committee also felt that more attention should be given to wider issues such as Benzene which residents are concerned about as a by-product of Fawley Refinery, the chemical plants and incinerator along with other sources in and around the western shore of Southampton Water. There should be more active monitoring of air quality in this locality to identify pollution caused by maritime traffic and industrial activities. Options for reducing these source of contamination are very different and deserve separate consideration within the Plan.

Lastly the proposed actions within the Plan are not robust enough. The targets need to be SMART and well developed so that progress is possible to measure. For example what is the purpose of information and advice on the use of solid fuel burners? If it’s to reduce usage then set a target for reductions, seek to designate clean air zones or give grants to convert to cleaners heating sources. Similarly to promote and expand Car Clubs should identify how many and by when.

We are very happy to be a partner in looking at localised Air Quality improvements – if you want to trail work please bear us in mind.