Jim
Longhurst was an invited participant in a Bristol City Council event to
consider progress with air quality management in the city. Jim shared with the
meeting some of the conclusions of the House of Commons Environmental Audit
Commission referring to the scale and severity of the current air quality
problems in the UK. He noted that Bristol has a very good air quality
monitoring network and a strong evidence base that supported the continuing
declaration of an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) for nitrogen dioxide in
the city. According to the timescale set out in the Air Quality Regulations the
AQMA should have been revoked by 2005 due to actions taken in the city’s Air
Quality Action Plan. Unfortunately this has not happened but the city is not
alone in this as more than 60% of local authorities still have one or more
AQMAs. Jim described this situation as the mismanagement of
air quality, where the evidence of the problem is known and compelling but the
remedial action to improve the situation is not taken. Jim recommended
that the city recommits itself to the management of air quality and develops a
new city wide Air Quality Strategy with strong targets for improvement actions
to be completed within specified timescales. Central to this new strategy must
be a clear identification of where responsibilities and accountabilities for
actions are held within the city. Jim noted that the new Mayor has a critical
role to play in developing, implementing and being accountable for such a
strategy.
