Air quality assessment for Warwick district in light of Local Plan

Having had a meeting with Warwickshire’s public health director Dr John Linnane, county councillors in Warwick, together with Matt Western, Labour county councillor for the Leamington Willes ward, have requested a Health Impact Assessment to be carried out in light of the plans to build 12,900 new homes across the district by 2029.

They fear that the added traffic and congestion caused will have a big impact on the district and in particular Warwick, which has been identified by a recent World Health Organisation report as having particularly poor air quality.

Cllr Western said: “It seems incredible that other towns such as Nuneaton, where the issue is nowhere near as serious, have already undertaken assessments but here in Warwick and Leamington, where we already suffer unsafe levels of vehicle-generated pollutants, there has been a reluctance to act.”

Cllr Andrew Mobbs, chairman of Warwick District Council, said Public Health Warwickshire was currently pleased with the position reached with the authority regarding health policies in the draft Local Plan publication.

He added; “We have discussed this matter with Public Health Warwickshire and are happy for them to undertake this process. We now await the findings in due course.”