Agenda item

To consider the report of the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager.

Councillor Musgrave attended the meeting Under Standing Order 44.

The Environmental Health and Licensing Manager updated Members on the Council’s duties and activities relating to local air quality management, placed upon the Council (and all district and county councils) by Part IV of the Environment Act 1985.  He referred to the Annual Status Report made to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) which includes details of the Council’s monitoring of local air quality and actions taken to reduce transport emissions. He also gave an update on the Council’s Air Quality Action Plan which will work towards resolving the exceedances of the air quality objectives within the Air Quality Management Area. The Senior Environment Technical Officer provided an update on the recent measured levels of nitrogen dioxide. The 2017 Annual Status Report and a summary of the monitoring data could be viewed on the air quality pages on the City Council’s web site.

Councillor Musgrave thanked the Senior Environmental Technical Officer for her commitment and understanding of this work, but he remained concerned about the prioritisation of this issue by the City Council and felt more radical action should be taken to address the poor air quality in key hotspots in the city. He hoped that Members would continue to debate the issue and thanked the Portfolio Holder for City Transformation, Energy and Transport, Councillor Denham, who had earlier endorsed working in a cross party way.  He suggested Members might wish to consider the following different ways of working including:-

• an acknowledgement of air quality issues within the reporting mechanism to  Committees;  
• a review of the City Council’s work with developers to improve air quality in the city;
• redesigning the road space and consideration of more innovative ideas such as imposing a reduction in the speed of traffic, or a congestion charge on peak roads; 
• further review of the parking policy with an increase in parking charges to encourage different forms of travel, support for more sustainable travel such as car share or Co Cars;
• involve the private sector who should pay a share of investing in managing air quality; and
• improve the public transport service.

A Member referred to Councillor Musgrave’s comment on public transport and referred to his recent efforts to lobby Stagecoach over recent changes to a bus route within his ward. He also commented on the City Council’s Car Parking Strategy which was helping the Council to move in the right direction. The Senior Environmental Technical Officer responded to the Member and would ascertain the timescale for the interactive air quality web site going live. The Environmental Health and Licensing Manager also responded to a Member’s comment on the relevancy of the Green Travel Plan which he would pass on to his planning colleagues at the City Council.

The Director (JY) also responded to a Member’s suggestion of a Task and Finish Group and stated that it was important to draw together a number of highly complex strands of work to ensure there was the appropriate alignment and avoid duplication. She undertook to review the work with existing groups and report back to Members and the Portfolio Holder for City Transformation, Energy and Transport to establish whether any other work or group should be convened to contribute.  An update could be made to the Place Scrutiny Committee.

The Chair also referred to work by Exeter City Futures, who were due to report to the next Scrutiny Committee in November as part of crucial work on public transport and travel.  He thanked Members for this worthwhile discussion and also Councillor Musgrave and the public speaker for their contribution to the debate. 

Place Scrutiny Committee supported the following:-

(1)     most recent measured air quality data and actions to reduce traffic emissions;

(2)     discussions to be held with key parties involved in delivering actions that would reduce local transport emissions and the subsequent development of an updated Air Quality Action Plan;

(3)     wider community engagement in the collective ambition to reduce transport emissions; and

(4)     a further report be made to the Place Scrutiny Committee on 11 January 2018.