Issue - meetings

(a)       That the Council encourage all decisions and policies, where appropriate, to proactively consider the impact on air quality;

(b)       That the Council work with the Public Services Board, as part of their environmental theme, to promote a multi-agency approach to addressing air quality; and

(c)       That the contents of the North Wales Combined Authority Air Quality Report be noted.

Councillor Chris Bithell presented a report on the findings of the regional Air Quality report, prepared in August 2017, to consider how the Council could do more to promote air quality considerations when taking key strategic and operational decisions.  In highlighting the importance of the topic, he was pleased to note that good standards of air quality were recorded for North Wales, noting that further improvements were needed.

The Community and Business Protection Manager spoke about the impact of air quality on health and advised that the collaborative approach to commissioning the report had been commended by Welsh Government.  She advised that the topic was now a priority for the Public Services Board and introduced the Pollution Control Officer who demonstrated monitoring tubes used to give an indication of air quality levels.

In response to questions, he provided explanation on monitoring locations and the approach to more intense monitoring.  He said that a link to the Welsh Air Quality Forum could be emailed to the Committee.  The introduction of projects for schools to carry out their own monitoring would help to raise environmental awareness amongst pupils.

The Manager explained that the annual report was a statutory requirement and that the findings must be taken into account for any planned developments.

Following comments on the impact of traffic management, Councillor Carolyn Thomas said that delays were often due to work carried out by utility companies and that any concerns should be passed to the relevant Area Supervisor.  She referred to the Flintshire Bus Strategy which promoted use of public transport, with some operators using low-emission buses.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Council encourage all decisions and policies, where appropriate, to proactively consider the impact on air quality;

(b)       That the Council work with the Public Services Board, as part of their environmental theme, to promote a multi-agency approach to addressing air quality; and

(c)       That the contents of the North Wales Combined Authority Air Quality Report be noted.