Pollution still a big issue....
| Published: 13th May 2007 11:28 |
GOOD WORK is being done to tackle pollution within the borough but more still needs to be done - concludes the 11th annual report produced by the council's special pollution team.
Achievements within the past 12 months include:
Meeting the Government's air quality objectives
Seeing Croydon's airTEXT service, which alerts people sensitive to changes in air quality, launched London-wide
Encouraging more drivers to switch off their engines while parked as part of an awareness-raising programme
Obtaining funding from Transport for London to help the South London Freight Quality Partnership look into ways of improving air quality, including investigating the setting up of a retail freight consolidation centre
Taking part in a joint venture with Camden Council to purchase two portable hydrogen fuel cell generators, to be used by the Vehicle Operator Services Authority as part of their roadside vehicle emission testing campaign.
However the annual report also shows that there is still a lot of work to be done. With tighter objectives being set down by the Government in 2010 for PM10 particles, it is possible Croydon may not achieve them.
In a bid to address the issues, the council has recently consulted local residents, businesses and other agencies on a new Air Quality Action Plan which looks at further measures for 2007-2010, the next target date for air quality objectives. The final plan will be published in the spring of this year. A draft of the plan can be viewed on the council's website.
The annual report also contains details of drinking water samples taken by the council which show that the quality remained excellent throughout 2005/6 with 99.7% of tests meeting legal limits.
A total of 3,307 complaints about noise were tackled by the council in 2005/06. The pollution enforcement team also executed eight warrants to enter premises in order to seize noise-making equipment and three offenders were fined and had their equipment seized.
More detailed sampling and monitoring results can be found on the council's website at: www.croydon.gov.uk
A copy of the annual report can also be downloaded from the website.
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