Ruth Cadbury raises concerns of St Mary's school during Parliamentary debate

Head teacher Joan Hart, Ruth Cadbury MP, school governors, local parent Andrea Carnevali who contacted Ruth about their concerns

Local MP Ruth Cadbury has raised concerns over air pollution near local primary schools during a debate in Parliament, ,following a meetng with t parents and governors at St Mary's Catholic Primary school.

Ruth Cadbury said,“On Monday staff and parents at St Mary’s Catholic school in Chiswick told me of their concerns about air pollution affecting children’s health. This morning the High Court ruled that the Government has comprehensively failed to properly tackle air pollution; which does the Prime Minister feel is worse, the Government losing in the High Court for a third time or the 40,000 early deaths that result from air pollution every year in the UK?”

Ruth Cadbury questioned the Prime Minister in Parliament, just hours after a court ruling that Government plans to tackle air pollution are "unlawful".

There is currently a consultation open until the 28 February to make the A4 part of the Mayor's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

There are other Chiswick schools close to busy roads, including Chiswick School and Cavendish Primary, which are both situated metres from the A316.The issue has been of local concern for years and councillors at the Chiswick Area Forum have raised the matter several times

During her visit to St Mary,s the local MP spoke to governors, teachers and parents about the actions they are exploring including the possibility of placing a green wall along the A4, and air purifiers in classrooms. But she said that what was really needed was Government action.

The issue is on the political agenda this week since charity, Client Earth, successfully won in court with a ruling that current plans to improve air quality are "unlawful" because they do not bring nitrogen dioxide levels within legal limits in the "shortest possible time". This is the third time Client Earth have won rulings against ministers over failures to meet legal limits for the pollutant.

St Mary's and William Hogarth were included in the list of fifty air quality audits ordered by the The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, last year. The findings are due in March, and we have asked the Mayor's office for the report relating to the Chiswick schools when it is released.

As part of the Mayor’s plans to tackle air quality, the audits – funded by £250,000 from the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund and conducted by global engineering consultancy WSP – will identify measures to protect pupils’ health from toxic air.

They will also examine new ways to dramatically lower emissions and exposure to pollution in and around schools.

The measures could include moving school entrances and play areas to reduce exposure to busy roads; 'no engine idling' schemes to reduce harmful emissions during the school run;
minimising emissions from boilers, kitchens and other sources; changes to local roads, including improved road layouts, restricting the most polluting vehicles round schools and pedestrianisation around school entrances; green infrastructure such as ‘barrier bushes’ along busy roads and in playgrounds to help to filter toxic fumes; improvements to encourage walking and cycling to school along less polluted routes.

Air quality surveys carried out twice in the past two years, which measured emissions around the two primary schools in Chiswick, showed a disparity in the levels of pollution which was not ever explained. Hounslow Council's measuring found levels to be lower than a TfL survey, but efforts to find out why did not yield a response from the transport company.

The TfL report on air quality had found levels breached EU standards at the two schools in Chiswick and at Floreat school in Brentford.

Hounslow Council said at that time that its monitoring showed that only 2 of the 3 schools named in the TfL report showed exceedence of the annual mean limit value (or Target value of 40 µg/m3).

The NO2 Annual Mean 2013 (µg/m3) for St Mary's Primary was found by TfL to be 49.0 but LBH figures put this at 42.4- a 13% difference.

For William Hogarth School the TfL measured an NO2 Annual Mean 2013 (µg/m3) of 42.4 but the Council's figure was 34.6%. The issue was raised by Chiswick councillors but no clarification of the disparity was ever given.

The Mayor issued a statement following the court case, saying: “It is no surprise that the government have been defeated again in the courts. The Government’s air quality plans are mediocre. They are not fit for purpose, the courts have rightly overruled their plans for the third time. Michael Gove must now urgently get a grip on this national public health crisis.

“The only way the Government will be able to fulfil its legal and moral duty is by matching my ambition and adopting bold measures including a national scrappage fund, and giving me the powers I urgently need to tackle all forms of toxic pollution including from construction, buildings and the river.

“Ministers also need to stop discriminating against Londoners by giving us access to national air quality funding.”

February 24, 2018