Issue - meetings

a)    consider and approve the draft Air Quality Action Plan found in Appendix A;

b)   approve that the Executive Member for Sustainability may submit the draft Air Quality Action Plan to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for their review and approval;

c)    delegate to the Head of Housing and Health, acting in consultation with the Executive Member for Sustainability, authority to make minor changes to the Air Quality Action Plan if needed following submission to DEFRA for approval, with any changes with a financial implication for the council being brought to the Executive for consideration;

d)   delegate to the Executive Member for Sustainability authority to adopt the final version of the Air Quality Action Plan on behalf of the council once it has been approved by DEFRA;

e)    delegate to the Head of Housing and Health, acting in consultation with the Executive Member for Sustainability, authority to add, amend or delete actions from the Air Quality Action Plan over the lifetime of the action plan so as to ensure that it remains current, reflecting the financial viability of projects and evolving best practice

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability presented the final draft version of the Air Quality Action Plan and said it would be submitted to DEFRA for approval if the Executive agreed it. He said that the council were required under legislation to produce an action plan and the plan was designed to be an active and evolving document.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that the Action Plan went out for public consultation from 31 October to 13 December 2023 and received 189 responses. He said the action plan was presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January and their comments were provided at Appendix C.

Councillor Hoskin proposed that the recommendations in the report be supported. Councillor Glover-Ward seconded the proposal.

Councillor McAndrew said it was good to see an end result after a long process. He said a lot of time and effort had gone into it from both officers and members. He said the biggest challenge in tackling air pollution was behaviour change and getting individuals to make changes to their daily routines.

Councillor Hoskin said that the council had now installed real time monitors in all three AQMAs and were looking at how to publish that information to the public so they could make better decisions for sustainable travel.

Councillor Estop referred to the proposed actions and acknowledged the LCWIP which would make physical changes to the environment to make walking a more pleasant and safe environment.

The motion to support the recommendations having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – that (A) the draft Air Quality Action Plan found in Appendix A be considered and approved;

(B)  approve that the Executive Member for Sustainability may submit the draft Air Quality Action Plan to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for their review and approval;

(C) delegate to the Head of Housing and Health, acting in consultation with the Executive Member for Sustainability, authority to make minor changes to the Air Quality Action Plan if needed following submission to DEFRA for approval, with any changes with a financial implication for the council being brought to the Executive for consideration;

(D)          delegate to the Executive Member for Sustainability authority to adopt the final version of the Air Quality Action Plan on behalf of the council once it has been approved by DEFRA;

(E) delegate to the Head of Housing and Health, acting in consultation with the Executive Member for Sustainability, authority to add, amend or delete actions from the Air Quality Action Plan over the lifetime of the action plan so as to ensure that it remains current, reflecting the financial viability of projects and evolving best practice

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability submitted a report that presented to members the final draft version of the Air Quality Action Plan for East Hertfordshire following public and stakeholder consultation. He commented on the linkages between improving air quality and improving health outcomes.

Members were referred to the data regarding air quality within the three Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) and the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that since September, an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) for East Herts had been produced and this could be seen at Appendix A.

A public and stakeholder consultation exercise had been undertaken and the analysis of this consultation was attached at Appendix B. The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that within the three AQMAs, the main contributing factor was vehicles and diesel cars were the main source of air pollution.

Members were advised that the action plan needed to be an active and evolving document throughout the next five years. There had been a 6-week consultation period which was in line with the DEFRA code of practice and there been 189 responses of which 182 had been from the public and seven from statutory consultees.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that several changes had been made following the consultation responses. He said that the Council had tempered the language which was used in the AQAP regarding Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZ) from exploring implementation to exploring the potential pros and cons of this.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability concluded that the draft AQAP focussed on making best use of the council’s limited resources and tried to target the actions which could have the most significant impact on the three AQMAs. He said that the council would continue to work with key partners to undertake as wide a range of activities as was possible to improve air quality. Members were reminded that lots of the options for controlling and influencing air quality lay outside of the control of the council.

Councillor Buckmaster referred to the complexity of the issue of air quality. He commented on the statutory duties of East Herts Council regarding monitoring and action plans and Hertfordshire County Council in terms of the public health focus.

Councillor Buckmaster said that discussions between the two councils should continue and there was a Hertfordshire County Council seminar in Stevenage planned for 29 February, which was for county and district members to attend. He said that this was nearly fully subscribed but was a good forum to have. He emphasised the importance of common branding in terms of joined up thinking.

Councillor Buckmaster said that jointly across the county and the district, members and officers should consider what the vital outcomes were in terms of output. He talked about getting people to change behaviours in terms of anti-idling and wood burning stoves. He said that county council members had access to budgets for interventions to try to influence behaviour.

Councillor Buckmaster said that there should be a forum where  ...  view the full minutes text for item 287