News / Environment
Greens slam council failure to meet Bristol’s clean air plan deadline – again
Bristol’s Green group has condemned the Labour-led council for missing a second deadline to provide a clean air plan for the city.
Mayor Marvin Rees has said the delay is “unavoidable” and has pulled no punches in a letter to environment minister Therese Coffey, expressing his disappointment at her comments in January, when she said she was “astonished” at the failure to deliver.
Bristol City Council was instructed by the Government to complete a clear air plan by the end of last year in order to comply with legal limits for nitrogen dioxide, or face legal action.
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Read more: Polluting NO2 levels twice the legal limit in parts of Bristol
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In his letter to the minister, written on February 21, Rees pledged his commitment to improving the city’s air quality, but said initial proposals to address this “risk compounding the challenges we face tackling equality and economic exclusion” and could “undermine our economic strength”.
“I would be surprised if you were of the view that I should proceed with a plan that is clearly flawed and explicitly impacts on low income groups and undermines the economy, to meet a deadline that will have no impact on the time we meet compliance,” he wrote.
Former leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas, with Green members and school pupils in Bristol to highlight the dangers of air pollution
But Green Party members have slammed the delay and the mayor’s response, arguing that clean air is a right and accusing the Labour administration of failing to take bold action on issues that matter most.
“The mayor knows full well that the burden of air pollution falls most heavily on the poorest people in the city, yet he continues to take no action,” said Fi Hance, Green councillor for Redland.
“This means that people are dying, and we fear that with the 2020 elections looming, the mayor is increasingly nervous about taking any steps that restrict the movement of most polluting vehicles in the city.”
Sandy Hore-Ruthven, Bristol’s Green mayoral candidate, added: “The failure to meet a legal deadline on the clean air zone is another example of avoiding difficult decisions that will leave our children clearing up the mess that our generation has made.”
In his letter to Coffey, Rees said: “I was extremely disappointed that you chose to give your comments to the press when there was an opportunity for constructive dialogue between us.
“Had you spoken with me, or even communicated privately, you would have learned just how much we are actually doing and the complexities we are overcoming to work towards cleaner air for the citizens of this city.”
He admitted the timeline had “regrettably been missed”, adding that “despite the short delay in the business case, the revised approach will not result in any delay in reaching compliance”.
The mayor stated that his teams are urgently reviewing the approach taken, including “doubling bus journey to work” a move to a full fleet of bio-fuel buses and “significant plans” for cycling and walking infrastructure and no-idle-zones.
He is due to speak with the environment minister on Monday.
Read more: ‘It’s outrageous to continue neglecting the health and lives of Bristolians’
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