Upset as Eastbourne MP votes against air pollution targets

Eastbourne’s MP has been criticised for a recent vote on air pollution.
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Caroline Ansell voted against an amendment to the Environment Bill called ‘environmental targets: particulate matter’, which planned to bring UK air quality in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

Clean Air Eastbourne says it is ‘disappointed’ with the MP’s decision, however Mrs Ansell has defended it – saying experts believe it would be ‘dangerous’ to put any target in the Bill.

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'Breathe it in' Eastbourne sign (Photo by Jon Rigby)'Breathe it in' Eastbourne sign (Photo by Jon Rigby)
'Breathe it in' Eastbourne sign (Photo by Jon Rigby)

Clean Air founder Robert Price said, “Public Health England reports [harmful particles of] PM2.5 kills 61 people in Eastbourne every year.

“Caroline made Eastbourne’s air quality one of the key points of her election campaign, demanding action on air pollution as her top priority.

“It is surprising and disappointing that, when given the opportunity to help deliver on her ‘Great Green Pledge’, she instead voted to block the changes necessary to make this possible.”

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Andrew Durling, of Eastbourne Friends of the Earth, said there is ‘absolutely no safe limit’ for particulate air pollution, but the WHO guidelines are based on the best available scientific guidelines.

Eastbourne MP Caroline Ansell speaking in ParliamentEastbourne MP Caroline Ansell speaking in Parliament
Eastbourne MP Caroline Ansell speaking in Parliament

He said, “We are extremely disappointed Caroline Ansell has chosen not to support committing the UK government to work within these guidelines, which would help prevent many thousands of premature deaths as well as reducing much ill-health.

“At a time when the UK government is quite rightly taking careful note of WHO guidance on the coronavirus pandemic, we do not understand why Caroline Ansell and her colleagues in government are not following WHO advice on targets for reducing air pollution.”

However, Mrs Ansell has said she has not broken her pledge to Eastbourne on clean air and has called the criticism ‘completely misleading’.

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The MP said in a statement, “The government has put in place a £3.5 billion plan to reduce harmful emissions from road transport – much of that is centred on reducing particulates.

“We have published a world-leading clean air strategy, which has been praised by the very WHO these local organisations now wish to weaponise. This strategy includes a legally binding target for PM2.5 to be reviewed every five years.

“I have not broken my pledge in any way on clean air by voting down impractical opposition amendments and to suggest so is completely misleading.

“MPs have heard many expert views, including from Professor Alastair Lewis who said it would be dangerous to put any target in the bill as the UK could not fully control it because much particulate pollution comes from the continent.

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“He explained the process would be challenging and would take time. He added it was crucial to get it right.

“I understand all this information from experts and praise from the WHO for the Government’s approach is inconvenient to those who want to score political points but that’s the actual position.

“It is also deeply disappointing that not one of these three groups contacted me in the run up to the committee session in parliament asking me about my views and what the government is trying to do.”

• Eastbourne has been at the limit of ‘unsafe’ air pollution levels for some time, according to WHO data.

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• The town was found to have 10 micrograms of dangerous PM2.5 particles per cubic metre of air in 2018 – just below London at 11.

• In 2017 Eastbourne had 15 micrograms, one of the highest levels in the country.