Labour Councillor restores hope as Fratton’s pollution catastrophe breaks World Health Organisation limits
Councillor for Fratton, Tom Coles, promises to put climate change at the heart of Labour’s campaign after their majority victory on Friday, as local pollution reaches dangerously high levels.
A government website providing an air quality report, showed Fratton addresses fell as high as the 91st percentile for pollution, when compared with the rest of the UK. This was shown to break three World Health Organisation limits, posing great risk to the public’s health.
Cllr Coles explained how, along with Councillor Judith Smyth, “We raised the motion to declare a climate emergency in Portsmouth”. High levels of pollution can exacerbate chronic cardiovascular and respiratory conditions and leads to a reduction in life expectancy”.
He added: “The previous Lib Dem administration introduced a clean air zone in the city but crucially omitted Fratton Road”.
Fratton Road is a busy road at the heart of the ward and is thought to be a key reason for high pollution levels in the area, as traffic flow continues to increase.
I spoke to Charlie McEntee, a Fratton resident who said “I haven’t really noticed it, because like I said I’ve been living here my whole life, so it’s very hard to actually tell. But the way it can damage you is scary”.
When asked what questions he had for the Councillor, Charlie was curious about what steps were being taken to make Fratton a cleaner area.
In response, Cllr Coles said “We’ve pushed for more greening across the city, improvements in cycling and walking provisions and lowering traffic in some areas”. He encouraged Charlie and other Fratton residents to contact him personally if they had any ideas or suggestions relating to the crisis, with an emphasis on assisting resident-led campaigns.