School audits, “walking buses” and 200 new electric charging points are among the recommendations in Richmond Council’s five year plan to help clean up the air in the borough.

The recently published Air Quality Action Plan acknowledges that poor quality air is a “major cause for concern” for residents, businesses and visitors.

Air pollution is connected to 40,000 deaths in the UK every year and areas in Richmond town centre, Twickenham, Barnes, Chalker’s Corner, Hampton Hill, Hampton Wick, Sheen, Kew, Teddington and Whitton continue to breach the UK annual mean NO2 objective of 40µg/m3.

Polluted air can decrease life span, put those who breathe it at risk of heart disease, cancer and a variety of respiratory illnesses. It especially impacts those who have underlying conditions.

The council included eight “key priorities” in the plan, including a new steering group made up of council and community representatives that would help ensure proposals are implemented across the borough.

Other priorities include identifying causes of traffic congestion and finding ways to reduce it, introducing Clean Air Zones, providing guidance to developers on how to reduce their polluting impact and introducing more electric charging points- 200 in 80 locations by 2025/26.

The Action Plan states that evidence indicates the “health of very young and the elderly can be significantly compromised by exposure to poor air”.

It suggests moving school entrances and play areas, cracking down on cars idling in the area, putting restrictions on polluting vehicles, and introducing large “walking buses” for pupils so children can walk safely to school in groups.

The council “continues to protest” proposals for a third runway at Heathrow and will encourage it to take action to reduce emissions from surface access traffic, servicing traffic, and aircrafts.

Also included are proposals to increase the number of clean buses in the borough along with passenger capacity and to increase car sharing schemes and electric taxis.

To view the full plan go here and to have your say on the consultation, which ends on October 30, go here

Richmond Council cabinet member for environment, Councillor Pamela Fleming, called for coming together “as a community” to address pollution.

She said: “I think it’s very important to highlight that poor air quality is a responsibility of us all, not just something that governments and authorities are responsible for.

“Almost everything we do impacts on local air quality; from the cars we drive, how we use them, the heating and insulation in our homes, our holidays and travel and even the way in which we use next day deliveries for non-urgent good and services.”