Eamonn Ward from the Green Party came to give an overview of local air pollution issues and discussed the City Council’s current strategy (which is still under development). There is central government funding available to reduce congestion but he believes there is little political interest in this. He mentioned that Air pollution should be a priority in the East End rather than Meadowhall development. Many other places are ahead of Sheffield such as Oxford where that have a long term plan to go “car free”. Party political positioning (“anti-car” “pro-development”) is generally unhelpful.
Idling Cars
No representative from Sheffield Friends of the Earth was able to attend the meeting about cars idling outside schools and hospitals. It is felt that practically this could only have a very small impact compared to what is needed.
Labour Party Talk
A speaker is needed for a Labour branch requesting talk about air pollution.
ACTION: Shaun to contact potential speakers.
Next Steps
a new national FoE campaign action plan is due out in November and Shaun has circulated link to current consultation.
ACTION: Members should respond directly to FoE during October in order to inform the new plan.