Thomas Wigley’s petition to the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead (RBWM) closed on 8 September 2022, with 2,151 RBWM residents signing to ask for better monitoring of health damaging particulates. As the number of petitioners exceeds the 1,500 threshold, the petition will be debated at a Full Council meeting, with the date to be determined by the Mayor.
Thomas Wigley, Windsor resident and member of the Maidenhead Great Park campaign group, says:
“I’m delighted that so many people from Maidenhead and Windsor signed the petition and I would like to thank all of them for their support in a matter which affects all of us. It’s a clear signal that people are concerned about air pollution. The Government and RBWM both recognise that air pollution is bad for our health.
“This petition asks RBWM to increase particulates measurements in its five Air Quality Management Areas. I hope that we can now have constructive discussions with RBWM and get proper particulates monitoring. The petition is timely because the respected Francis Crick Institute has recently published breakthrough research results proving a link between PM2.5 particulates and lung cancer, and the UK’s Office for Environmental Protection recently wrote to DEFRA urging it to bring forward its PM2.5 target date.
“It’s crazy to believe that a single particulates monitoring site in Maidenhead is enough for a Borough which covers 197 square kilometres and has its own local pollution hotspots. Deadly PM2.5 particles aren’t measured at all and that really concerns me. I would be particularly concerned if, for example, I lived in Holyport, which straddles the M4. This already busy motorway now has a one third increase in traffic capacity since it was upgraded to be a ‘Smart’ motorway.
“A key aim of the Borough’s Environment and Climate Strategy is to have cleaner air and a greener urban environment. It recognises the need to reduce air pollution. The Borough also wants to achieve National Air Quality Objectives. The Borough must therefore broaden and deepen particulates monitoring. After all, you can’t manage what you can’t measure.
“RBWM wants to build 2,000 new homes on Maidenhead Golf Course but the whole town is one big Air Quality Management Area. I’m dismayed that RBWM would choose to destroy a large green space on the edge of the town centre which would provide respite for residents from polluted air.
“RBWM must monitor airborne particulates properly and take effective action to do so soon. We look forward to addressing the Borough’s Full Council on this urgent matter affecting the health of our community at the earliest opportunity.”
Cllr Karen Davies, RBWM Ward Councillor for Clewer East, adds:
“I congratulate Tom and the Maidenhead Great Park team on achieving over two thousand signatures on this important petition. Last year, my motion to Full Council to increase monitoring of airborne pollutants was voted down by Conservative councillors, so I am very grateful to residents for this strong demonstration of their feelings on this issue.
“Air pollution affects the quality of life of everyone in the Borough, but for those with asthma or other health conditions, and for children with developing lungs, as seen in the tragic case of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, it could be a matter of life and death.”