A PLAN to improve air quality on Kingshill Road is not radical enough, a councillor has said.

The steep road became the first area in Swindon to breach legal air pollution limits. Swindon Borough Council says nitrogen dioxide levels need to fall by 30 per cent to get air quality back to safe levels.

A pollution plan was published last month, with residents given a deadline of February 3 to share their views.

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But South Swindon parish councillors this week branded the proposals disappointing and called on the borough council to go further.

Coun Patrick Herring, vice-chairman of the parish planning committee, said: “They need to reduce emissions from vehicles by 30 per cent, but there are no measures to reduce traffic.

“There’s no plan to re-route traffic or prioritise other routes like the southern connector through Wichelstowe.

“There’s nothing to do with public transport. There are no measures to increase cycling or walking other than a fluffy, ‘we will promote cycling and walking’ point.

“I can’t see how this achieves what it needs to achieve.

There’s a lot they could do. The plan is not without ideas. I just think they really need to perk it up a bit.”

He pointed to proposals by Oxford City Council to introduce a zero-emissions zone in the city centre, banning all petrol and diesel vehicles from the roads by 2035. “It’s not that I’m suggesting we do the same, it’s just that I’m highlighting other councils are taking a slightly bolder approach,” Coun Herring said. “We should expect at least a little bit of radicalism in here.”

Old Town parish councillors Nadine Watts and Nick Burns-Howell welcomed borough recommendations to install road signage to promote alternative routes and replace more polluting council vehicles with low-emission trucks. But they said the plans should go further.

The borough suggests it could ban highly-polluting lorries from using Kingshill and support bus companies to minimise emissions.

Stan Pajak, who as Eastcott ward councillor is involved in a council air quality committee, admitted the Kingshill plan did not offer the magic solution. He claimed improved vehicles would help cut pollution levels over the next five years, although this was disputed by other councillors.

Responding, the borough's cabinet member for public safety urged people to have their say on the air quality plans.

Coun Cathy Martyn said: “The houses on Kingshill are extremely close to the road, creating a road canyon. We know that a very large number of vehicles use this road and the houses block the prevailing wind, trapping and raising levels of nitrogen dioxide.”

“We are currently consulting on measures to put into a plan which will be sent to DEFRA (Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs) to address the air quality on Kingshill Road, and we are still seeking residents' views on how this can be achieved.

“Residents have until Sunday, 3 February 2019 to feedback on the Air Quality Action Plan for Kingshill Road and can do so by logging on to: https://bit.ly/2rXtOlv. I urge all residents, including Parish Councillor Herring, to respond to the consultation.”

To respond to the consultation, visit: www.swindon.gov.uk.