A last minute plea to KEVICC governors…
Last minute plea to KEVICC governors…
…to consider the health and wellbeing of vulnerable groups as it makes decisions on the future of the Lower Field in Totnes
A local Totnes–based community organisation has raised serious concerns that the impending sell off of the Lower Field for housing or commercial development by the governors at King Edward VI Community College (KEVICC) in Totnes will significantly add to air pollution. The group highlight that vulnerable groups, with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, such as children, older people and people living with disabilities and long–term conditions are at greater risk from increased air pollution.
Inclusive Totnes, which exists to promote and support access and inclusion in all areas of Totnes, has emphasised in a briefing sent to school governors and others, that selling the Lower Field for development will contribute further air pollution to an area already classified as an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) because of its high levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) that already breach legal limits.
Inclusive Totnes, which exists to promote and support access and inclusion in all areas of Totnes, has emphasised in a briefing sent to school governors and others, that selling the Lower Field for development will contribute further air pollution to an area already classified as an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) because of its high levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) that already breach legal limits.
•Exposure to nitrogen dioxide was linked to impaired working memory, general cognitive functions, and psychomotor functions
•Particulate matter 2.5 was linked to difficulties in working memory, short-term memory, attention, processing speed, and fine motor function; black carbon was linked to poor verbal intelligence, nonverbal intelligence, and working memory; and airborne copper was linked to impaired attentiveness and fine motor skills.
•Studies using MRI showed that high concentrations of air pollutants were linked to changes in the brain’s white matter or lower functional integration and segregation in children’s brain networks
Toxic air from pollution can damage children’s growth and leave them with lasting health problems, posing a particularly severe risk to those children and young people already suffering from heart conditions or respiratory problems, such as asthma.
the best option remains agreeing to any offer that won’t result in the field being concreted over
Inclusive Totnes highlights the importance of the KEVICC Lower Field as a green space that currently mitigates air pollution in the AQMA and that, without it, air pollution levels will worsen with additional traffic flows along the A385 corridor. In urban areas, parks and green spaces play an important role in mitigating air pollution from traffic by reducing the building density and enhancing air pollution dispersal. Trees and plants can also affect particulate deposition and are therefore important for reducing the concentration and toxicity of air-borne particles and harmful gases.
Jeff Chinnock from Inclusive Totnes said, “Building more houses or allowing commercial development on the Lower Field will simply add to already dangerously high levels of pollution along the A385 – a road that the majority of children and young people use as the main way of walking to the school”. He added, “While it is understand
able that the governors want to raise much needed money for the school, this should not be done if it results in exposing schoolchildren and others in the community to yet more air pollution. It is simply not defensible to mortgage the health and well being of people in our community for short term gain however tempting it may seem.”
Inclusive Totnes is urging Governors to think again about the consequences of any decisions it will be making about selling off the green space. Jeff Chinnock said, “Given the gravity of the air pollution problem next to the school and mounting evidence of the serious negative impacts on local communities, and particularly on children and young people, it is imperative that KEVICC and South Hams District Council take full and urgent heed of the health warnings from the latest research and of the clear warnings from health
organisations such as WHO and the BMJ”.
“If the governors feel they have no choice but to sell the Lower Field, then the best option remains agreeing to any offer that won’t result in the field being concreted over”
The Report can be viewed in full here