Research carried out by the Green Party in Calderdale has highlighted the high levels of air pollution along the main road between Halifax and Bradford, raising concerns about the impact on residents’ health.
Green Party Councillor Martin Hey and Shelf resident Dan Wood placed air quality monitors provided by Asthma and Lung UK on Carr House Road in Shelf and Godley Cutting in Shibden for four weeks. The monitors detect the level of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere, a pollutant caused by road vehicles, which causes respiratory tract infections including asthma.
The monitors assessed that the levels of nitrogen dioxide were as high as 80 micrograms per cubic meter in the area – twice the legal level in the UK and way above those advocated by the World Health Organisation.
The monitors were placed at four locations between 4 December 2022 and 4 January 2023. They were then sent to Laboratory Gradko, a UKAS accredited laboratory specialising in the determination of gaseous pollutant concentrations. The readings received in March were as follows:
| Carr House Road, Shelf | 80.8 micrograms per cubic metre |
| Witchfield Hill,Shelf | 61.1 micrograms per cubic metre |
| Godley Cutting, Shibden | 78.4 micrograms per cubic metre |
| The Incline, Shibden | 86.1 micrograms per cubic metre |
Shelf resident Dan Wood who is standing as a candidate for the Green Party in May’s local elections said:
‘It’s not surprising given the traffic congestion on this road but it’s still shocking. It’s so unfair that people living and working in our area are forced to breathe in dirty air which will increase the likelihood of lung problems and asthma attacks over time.’
Northowram and Shelf Councillor Martin Hey said:
‘Our findings come just at the time when Calderdale Council is set to give the go ahead to the Local Plan which envisages building nearly 1000 houses in the ward, without any plans to reduce traffic levels or increase public transport. It’s short-sighted and is putting the health and wellbeing of residents particularly the young, old, and those with pre-existing conditions, at risk.’
The Green Party of England and Wales is proposing that clean air be made a human right. A Green Party Bill, which has received cross party support in the House of Lords, is called Ella’s Law after nine year old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who died from an asthma attack brought on by traffic fumes and was the first person in the UK to have air pollution cited as cause of death.
For more information contact Cllr Martin Hey, by phone: 07840 743297 or Twitter: @martinhey1966.