Council Leaves Residents to Choke on Even More Traffic and Fumes… Again

BathNES have failed, yet again, to secure any of the £101 million government funding, allocated this month, to improve walking, wheeling and cycling for residents that is desperately needed to deal with the growing public health and environmental crises. Bath communities, schools, and businesses are condemned, again, to choke on worsening fumes and suffer health issues.

Council leaders have, yet again, failed to win a single penny in funding despite their rhetoric on the transport, nature, and climate emergencies and their costly, and excessive, consultations and grandstanding, and pointless, stunts like their £30,000 ‘Citizens Panel’.

At a time when the Department for Transport and Medical Profession are calling for urgent action to avert the public health and climate crises, BathNES continues to fail its residents and businesses.

Georgia Statham, representing MEDACT, a charity of medical workers advocating for health justice across the West of England, underscored the urgency of these investments to March’s WECA committee:

“Poor public transport doesn’t just result in more people admitted to hospital; it’s also contributing to devastating levels of social isolation and a loneliness epidemic with people stranded, unable to move across the city and access essential services.”[i]

Councillor Joanna Wright emphasises the increasing urgency and vital importance of investment in sustainable transport, noting:

“A lack of investment in sustainable transport denies people a choice, deepening dependence on private vehicles across B&NES, leading to worse air quality and dangerous health issues. According to The Guardian, B&NES has experienced a surge in vehicle emissions and pollution from a failure to provide good infrastructure for alternative travel modes. The inevitable result is more respiratory and cardiovascular illness for residents, as highlighted by MEDACT.”[ii]

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health echoes [iii] a warning from the World Health Organization:

“Air pollution is the single greatest environmental threat to public health. Many of the causes of air pollution are major contributors to climate change, which also impacts on the population’s health.” [iv]

And advises health professionals in the UK to inform patients to [v]:

“Choose to walk or cycle short journeys instead of taking the car. Not only will this reduce emissions, but air pollution is frequently higher inside a vehicle than outside it ii . Active travel also has the added benefits of improving mental and physical health through increased physical activity.”

In 2021, in the hands of the, then, Cabinet Member for Transport Cllr Joanna Wright, BathNES secured funding to transform the city of Bath for tens of thousands of residents and workers. The scheme was lauded across the country for its bold, and equitable, vision and immediate relief to public health, the decades of traffic misery, and urgent action on climate change.

That plan was approved by the Department for Transport and laid out a clear plan to enable:

1. Around 20,000 young people and children to safely walk or cycle to the University of Bath or schools along North Road.
2. Given over 4,800 staff, a safe, clean, and healthy cycle route up to the Royal United Hospital.
3. Drastically reduce the pollution and traffic that blights residents, businesses, and visitors to the UNESCO city.

Yet, in 2021 a faction within the LibDems turned this into a ‘culture war’, choosing to “lose the battle to win the war”. Cllr Warren and Cllr Guy scrapped the schemes, seemingly to gain support for an internal coup, despite advice from experts and campaigners. Eventually, they implemented only a portion of the schemes, including along Upper Bristol Road, which extended only halfway to the RUH and ends at a dangerous location, and Beckford Road.

Cllr Warren has now told the scrutiny panel that the council will create a link to Calverton Down safe for children and young people but there is no funding available, knowing full well that:

4. Cllr Warren, as Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Deputy Leader, herself refused to allocate the funds in hand for the approved North Road scheme in 2021.
5. Cllr Rigby, who then became the Cabinet Member for Transport, insisted upon a Citizen’s Panel and refused to sign-off secured funding from the Department of Transport – which now jeopardises BathNES bids.
6. Three Cabinet members together, Cllr Warren, Rigby and McCabe are failing to deliver what was already secured and funded by Cllr Wright in 2021. Rather, the trio have submitted notably weak proposals that fail to meet minimum funding criteria or public benefit outcomes. They consistently disregard notices and warnings from WECA, experts, and Active Travel England about the inadequacy of their proposals. It’s worth noting that none of these submissions address the crucial North Road or the completion of the RUH route.

The Greens calls for B&NES Council to put political intrigue aside for the sake of residents, businesses, and our environment. Listen to the experts and start delivering the promises they made for a cleaner, safer, and healthier Bath. We note that our group has repeatedly called for a comprehensive circulation plan, which is essential for planning and implementing infrastructure changes. A circulation plan would demonstrate the importance of Liveable Neighbourhoods, such as Sydney Road. The Green group repeatedly call for safe transport route that is LTN1/20 compliant form the city centre to Claverton Down.

Quote from MEDACT’s Georgia Statham. Available here: https://westofengland-ca.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=616

[ii] The Guardian, B&NES has experienced a surge in vehicle emissions and pollution from a failure to provide good infrastructure for alternative travel modes. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/nov/25/bath-residents-resent-congestion-charge-tackle-pollution-nitrogen-dioxide

[iii] Time for urgent action on air quality, says RCPCH. Available from: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/news/time-urgent-action-air-quality-says-rcpch

[iv] World Health Organization. Ten threats to global health in 2019 [Internet]. Emergencies. 2019 [cited 2019 Aug 22]. Available from: www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019#:~:text=These%20range%20from%20outbreaks%20of,change%20and%20multiple%20humanitarian%20crises.

[v] a b c d e f g Royal College of Physicians & Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Every breath we take: The lifelong impact of air pollution [Internet]. London: The Royal College of Physicians; 2016. Available from: https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/every-breath-we-take-lifelong-impact-air-pollution

[vi] Affairs D for EF& R. Air quality: explaining air pollution [Internet]. Policy Paper. 2019 [cited 2019 Aug 22]. Available from: www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-quality-explaining-air-pollution/air-quality-explaining-air-pollution-at-a-glance