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Buckinghamshire’s County and District Councils rise to the challenge of Clean Air Day

| June 21, 2018

All five councils in Buckinghamshire will be participating in Clean Air Day on Thursday 21st June 2018.

Staff at the County and four District councils in Buckinghamshire will be encouraged to either walk or cycle to work, car share, park and stride or to use public transport.

Messages promoting Clean Air Day have also been displayed on all major routes into Aylesbury town centre on the electronic road signs with a message highlighting what action motorists can take to improve air quality on the day itself.

Latest research shows that 234 deaths in Buckinghamshire in 2016 were directly attributed to poor air quality and the annual cost to the UK of air pollution is in the region of £20 billion.

As well as this 25% of all car journeys in the UK are less than two miles. As a nation, if we all walked those short journeys we would burn 3.6 billion calories and save £16m in fuel, all while improving air quality.

Poor air quality is a problem which affects all areas within Buckinghamshire and as such officers and councillors from Buckinghamshire County Council and the four District Councils (Aylesbury Vale District Council, Chiltern District Council, South Bucks District Council and Wycombe District Council) are working together to increase awareness of the local and national picture to identify good practices across the county.

Liz Walsh Cabinet Member for Healthy Communities at Chiltern District Council said: ‘I fully support the Clean Air Day campaign which is a great initiative to raise awareness of the dangers of air pollution and encourage everyone to be a bit more green.

Small things like turning your car engine off when in traffic or waiting to pick someone up can make a big difference if we all do it, so I encourage everyone to think about what they can do this Clean Air Day, and indeed every day.

Sir Beville Stanier Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste at Aylesbury Vale District Council said: ‘Public awareness of air pollution is on the increase, but there’s a long way to go to ensure we’re all better at protecting ourselves. This campaign is designed to help the public find out more about the issues surrounding air pollution and how everyone can make a difference.

Bill Chapple OBE Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment at Buckinghamshire County Council said: ‘Together with the districts we met in May for the county’s first ever Air Quality conference to explore joined up working, maximising the health benefits of clean air for residents. Clean Air Day is an important first step for us in tackling these issues.

Further information on Clean Air Day is available on the www.cleanairday.org.uk website.

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