Bristol's air pollution hotspots

Three traffic-choked areas of South Gloucestershire suffer from dangerous levels of air pollution, tests have revealed.

Levels of nitrogen dioxide from vehicle fumes are high in the centre of Staple Hill, Kingswood High Street and at the M5 junction 17 roundabout at Cribbs Causeway.

Now opposition councillors on South Gloucestershire Council are calling for action to improve the air quality at the three hotspots after they were first discovered during tests carried out in 2007.

The authority is in the process of designating them Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) so action plans can be drawn up.

However, the council first has to hold a consultation to decide on the precise boundaries of the AQMAs.

Councillor Pat Rooney, the Labour Group spokeswoman on the environment, who represents one of the Kingswood wards affected, said she was disappointed how long it was going to take before action would take place.

She said: "First the council has to consult on the definition of the areas. That will take until October. Then the council has said that it has to undertake even more monitoring until December 2010.

"It appears that it won't be until the spring of 2011 before anything is to be done about the poor air quality."

Fellow councillor Shirley Potts, who represents Staple Hill, said: "The council has been monitoring air quality across South Gloucestershire since the mid- 1990s. This is not a problem that they have suddenly discovered. It's disappointing that no real action will be taken for so long."

Another Kingswood councillor, Julie Walker, who represents the Kings Chase ward, said: "The changes to the road network in central Kingswood in 2002 were, in part, designed to reduce vehicle emissions.

"While they helped a bit, it's clear that further work needs to be done and I hope the sooner it gets under way the better."

The areas to be designated as AQMAs are Broad Street (A4175), High Street (B4465), Victoria Street and Soundwell Road (A4017) crossroads in Staple Hill; Regent Street (A420) in Kingswood; and the M5 roundabout at Junction 17 at Cribbs Causeway.

Councillor Heather Goddard, Conservative Cabinet member for communities, said: "Mr Potts was the Labour councillor previously in charge of the communities department and I can find little evidence of a proactive approach to dealing with air quality issues during that time. They seem to have been allowed to get worse and have been left to me to sort out.

"The timetable that we are following to address these complex and long-standing issues is set down by the Government. If Labour councillors have an issue with this then they should take it up with Labour ministers."