Letter: Air pollution - Cut down on use of vehicles

Further to the story about air pollution in Knaresborough, I have to say I agree with James Monaghan totally and am appalled that the council are prepared to oppose a planning application to convert offices to residential use simply to enable them to fudge their own monitoring and thus avoid the need for action.

Whatever type of property their monitor is affixed to, York Place is a predominantly residential area and the health of its residents as well as those of the High Street and Bond End should be protected.

The fact is that nitrous oxide figures are an increasing concern nationally and in conjunction with particulates from diesel vehicles there is growing evidence of them causing serious and long term damage to health.

Hopefully at a national level, diesel is now starting to be seen as a bad thing but given the likely growth in traffic in part caused by an incompetent council and its lack of any local plan this will not help us in the near future.

As a resident of York Place I appreciate on a daily basis that there is simply too much traffic in the town centre including a lot of heavy goods vehicles. To be fair Transdev buses are fairly new and they even have at least one electric bus.

Given the increasing number of serious accidents in the town centre as well as increasing pollution HGV’s, unless actually delivering in the town centre, should be excluded.

I am aware that we need freight transport and would equally wish to see drivers encouraged to switch to buses and particularly walking and cycling.

However the present roads infrastructure in the town offers little encouragement with that for cycling being very poor with almost no cycle lanes or advanced stop lines and traffic lights which do not ‘see’ cyclists.

Finally more people living in the centre can only help by reducing the need for people to use cars and to maintain shops in the town centre.

Richard Hutchings

York Place, Knaresborough 