Air quality is in the News again after a Liberal Democrat investigation found that air pollution monitors all over the borough are breaching World Health Organisation guidelines.
The damaging effects, especially on our children, were called “Dickensian” in this week’s paper by Cllr Victor Chamberlain, a Lib Dem councillor for Borough and Bankside.
Despite this, it is important to acknowledge both that the council is making an effort to counter air pollution and that lots of the causes are outside Southwark’s direct control. Transport for London (TfL) manages London’s red routes, including some of the borough’s busiest roads like Old Kent Road and Jamaica Road.
Every Southwark air quality monitor breaks World Health Organisation safety levels
Meanwhile Southwark councillors have warned that the Silvertown Tunnel, long planned for Greenwich, is likely to cause tailbacks that could drive even more traffic towards Tower Bridge and Tooley Street when it is completed, possibly worsening the air pollution problem.
We need Southwark to keep up the work it is doing to tackle air pollution, but also to go further – to put pressure on mayor Sadiq Khan to cancel the tunnel, even at this late stage.