2 May 2023

Monitoring and planning to keep air quality within legal limits is the responsibility of Swale Borough Council. Swale has an Air Quality Action Plan, which is being updated at present. As Kent County Council is the highways authority, the support of the Conservative administration at KCC is necessary for any highway intervention to improve air quality. 

Since 2019, Green party members and Swale Councillors have consistently lobbied Kent County Council to act on the poor levels of air quality and high levels of traffic along the A2. Working with local researchers, including members of the Faversham Society, and building on the work of Green Councillors at Swale Borough Council, we have produced evidence that shows how dangerous it would be not to act.

Keeping traffic moving smoothly is important to air quality. Stop–start driving emits more pollution. Kent County Council Cabinet Members have consistently refused to reduce speed limits or introduce traffic calming on the A2.

The Green Party members campaigning on this issue have offered practical and, in most cases, affordable solutions, many of which KCC has introduced along roads across the county, including in Margate and Littlebourne, yet Conservatives continue to ignore our work and delay any attempts to improve the situation on the A2. 

One obvious step would be to reduce the number of HGV journeys through the air quality management areas. This could be achieved by relocating some of the logistics businesses in Swale. In 2018 Conservative-run Kent County Council gave planning permission to East Kent Recycling to expand its operation at Oare. This has been a blight on the A2 ever since. Green Party air quality group volunteers have photographed East Kent Recycling trucks, which are regularly overloaded, unbalanced and without chain covers, yet KCC officials refuse to enforce compliance with the planning conditions.

The major source of pollution is from older diesel vehicles with most of the pollution coming from old diesel cars. KCC refused to allow even a non-charging low emission zone along the A2 corridor, which would include signage and other measures to help reduce pollution.

Since 2019 Swale Borough Council has done what it can to improve air quality, including: working with schools on travel plans; working with businesses to improve their fleet; enforcing anti-idling legislation; running an electric council fleet; and installing car chargers to encourage use of electric vehicles.

The Swale Green Party air quality group will continue to monitor air quality and use this evidence to put pressure on our councils to act, but so much more could be achieved with support from Kent County Council.

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