IS IT correct to state that pollution has increased because of the new cycle lanes on the A270 like Steve Bell claimed (Cycle lane: Will the council listen this time, The Argus, Saturday, July 3)?

The official annual council report into air pollution has not been released yet. It was also mentioned in the March 25 full council meeting that "no air quality data is currently available". This doesn’t sound like good evidence to base decisions around.

I began campaigning to improve Brighton’s air quality after learning that my health condition was caused by dirty air and many areas in the city experience high levels of pollution.

It is not just me who suffers, many suffer the effects of toxic air, many likely unknowingly. Public Health England tell us that dirty air is responsible for 32,000 early deaths in the UK and is the cause of ill health.

Brighton suffers the worst air quality in the South East region and the two most polluted areas in Sussex. Those most vulnerable to the detrimental effects of pollution are children, the elderly, pregnant and those with existing medical conditions.

The majority of the pollution in Brighton comes from motor traffic. This includes buses, motorbikes, taxis, lorries, vans as well as cars. Buses for instance are the greatest source of pollution in London Road, Western Road and North Street. Cars are most responsible for the pollution in Hollingbury Road, Lewes Gyratory and New England Road.

A few people have been overly eager to convince us that congestion is higher now because of the cycle lanes but the motor industry statistics tell us that congestion is now lower than it was in 2019. If pollution were affected only by congestion then we would surely expect pollution to be lower too. However, air pollution science is complicated and is affected by many other variables such as air flow, width of the road and height of buildings. To blame pollution solely on congestion and cycle lanes is not a fair summary of the science.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes guidance on what we should do. It recommends a number of approaches such as

improving cycling and walking infrastructure to enable us to move to more sustainable methods of transport; a clean air zone like the ultra-low emission zone that reduced pollution in central London by 36 per cent; improvements in monitoring air quality and also distancing us from the source of emissions.

Distancing people from traffic by three metres (the width of the cycle lane), according to DEFRA’s online calculator, can reduce pollution by ten to 20 per cent for the residents, cyclists, pedestrians and waiting bus users on the A270. Reducing the width of the wide cycle lane to make use for a row of bushes or long grass, to act as a barrier between the road and people, could further reduce our exposures to pollution.

So, is Steve Bell correct to say pollution has gone up? My opinion is, because congestion is down, people are further away from the emissions and people are choosing more sustainable transport options such as cycling and walking, it is actually likely air quality will have become more healthy but, like Cllr Steve Bell, this is just an opinion. My stronger view is we should be testing the air more when we make alterations to our city to allow decisions to be based on evidence. So, before we rip out what could make us more healthy, let us invest in better air pollution monitoring and, instead of unevidenced opinion, allow us to be guided by the science and assist our councillors and officers in making more accurate and informed decisions in future.

Adrian Hill (clean air campaigner)

Address supplied