Town Meeting told: '10 times more spent on preventing

fatal road accidents'

WHY Crediton's air quality is so poor, how it is measured, steps to combat this and the differences in the roles of Mid Devon District Council and Devon County Council took up a good part of the annual Town Meeting.

Attendance this year was poor, about a dozen people from the 7,000 plus population, at the Old Town Hall heard Paul Williams, the district council environmental health manager, talk about air quality.

The annual meeting is called by the town council and is a chance for people to air views and ask questions, but it is not a town council meeting.

Mr Williams said one of the problems was the town's topography, a valley town with a "canyon" on both Exeter Road and High Street, where the main air quality monitors are sited.

Tests at Cullompton had shown a similar problem but not at Tiverton. Willand, however, also had a problem.

He said the effect of poor air quality on health was greater than the effect of passive smoking. Evidence was emerging that show particulates in the air, the really tiny parts the eye cannot see, can cause specific heart disease as well as having a mild effect on sight.

He added that despite the differences between air quality and road death figures, the Government spends ten times more on preventing road fatalities than improving air quality.

Asked what would happen if the link road between the A377 and Lords Meadow failed to reduce air quality sufficiently, Mr Williams said the county council had gone through a "fairly intense" modelling scheme.

Crediton Air Quality Management Scheme was about measuring lots of things in lots of places. "Every little we do will have a knock-on effect,"he said. He added that there would be an instrument to measure PM10s on the High Street.

Asked about health, Mr Williams said the district council was working with the Primary Care Trust, the council itself did not do health checks.

Reports were given by Cllr Frank Letch, Crediton Town Council chairman, Cllr David Nation and Bob Wright as district council Ward members and Cllr Nick Way, Devon County Council.

Pol Sgt Gareth Twigg said a Community Action Day was being planned when councillors and police officers would be visiting areas of the town in June and July to see if people needed advice on smoke alarms or home security.

Want to talk to

the Mayor?

THE Mayor of Crediton, Cllr Frank Letch, is continuing with his monthly "surgeries", when members of the public can ask questions or seek advice.

The next surgery will be held at the Market Street Council Chamber, from 1pm to 1.30pm on Monday, May 17, where people can drop-in to speak with him.

Future surgery dates will be Monday, July 26 and Monday, August 23. Please note there will not be a surgery in June.