Pollution on residential roads 90% of level on Brixton High Road

Air pollution in London hit record levels yesterday – which should be of particular concern to residents in Lambeth. We have already been drawing attention to the rising levels or air pollution in Brixton. But we have now discovered that the high pollution levels are also present in the residential areas far away from Brixton Road.

Last week, we invited Simon Birkett from Clean Air London to come down to Brixton with a portable air pollution monitor. We took a reading next to the Air monitoring station on Brixton Road. We then went and took readings in the residential streets a hundred years away. What we found was that even in the residential areas, pollution levels can be running at around 90% of levels on the High Road.

It comes as the OECD also warned yesterday air pollution will become the biggest killer globally.

The government and mayor already accept that in London alone, there are at least 4,300 deaths each year linked to air pollution. That makes it a bigger killer than road deaths, obesity and alcohol.

In Lambeth it is something which the Council is failing to address, despite the fact that many of Lambeth's schools lie close to its busiest streets. Lambeth Council has not published an annual air quality report since 2009, nor are they putting out alerts when air quality deteriorates.