The quality of the air in South Hams and West Devon is generally very good. However, there are three locations in South Hams where the air quality fails to meet the national and international levels for nitrogen dioxide and these areas are categorised as Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs). Both South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council have a legal responsibility to produce an air quality action plan. The councils will be carrying out a public consultation on their proposed clean air strategy before deciding which course of action to pursue. The strategy proposes measures such as encouraging the use of ultralow emission vehicles with more electric charging points for cars, as well as exploring ways to improve cycling and pedestrian networks between villages, towns and communities.
The consultation started on 20 April and runs to 20 June; all comments and ideas for potential solutions will be explored and discussed before a final air quality strategy is presented to both councils later in the year. The clean air strategy can be viewed at www.westdevon.gov.uk and to provide feedback please email air.quality@swdevon.gov.uk.