Press Release from the Breathe Clean Air Group
“Trafford Labour Group’s positive proposal for achieving improved air quality in the borough has been cynically watered down by the Conservative Council’s amendments,” said Peter Kilvert, Chairman of the Breathe Clean Air Group.
The proposal put to the Council meeting on Wednesday 18th October aimed to tackle all forms of air pollution, but the Council has deliberately changed this positive move by only focussing on roadside nitrogen dioxide. They also added a further amendment delaying clean air until 2050. “This delay of over 30 years and the focus on road traffic pollution only, means that the Council is welcoming Peel’s dirty biomass plant, air pollution from coal bed methane fracking and possibly many more dirty processes in the planning pipeline,” added Mr Kilvert.
Air Pollution from burning wood is already causing concern in Trafford as wood-burning domestic stoves proliferate. It is impossible to filter out the tiny particulate matter produce by these devices. It not only affects the health of the owners of the stoves, but their neighbours too. In California only this month, the Governor has signed a Senate Bill which establishes a Wood Smoke Reduction Program supporting the replacement of wood stoves for clean alternatives. The US Environment Protection Agency says one wood-burning stove emits the equivalent particulate pollution of five old diesel busses.
The European Environment Agency in Copenhagen has announced this month that filthy air has killed half a million people in Europe in 2014. Air pollution is the single largest environmental risk in Europe. Particulate matter has estimated to have killed 428,000 people prematurely and the main source was domestic wood burning.
“It’s time that Trafford Council took air pollution seriously,” added Mr Kilvert. “They are delaying action until well after their own retirement time from the Council. They are allowing the Peel Biomass Incinerator to operate and pollute us for the next 30 years. The Council must not grant planning permission to uncontrolled, dirty processes such as power generation, incineration, factory processes and coal bed methane fracking as well as domestic wood burning devices.”
manchester climate monthly 
For me, Trafford’s attitude towards air pollution is perfectly (if that’s the right word) summed up by the primary school next to, and just below the embankment of, Junction 9 of the M60 – not far from the Trafford Centre. And, in fact, there’s another primary school, not far away, on the other side of the junction! Did anyone think, when those schools were constructed, this might not be a good place for small children to spend lots of time in?… Silly me! Of course they didn’t!
As for wood-burning stoves. What’s the problem? Wood smoke – natural, innit? Yeah, like Deadly Nightshade, typhoid and gamma radiation are natural – they’ll still kill you though! Actually, one of my near neighbours may be killing me with wood smoke. My house is at a lower level than the one with the offending stove. I think that, on still winter nights, the smoke sinks and gets into my house via the air-bricks which keep the space below the floor-boards ventilated. I constantly smell smoke and I think that these people are burning any old rubbish. Most districts of Manchester (all districts of Manchester?) are supposed to be ‘smoke-free-zones’ – but they’re definitely not any more!