What is being done?
The partnership formed between Oxfordshire County Council, South Oxfordshire District Council and Henley Town Council wants to demonstrate that individuals can make positive choices that will bring benefits to themselves and help towards an improvement in air quality.
The creation of this web site is part of a campaign to bring attention to air quality in Henley and the need to take action to improve on the current situation.
It follows on from the designation of Henley's Air Quality Management Area and production of an Air Quality Action Plan for the town. The Action Plan details ways in which air quality can be improved and its key objective is to reduce the levels of nitrogen dioxide. The Town Centre Management Plan and the Integrated Transport Strategy (ITS) are also important contributors to the campaign.
In general terms the Action Plan concentrates on key areas of the town's life. It takes a look at specific schemes for the town centre, notably the recently implemented "intelligent traffic system" that is designed to reduce the amount of time traffic spends in the area with the most severe problem.
It looks closely at sustainable travel to school and work and at the way we choose to travel in our own social life.
Local schools are playing their part by introducing school travel plans which aim, through education, to reduce overall car usage, focusing instead on walking, cycling and the use of public transport.
Education is a key part of the plan, making it clear that there are ways in which everyone can help to ease the problem. The benefits of cycling and walking are identified as ways of reducing pollution, improving health and saving money.
Alternative car parking facilities (making better use of the long stay car parks), greater parking enforcement and the use of lower emission fuels are included in the action plan, as well as the need for councils to consider the problem of potential air pollution at an early stage within planning applications.
Improved public transport and the introduction of cycle routes in co-operation with Sustrans (the UK's leading sustainable transport charity) are also under consideration.
All these measures form part of a very active campaign by Oxfordshire County Council, South Oxfordshire District Council and Henley Town Council. All three are working closely together to identify the problems and take action to resolve them. Their plans have been developed after a thorough consultation exercise, including workshops, involving individuals, business and organisations.
Useful links
