Co-signed letter: David Ellesmere
See original letter and various responses. Latest on top
Sent 26th March 2021
Dear Mr Ellesmere,
As requested we have provided more detail and also shown how we and the wider community can help.
With a health issue such as this time is of the essence and we look forward to your reply so we can all start to work together to improve the health and prosperity of the town.
Regards,
Tony Horner for
Women’s Institute – Ipswich (Cake and Revolution), a local group with a mission to bring all that the WI should be & more, to local women….all in the hope that we can strive to make a difference in our local Community!
Ipswich Citizens Advice, a local charity providing free, impartial & confidential advice on rights & responsibilities.
Woodbridge Road Pharmacy, NHS Community Pharmacy and full-service Travel Clinic serving the people of Ipswich.
Cycle Ipswich, a cycle campaigning group for the Greater Ipswich area, aiming to get improvements to walking and cycling infrastructure, such as protected cycle tracks and quieter neighbourhoods.
Charles Stanley Wealth Managers, providing financial advice to its wide cliental.
Dove Pub Inn, multi award winning freehouse including Great British Pub Awards Cask Ale Pub of the Year 2013.
Grazing Sheep Café, serving award winning breakfasts, lunch, brunch and coffee overlooking the idyllic Ipswich marina.
Start! Moving Ipswich, an environmental and traffic think tank.
Ipswich Friends of the Earth part of a movement creating a safer climate, flourishing nature, and healthy air, water and food, now and for future generations. Campaigning for change in our community to make a difference to the environment locally, nationally, and globally.
Ipswich CAN campaigning for legal air in Ipswich.
Suffolk UNITE Community serving its members.
East Anglian Copdock Bike Show, campaigning for free motorcycle parking in towns and running a annual show bringing 10,000 people into Ipswich with funds going to good causes.
SuffolkYoga.com lessons, workshops, 1-1, corporate. Breathe, stretch, smile.
Clean Air for East Suffolk campaigning for clean air
Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House trustees on behalf of the congregation membership
Sent 2nd march 2021
Dear Mr Ellesmere,
We understand that as an elected official, you are as passionate about the health and wellbeing of Ipswich people as we are. COVID-19 has led us all to think differently about these issues and to understand that nothing changes without clear leadership. This has been recognised by DEFRA and PHE. The heavy lifting and financial burden may be met by other partners but the critical role of planning for real change sits with you as the senior partner in this case.
There is only so much that can be put in an email so perhaps you’d like to meet on Zoom to discuss things further and see how we can help each other to achieve our shared aim?
Also, to reduce the length of this email Ipswich CAN have created a new page with links to the government documents and the responsibilities of elected representatives.
As mentioned, this link shows that DEFRA and PHE emphasise the critical importance of leadership.
DEFRA/PHE also state the need for a media campaign because changes in behaviour can only succeed if there is a clear reason ‘why’ we must change. As you say “Little evidence was identified of behavioural interventions that promote alternative methods of transport as having a direct impact on air pollution or health outcomes” without providing the motivation for the change.
The £6m investment in replacing your fleet will contribute to IBC becoming carbon neutral but freedom of information tells us it will have very little effect on air pollution. So, although laudable it is perhaps not the best use of our money when considering the health outcomes of Ipswich people.
We also acknowledge the other measures you have taken, but they do not significantly reduce air pollution. Both IBC and SCC need to take further actions, together, to reduce air pollution to legal levels and discharge your shared statutory obligations.
What we urge you to do
Drive collaborative leadership.
The government has anticipated relationship or working level problems in tiered councils and so explicitly stated the responsibilities of each in legislation and associated guidance. It also states what you can do if the relationship is too fraught.
We urge you to drive collaborative leadership in line with DEFRA/PHE guidance and as the most senior IBC elected member.
SCC have a wider Suffolk brief and appear unlikely to take any actions unless Ipswich is shouting from the rooftops and they understand after 13 years enough is enough. We need action. Your leadership is necessary to bring together all parties who can contribute to create a coherent strategy and action plan and that brings together measures from all parties.
Air pollution kills Conservatives, LibDems, Greens and Labour supporters. We urge you as part of your collaborative leadership to put party politics to one side and bring all parties and Suffolk County Council together for the health of Ipswich people.
Once we see evidence of this leadership, and the acknowledgement that IBC has measures to input, we will support you and IBC in any way we can to help achieve the health outcomes for us all.
We have urged you to take 7 actions. We have tried to be a little more explicit and also indicated how we, and the wider community, may be able to help with each of these actions.
1. Inform and Advise. Quickly start a sustained communications campaign telling the truth about air pollution, its health impacts, what we can do to help, and your plans for local authority action. This will help to change our behaviour and help ourselves to reduce pollution and reduce the unnecessary deaths and suffering whilst you take the lead on key local authority interventions. This should not require large budget and will start the process of saving lives. Engage with local media, SCC, Suffolk’s Director of Public Health and community groups.
DEFRA/PHE urges local authorities to do this. To your point, they tell us people are unlikely to change their behaviour unless they have a reason to do so. Posters telling people to walk or cycle or use a park and ride will not be successful unless people know why they should walk, cycle, ride buses or take the train, etc. And of course, to your point, we can’t ask people to use facilities that don’t exist – see action 2.
Our point ‘shouldn’t require a large budget’ relates to this action. We believe this can be done with a small budget. This is a critically important action to save lives, right now.
We would envisage an ongoing campaign including posters, newspaper articles, flyers - including to people in their car in congestion and given out to shoppers as well as directly to homes, radio and tv, via campaign and community groups, via businesses to their employees, via schools and PTA’s to parents and guardians, etc.
For those worst affected areas, we’d expect some prominent signs telling people to walk slowly, dismount from your bike and don’t exercise. Also, to keep windows closed during the worst times. Stuart Keeble should help.
We believe in the future people will look back at air pollution with the same horror as smoking.
To know and not tell will be a terrible legacy.
We can contribute to the development and dissemination of messages. We can engage constructively with the local media
2. Plan for legal air. Immediately lobby SCC to engage meaningfully with you in line with legislation so that within 90 days you can produce your combined IBC/SCC holistic plan to deliver legal air and meet government targets. Clearly, as 80% of roadside pollution is due to vehicles, the focus should be on reducing vehicles in town and providing alternative transport options.
A list of possible actions is given below. Some of these are responsibility of SCC and others IBC but need to be planned together rather than as isolated actions. Many of these actions have already been taken by other towns and cities in the UK and abroad. SCC and IBC do not need to re-invent the wheel and have the advantage of their experience.
Possible local authority action include:
· Clean air zones, no-through-town for vehicles, forbidding the dirtiest vehicles in favour of cleaner ones, low or zero emission last mile services. All payment services.
· Smooth driving and speed reduction.
· Creating safe cycling and walking routes and areas.
· Create safe and secure parking for cycles and other zero emission personal transport.
· Vehicle free roads and extensive pedestrian and green areas.
· Street designs and road layouts.
· Traffic management
· Parking management.
· Charging businesses for their car parking and encouraging two people in a car.
· Reducing car parking spaces.
· Reviewing car parking pricing strategies.
· Review car parking perks for local authority and agencies. Discouraging car use and encouraging the use of alternative transport methods.
· Re-purpose car parks to housing and green areas.
· Integrate rail and bus services.
· Development management.
· Local planning.
· Reducing emissions from public sector transport services and vehicle fleets.
· Reviewing and enforcing Smoke Control areas.
· Encourage the use of zero emission vehicles with charging points.
Current AQAP measure number 25 – congestion charging/clean air zone, etc - is down as IBC lead, is high impact, was supposed to be implemented in 2019, and would be a great candidate for high priority action.
What the people of Ipswich can do (with action 1 above), includes
· Don’t idle cars.
· Share cars.
· Cycle or walk more.
· Use public transport.
· Use Park and Ride.
· Use the train.
· Walk our children to school where possible.
· When we come to replace their car, replace it with a lower emission or, if affordable, a zero-emission car.
We hear about the high cost of measures, but no work has been completed to determine their cost and impact/effectiveness.
Some of the measures will also be revenue raising such as congestion charging and this can be integrated into plan affordability.
DEFRA describe how the AQAP should be constructed. Quotes from TG16, the AQAP should include;
· Quantification of impacts of proposed measures. It should ensure that compliance is not just ‘possible’ but ‘likely’. It is important that the local authority shows how it intends to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan;
· Clear timescales, including milestones and expected outcomes, which the authority and other delivery partners propose to implement the measures within the AQAP; and
· Defined roles and responsibilities that detail how the local authority and other delivery partners, including transport, planning and health departments, will take ownership of the problem and in what capacity they will work together to implement the AQAP.
In addition to helping to develop the strategies and plans we could help identify people with skills currently missing or in short supply in the local authorities. Such as; programme and project management, research and analysis, business development, financial modelling and analysis, etc.
3. Deliver legal air. Implement the highest impact actions.
Once the various measures are costed and their impacts estimated, you can implement those measures that have most impact for their cost, and then lobby for additional funds for those important measures that can’t be afforded.
4. Engage with the community for transparency, input and feedback throughout the planning, implementation and review stages.
In the same way that people need to be motivated to make behavioural changes, Ipswich people also need to understand and contribute to the most significant necessary changes.
We can use our networks to help identify groups and individuals.
5. Review all current spending, plans and strategies to ensure that these do not conflict with the objective of reducing air pollution.
6. Lobby HMG for further funds and support SCC in their lobbying of HMG to ensure that air pollution is quickly and permanently lowered.
7. Continuously review the effectiveness of the air quality plan, modifying and re-thinking if actual impact does not meet predicted impact.
Lastly, let’s help create a vision of a new Ipswich
2021 will be watershed year with health high on everyone’s agenda in an internet-shopping and flexible-working world. This will have a big impact on town centres. With appropriate vision can be a great opportunity for a new, healthy vibrant and successful Ipswich.
Creating this vision for a future Ipswich should be developed with as much new and vibrant input as possible.
Specifically, its development should be widened out from the officers and councillors of IBC or agencies financed by local or central government.
We can use our networks to help identify people and provide support.
With the impact of air pollution on Covid-19 there is an even greater need for urgency, and we look forward to your leadership, action and in supporting you to achieve our shared aims.
Yours Sincerely,
Tony Horner for
Women’s Institute – Ipswich (Cake and Revolution), a local group with a mission to bring all that the WI should be & more, to local women….all in the hope that we can strive to make a difference in our local Community!
Ipswich Citizens Advice, a local charity providing free, impartial & confidential advice on rights & responsibilities.
Woodbridge Road Pharmacy, NHS Community Pharmacy and full-service Travel Clinic serving the people of Ipswich.
Cycle Ipswich, a cycle campaigning group for the Greater Ipswich area, aiming to get improvements to walking and cycling infrastructure, such as protected cycle tracks and quieter neighbourhoods.
Charles Stanley Wealth Managers, providing financial advice to its wide cliental.
Dove Pub Inn, multi award winning freehouse including Great British Pub Awards Cask Ale Pub of the Year 2013.
Grazing Sheep Café, serving award winning breakfasts, lunch, brunch and coffee overlooking the idyllic Ipswich marina.
Start! Moving Ipswich, an environmental and traffic think tank.
Ipswich Friends of the Earth part of a movement creating a safer climate, flourishing nature, and healthy air, water and food, now and for future generations. Campaigning for change in our community to make a difference to the environment locally, nationally, and globally.
Ipswich CAN campaigning for legal air in Ipswich.
Suffolk UNITE Community serving its members.
East Anglian Copdock Bike Show, campaigning for free motorcycle parking in towns and running a annual show bringing 10,000 people into Ipswich with funds going to good causes.
SuffolkYoga.com lessons, workshops, 1-1, corporate. Breathe, stretch, smile.
Clean Air for East Suffolk campaigning for clean air
Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House trustees on behalf of the congregation membership
Received 22nd February 2021
Dear Tony,
Thank you for your email.
I think we both agree on the need to improve poor air quality in Ipswich. Ipswich Borough Council’s legal responsibility is to monitor air quality and produce an action plan to improve it which has to be signed off by the Government. The Council’s current plan was signed off in XXXXX 20XX.
It is acknowledged that the major cause of poor air quality is from transport and that to effect largescale improvements, significant amounts of funding will be required from national Government. Ipswich Borough Council is not the highways authority and therefore doesn’t have the powers or the funding to effect major change.
That said, Ipswich Borough Council takes its responsibilities seriously and is investing significantly on measures to improve air quality:
We are investing £6 million to replace our vehicle fleet with ultralow or zero emission electric vehicles
We are installing public EV charging points in our car parks including 28 EV charging points at Crown Car Park – the largest concentration of publicly available EV charging points in Suffolk
We have ensured Ipswich retains a comprehensive bus network by not taking a dividend from Ipswich Buses and subsidised routes under threat when Suffolk County Council – whose responsibility it is – refused to do so
We have changed taxi licensing conditions to phase out older, more polluting vehicles
We have undertaken a major tree planting programme – 1,000 trees planted last year and a “two for one” replacement programme for any tree on IBC land that has to be removed
What I am not clear on from your email is what action to improve air quality in Ipswich you support. I am a little puzzled by your statement that this “shouldn’t take a large budget”. The projects in the PHE “Review of Interventions” you refer to are certainly not cheap. If you are just talking about a public information campaign then the PHE document specifically says “Little evidence was identified of behavioural interventions that promote alternative methods of transport as having a direct impact on air pollution or health outcomes.”
It does say that “The highest potential to improve air quality and public health outcomes is associated with combining behavioural interventions with other policy or infrastructure-based interventions (for example, improving public transport or cycling infrastructure and then using behavioural interventions to maximise its use).” This makes sense to me as we can’t encourage people to use alternative modes of transport that don’t exist (e.g. Park and Ride or rural bus services). To this end, a top priority for us is to persuade Suffolk County Council to back the re-opening of Park and Ride at Bury Road and opening a new Park and Ride at Nacton Road.
What I’d be keen to hear from you is which specific projects to improve air quality in Ipswich you would support.
Regards,
Cllr David Ellesmere
Leader
Ipswich Borough Council
Sent 15th February 2021 Original letter
Dear Mr Ellesmere,
We are writing, as a community of groups supporting Ipswich clean air, urging you to provide leadership and take the actions below.
Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) tell us that air pollution is the leading environmental risk to human health and that this is a particular threat to vulnerable groups including the elderly, the very young and those with existing health issues and that see this as high priority for further and tighter legislation.
Ipswich Borough Council (IBC) and Suffolk County Council (SCC) tell us that at least 63 Ipswich people die each year from air pollution and many more suffer serious brain, heart and lung diseases.
Public Health England (PHE) tell us that people with existing health conditions are more vulnerable to the horrors of Covid 19.
People are demanding that in 2021 we move forward with a fair and green recovery from Covid 19.
IBC and SCC noted illegal Ipswich air pollution in your 2008 Air Quality Action Plan but have failed to reduce pollution for 13 years despite being required to do so by legislation. Freedom of Information Request has confirmed you have no plan to do so during 2021.
In a landmark ruling Coroner said 9-year-old “Ella Kissi-Debrah died of asthma contributed to by exposure to excessive and illegal air pollution.” He also said "There was also a lack of information given to Ella's mother that possibly contributed to her death." Ella’s mum said “If only I’d known” . https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/16/girls-death-contributed-to-by-air-pollution-coroner-rules-in-landmark-case
In an evidence-based report PHE tell us how to permanently reduce air pollution Review of interventions and other towns and cities are taking these actions.
We understand there are significant challenges. However, with courage and leadership you can help protect the people you serve and start to build a wonderful healthy and prosperous town that people love to work, visit and live in.
We offer you collaboration and support, in return for your leadership and urgency.
We urge you to;
Inform and Advise. Quickly start a sustained communications campaign telling the truth about air pollution, its health impacts, what we can do to help, and your plans for local authority action. This will help to change our behaviour and help ourselves to reduce pollution and reduce the unnecessary deaths and suffering whilst you take the lead on key local authority interventions. This should not require large budget and will start the process of saving lives. Engage with local media, SCC, Suffolk’s Director of Public Health and community groups.
Plan for legal air. Immediately lobby SCC to engage meaningfully with you in line with legislation so that within 90 days you can produce your IBC/SCC combined holistic plan to deliver legal air and meet government targets. Clearly, as 80% of roadside pollution is due to vehicles, the focus should be on reducing vehicles in town and providing alternative transport options.
Deliver legal air. Implement the highest impact actions.
Engage with the community for transparency, input and feedback throughout the planning, implementation and review stages.
Review all current spending, plans and strategies to ensure that these do not conflict with the objective of reducing air pollution.
Lobby HMG for further funds and support SCC in their lobbying of HMG to ensure that air pollution is quickly and permanently lowered.
Continuously review the effectiveness of the air quality plan, modifying and re-thinking if actual impact does not meet predicted impact..
Now more than ever, you must lead and take action.
Dear Mr Hicks,
We are writing, as a community of groups supporting Ipswich clean air, urging you to provide leadership and take the actions below.
Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) tell us that air pollution is the leading environmental risk to human health and that this is a particular threat to vulnerable groups including the elderly, the very young and those with existing health issues and that see this as high priority for further and tighter legislation.
Ipswich Borough Council (IBC) and Suffolk County Council (SCC) tell us that at least 63 Ipswich people die each year from air pollution and many more suffer serious brain, heart and lung diseases.
Public Health England (PHE) tell us that people with existing health conditions are more vulnerable to the horrors of Covid 19.
People are demanding that in 2021 we move forward with a fair and green recovery from Covid 19.
IBC and SCC noted illegal Ipswich air pollution in your 2008 Air Quality Action Plan but have failed to reduce pollution for 13 years despite being required to do so by legislation. Freedom of Information Request has confirmed you have no plan to do so during 2021.
In a landmark ruling Coroner said 9-year-old “Ella Kissi-Debrah died of asthma contributed to by exposure to excessive and illegal air pollution.” He also said "There was also a lack of information given to Ella's mother that possibly contributed to her death." Ella’s mum said “If only I’d known” . https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/16/girls-death-contributed-to-by-air-pollution-coroner-rules-in-landmark-case
In an evidence-based report PHE tell us how to permanently reduce air pollution Review of interventions and other towns and cities are taking these actions.
We understand there are significant challenges. However, with courage and leadership you can help protect the people you serve and start to build a wonderful healthy and prosperous town that people love to work, visit and live in.
We offer you collaboration and support, in return for your leadership and urgency.
We urge you to;
Inform and Advise. Quickly start a sustained communications campaign telling the truth about air pollution, its health impacts, what we can do to help, and your plans for local authority action. This will help to change our behaviour and help ourselves to reduce pollution and reduce the unnecessary deaths and suffering whilst you take the lead on key local authority interventions. This should not require large budget and will start the process of saving lives. Engage with local media, IBC, Suffolk’s Director of Public Health and community groups.
Plan for legal air. In line with legislation submit your measures within 90 days - related to local transport, highways and public health - so that you can produce the IBC/SCC combined holistic air quality action plan to deliver legal air and meet government targets. Clearly, as 80% of roadside pollution is due to vehicles, the focus should be on reducing vehicles in town and providing alternative transport options.
Deliver legal air. Implement the highest impact actions.
Engage with the community for transparency, input and feedback throughout the planning, implementation and review stages.
Review all current spending, plans and strategies to ensure that these do not conflict with the objective of reducing air pollution.
Lobby HMG for further funds and support SCC in their lobbying of HMG to ensure that air pollution is quickly and permanently lowered.
Continuously review the effectiveness of the air quality plan, modifying and re-thinking if actual impact does not meet predicted impact.
Now more than ever, you must lead and take action.