Air pollution is a recognised public health emergency. Southwark Council needs to take action. Or rather, actions. There’s no one solution, but the actions taken need to be both immediate and substantial.

Southwark is consulting on its updated air quality plan. Responses need to be in by 31 January. Southwark Green Party will submit a detailed response and publish it here.  But in short – we think the plan talks a lot about meetings and monitoring and not enough about ideas and action!

We encourage you to respond individually. It’s a very simple form - the one question is quite open: ‘What do you have to say about the Air Quality Strategy and Action Plan?’ So why not use this space to explain to the council how air pollution affects you and why you want the council to do more? Please copy your response to us too at [email protected]

Read on for some suggestions about what councils can do…

It should be ancient history... but it isn't yet!

In July 2012, Southwark Green Party members made a deputation to Southwark Council calling for urgent action on air pollution. Southwark News reported...

Southwark Green Party (SGP) stands in solidarity with Sisters Uncut, a feminist group taking direct action to defend services for victims of domestic violence. As a political party that campaigns for equal rights and better public services, SGP believes that Southwark Council has it within its power to prioritise a sufficient number of its empty council homes to provide refuge for all survivors of domestic abuse. We also call on the council to reinstate Black and Minority Ethnic domestic violence services, which have been cut.

The decision this week by the Government to reject Southwark Council’s application for a Compulsory Purchase Order laid bare how the Council has ignored community objections and prioritised the interests of developers.

Colin Boyle, Chair of Southwark Green Party, responded: “The Aylesbury Estate does need to be regenerated, but this needs to be done in a way that preserves the community, increases the level of social housing, and minimises the environmental impact.” 

Profit-driven developers continue to take their toll on Rotherhithe's pubs. with recent local victims including the Clipper, the Ship York and the Three Compasses. All now face replacement with yet more flats, reducing our area's character, heritage and amenities.

The latest Canada Water Masterplan has confirmed local residents' worst fears. Colin Boyle, Southwark Green Party Chair and local resident, stated that: "The Rotherhithe we know will be lost, and in its place we will have a high-rise, densely packed urban landscape. We need to develop Canada Water, but this proposal is entirely out of keeping with the area and ignores the feedback that local residents provided in previous consultations."