21 July 2011 – Keith Taylor, the Green MEP for Sussex and the South East, will bring his new air pollution campaign to Hove on Thursday 21 July. He will meet with children and parents at Davigdor Infant School to commend their efforts to reduce air pollution in an area of the city which has high levels of the pollutant Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).

Keith will be meeting with parents who organize a ‘bike train’, a supervised bike ride to school, to raise his concerns about air pollution and the impact it can have on children’s lung capacity. He will also be distributing a public information leaflet, ‘Air Pollution: The Invisible Killer’, which he has produced to raise awareness of air pollution and its damaging health impacts.

‘Air Pollution: The Invisible Killer’ explains how air pollution is created, how widespread the problem is, how it affects our health and how pollution can be reduced. Keith will also be calling on local people to write to Brighton and Hove Council asking for swift action in tackling this invisible public health crisis. The centre of Brighton is covered by an ‘Air Quality Management Area’ because the government approved level for the harmful pollutant, Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), is being exceeded. This area covers the city centre from the boundary with Adur Council in the west to Black Rock in the east and includes the Old Shoreham Road to the north.

Keith said: “The right to breathe clean air is fundamental. Yet thousands of lives in Brighton & Hove and across the South East are being shortened because air is heavily polluted in many places, mostly by traffic. Government data shows that air pollution contributes to over 200,000 premature deaths every year in the UK. This is an invisible public health crisis which urgently needs to be tackled. ”

“I’m pleased to be joining parents and children in Hove today to highlight the ways in which we can all take action to tackle air pollution. It’s great that Brighton & Hove Council has recently won over £4m of funding from the government’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund to improve air quality on the London Road. It’s this sort of investment in public transport and encouraging people to walk and cycle more which can really help to improve the air around us and make our cities more healthy and pleasant places to live and work.”

Brendan Haworth who runs the Davigdor Bike Train said: “Arranging for local children and parents to cycle to and from school together is not only a safer way to travel, it’s also more fun. Air pollution is a real problem in the centre of Brighton so the more we can do to get people out of their cars and onto bikes the better it is for all of us.”

Keith is taking his campaign to Southampton, Winchester, Hampshire’s ‘Little Green Gathering’, Oxford, Reading, Maidstone, Canterbury, Redhill and Hove.

ENDS