A partial ban on the most polluting traffic could be introduced with the establishment of a ‘Low Emission Zone’ in Storrington.
The village has battled air quality issues for a number of years and Horsham District Council held a public exhibition on the Storrington Air Quality Action Plan in February.
According to HDC a technical assessment has identified the principle of a Low Emission Zone as being the most feasible traffic management option compared to ‘gating’ and a ‘Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) ban’.
While feedback suggested residents were strongly in favour of a total HGV van, it is considered the most challenging option on enforcement grounds.
Sue Rogers, HDC’s cabinet member for a safer and healthier district, said: “Air pollution in Storrington is predominantly related to the high volumes of through traffic and we continue to work in partnership with West Sussex County Council and Sussex Police to look at ways of dealing with this.
“Progress is not as rapid as I would have liked but we need to balance public acceptance of possible solutions and the differing priorities of our partners.
“Nevertheless we are moving forward and we will continue to explore ways of managing this problem.”
Further work is now in progress to establish how an effective ‘Low Emission Zone’ could be implemented and enforced in the area.
The Storrington air quality action plan steering group will provide updates as soon as more details become available.
For more information on the Storrington Air Quality action plan, email publichealth.licensing@horsham.gov.uk or call 01403 215609.