UK air quality 'must improve to prevent premature deaths'

Local councils in Britain need to be awarded greater powers to deal with air pollution, the Local Government Association has warned.

According to the organisation, the UK will be hit with more than £300 million in EU fines and up to 36,000 more people will die prematurely unless drastic action is taken to tackle air pollution at a local level.

Westminster has applied for an extension to strict anti-pollution laws passed by Brussels in 1996 after many European nations failed to hit the targets by 2005.

Britain now has until 2011 to comply with the legislation or face substantial fines.

Local authorities are set to ask for more powers to clamp down on heavy polluters in their area at a conference held today (November 30th) by the Local Authority Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS), the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs and the Department for Transport.

Councillor Paul Bettison, chairman of LACORS, commented: "It is time for the government to take a bold and radical approach to cutting pollution by giving councils greater influence over polluters in their area."

In July 2007, the government added new UK air quality objectives to its pollution reduction strategy, including targets for ozone and particles PM 2.5.

Posted by Claire Manning