Traffic ‘gateways’ proposed for Horsham village

Horsham district council is publicly exhibiting its draft Air Quality Action Plan for Storrington, featuring a series of proposals to tackle traffic pollution, until March 1

A draft Air Quality Action Plan designed to tackle air pollution is being exhibited for residents in the village of Storrington this week by Horsham district council.

Among options to tackle air pollution in the village is a proposal to introduce traffic light ‘gates’ outside the village to control traffic flow into the village.

Horsham district council’s Sue Rogers said she was ‘pleased’ with progress to address air pollution in Storrington

This technique would involve traffic lights using real-time information to divert traffic away from more congested areas in the village or areas where residents’ exposure to air pollution is higher.

Other possible measures assessed include the introduction of a Low Emission Zone (LEZ), imposing a 20mph limit and restricting Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) in the village. These options were all estimated in a traffic management report to help reduce nitrogen dioxide levels in the village. However, the district council said that not all measures assessed in the report would be progressed.

Prepared by air quality consultants Ricardo-AEA, the ‘Storrington Traffic Management Options Appraisal’, published on the district council website on January 21, assesses the possible effects on air quality of a series of different measures.

The report will be on display alongside the draft AQAP in the former Wine Rack shop in the village until Friday March 1. The exhibition is part of a public consultation on the proposals which ends on March 15.

Storrington AQMA

The plan follows the district council’s formal declaration of an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in Storrington December 2010 after exceedences of the annual national objective for nitrogen dioxide were monitored along the High Street and at the junction between Manleys Hill and School Hill.

The highest nitrogen dioxide concentration within the AQMA in 2010, based on modelling, was found at the Wayside Cottage site, which monitored annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide at 53.5 micrograms per cubic metre.

A further assessment report submitted to Defra in March 2012 estimated that a reduction in total vehicle emissions of 40% from 2010 levels would be necessary in order to comply with the annual mean air quality objective for nitrogen dioxide (40 micrograms per cubic metre).

Horsham district council’s cabinet member for a safer and healthier district, Sue Rogers, said: “I am pleased with the progress of this work to address the air quality issues in Storrington and this consultation is an important part of this process.”

The exhibition of the draft AQAP and the traffic management options report takes place in the former Wine Rack shop in Old Mill Square from Monday February 18 until to Friday March 1. There will also be information on the AQAP displayed at Storrington Library in Ryecroft Lane from Monday February 25 until Saturday March 2.

Representatives of the district council steering group, comprising councillors and officers from Horsham district council and West Sussex county council as well as representatives from the Parish council will be available to speak to at the exhibition. The steering group has the responsibility to agree the measures to improve air quality in the village.

Times when the public exhibition will be manned will be posted at the shop as well as online on the district council’s website, Facebook and Twitter (@horshamdc) pages.

More information on Storrington’s AQAP and the consultation is available on the Horsham district council website.