Issue - meetings

The Chairman of the Task Group advised Members that the last meeting of the group had taken place on 5th March 2013.  During this meeting the group had considered the information that had been received from representatives of Worcestershire County Council and Worcestershire Regulatory Services in respect of the actions that had been taken to implement recommendations made by the Air Quality Task Group in 2007.  Some concerns were expressed about the progress that had been made since completion of the previous review to address air quality issues.  The group was aiming to address these issues in more detail and had invited these Officers to attend another meeting to discuss the matter further.

The group had received a number of responses from residents on the subject of air quality, following coverage of the review in the local press.  Members had also received information about the approaches that had been adopted by Birmingham City Council and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council to manage air quality problems.

The group was due to interview a number of expert witnesses at forthcoming meetings.  The Council’s Head of Planning and Regulatory Services together with the Portfolio Holder for Planning, the Core Strategy, Regulatory and Strategic Housing Services, Councillor C. B. Taylor, had been invited to attend a meeting of the group.  A representative of Worcestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT) had also been asked to provide further information about the health implications relating to air quality.