Could bad air be affecting those in St James?

St James End has been declared as an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).

An AQMA is an area in which the local air quality doesn’t meet or is unlikely to meet the Government’s national air quality objectives.

The primary objective from the UK Government about national air quality is to ensure that all citizens have access to outdoor air without it seriously affecting their health.

Some places in Northampton are known to have poorer air quality than other areas, St James being one of them.

This is usually due to many vehicles in smaller areas and factories in the area as well as multiple other factors.

Zone 3, which is St James, was declared to have NO2 annual means concentrations.

The council have said they plan to amalgamate the five AQMAs covering the town centre into a single town wide AQMA.

Graph by: LAQM Annual Status Report 2020 - Northampton Borough Council, Annual Status Report 2020

Poor air quality can be detrimental to health of those in the area.

It can lead to illnesses such as asthma and COPD. It is also something that can badly affect pregnancy and young people/babies.

Student midwife, Millie Roberts said: “Pregnant people who live in a place with high air pollution can be affected badly. This can lead to preterm birth, a low birth weight, still birth, or congenital abnormalities.”

There are primary schools in St James which may raise more concern about air pollution as young children are being openly exposed to it.

West Northamptonshire Council have recently pledged to their support with tackling air pollution.

They are aiming to publish a cohesive clean air strategy which could happen as early as next year. This will benefit the county as well as St James.

They said: “This will include using nearly £300,000 of Defra grant funding to assess the health, economic and social impacts.”

If the plans work out how they are hoping, this could mean that we see a change in the air conditions in St James.

Do you live in or visit this area and felt that the air quality is poor? Let us know below.