The Royal borough of Kensington & Chelsea is under pressure to reduce air toxicity levels, after a study reveals dangerous levels of pollution around primary schools.

More than 250 children aged 6-11 took part in the Breathe London Wearables Study which was conducted by Kings College London in association with the London Assembly.

The students wore backpacks containing sensors to monitor the air quality on their journey to and from five London primary schools, including the St Mary’s Abbots Church of Englad Primary School in Kensington.

The results, published on Tuesday, found that children were on average exposed to five-times-higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide during the school run than when they were at school.

Some of the highest concentrations of these dangerous particles were recorded on Kensington Church Street in London – just outside the entrance to St Mary’s school.

Students in Kensington & Chelsea are particularly vulnerable to these high levels of pollution, however this is a problem that will affect everyone living in the area, says Emma Dent Coad MP.

“The pollution levels in Kensington & Chelsea have caused me significant problems with asthma and have worsened my memory,” she told City News.

Maudie Spurrier, a Senior Public Affairs and Campaign Officer at the environmental campaign group ClientEarth, believes that Kensington & Chelsea’s pollution levels are unacceptable.

“No matter where you live in London, you shouldn’t have to breathe polluted air”, she said.

“Switching to electric vehicles, planting more trees and promoting public transport are just some of the ways that boroughs can tackle the problem of air pollution.”

Conservative councillor for Kensington & Chelsea, Johnny Thalassites, told City News that significant efforts have been made to promote electric cars in the borough.

But Ms Dent Coad believes that “their policy to bring more electric cars is not helping the poor. Only the rich,” adding that “more efforts need to be made to plant more trees in the borough.”

In response to this, Cem Kemahli, the borough’s lead member for the environment said that “planting more trees is not the solution, as there is not enough space available.”

The borough also finds itself politically divided over the issue of public transport.

“People need to be encouraged to take public transport,” Ms Dent Coad says. “And it needs to be made more affordable.”

While Mr Thalassites also agreed that improved public transport plays a key role in addressing high pollution levels, he added that “this is ultimately something that the Mayor of London and TfL need to work together on, especially when considering subsidising public transport fares for the public.”

“All levels of government need to take responsibility and there is a lot of confusion between local and national government as to who is responsible for taking action. It is everyone’s job to deal with this,” said Ms Spurrier from Client Earth.

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HeadlinePolitical deadlock in Kensington & Chelsea over ‘shocking’ levels of pollution

Short HeadlineKensington & Chelsea confronts pollution problem

StandfirstKensington & Chelsea residents are suffering from dangerously high levels of air pollution, but local politicians are in disagreement about how to tackle this public health crisis.

Following the publication of a study into dangerous levels of pollution around London primary schools, the royal borough of Kensington & Chelsea is under pressure to reduce air toxicity levels.

The ‘Breathe London Wearables Study’ was released this week and was conducted by Kings College London in association with the London Assembly. As part of the study, more than 250 children aged between six and 11 wore backpacks containing sensors to monitor the air quality on their journey to and from five London primary schools, including St Mary’s Abbots C of E Primary School in Kensington.

The results, published on Tuesday, found that children were on average exposed to five-times-higher concentrations of NO2 during the school run than when they were at school. Some of the highest concentrations of these dangerous particles were recorded on Kensington Church Street in London – just outside the entrance to St Mary’s school.

School children from Kensington & Chelsea are particularly vulnerable to these high levels of pollution, however this is a problem that will affect everyone living in the area, MP Emma Dent Coad says. “The pollution levels in Kensington & Chelsea have caused me significant problems with asthma and have worsened my memory”, the MP told City News.

Maudie Spurrier, a Senior Public Affairs and Campaign Officer at the environmental campaign group ClientEarth, believes that Kensington & Chelsea’s pollution levels are unacceptable. “No matter where you live in London, you shouldn’t have to breathe polluted air”, Spurrier said. “Switching to electric vehicles, planting more trees and promoting public transport are just some of the ways that boroughs can tackle the problem of air pollution”, she added.

But given the shocking levels of pollution in Kensington & Chelsea, are current local government policies doing enough to combat air toxicity in the borough?

Conservative councillor for Kensington & Chelsea, Johnny Thalassites, told City News that significant efforts have been made to promote electric cars in the borough. However, MP Emma Dent Coad believes that “their policy to bring more electric cars is not helping the poor. Only the rich”. She added that “more efforts need to be made to plant more trees in the borough”.

In response to this, Cem Kemahli, the borough’s lead member for the environment, has said that “planting more trees is not the solution, as there is not enough space available”.

The borough also finds itself politically divided over the issue of public transport. Ms Dent Coad believes that “people need to be encouraged to take public transport and it needs to be made more affordable”.

Whilst Mr Thalassites also agreed that improved public transport plays a key role in addressing high pollution levels, he added that “this is ultimately something that the mayor of London and TFL need to work together on, especially when considering subsidising public transport fares for the public”.

Is political deadlock in Kensington & Chelsea failing the public on effective pollution policies? Ms Spurrier from ClientEarth believes so: “all levels of government need to take responsibility and there is a lot of confusion between local and national government as to who is responsible for taking action. It is everyone’s job to deal with this”.