Council to invest in £4,000 air quality monitoring system in village

MEMBERS of Stockton Heath Parish Council have agreed to stump up around £4,000 for air quality monitoring equipment on the A49.
Exact location of the system has not yet been decided – but it will be somewhere in the village centre in London Road.
Cllr Peter Walker (pictured) said: “The device will not just monitor gases – it will monitor particulates as well.
“I think it will be the only system of its kind in the borough.”
The stretch of London Road between the Stockton Heath Swing Bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal and Victoria Square is one of the worst areas for air pollution in the borough – largely due to cars having to stop at the traffic lights by the bridge and drivers leaving their engines running.
Years ago, the parish council was trying to persuade motorists to switch off their engines when they had to stop when the bridge was “off.”
Cllr Walker said: “We want to be able to monitor air pollution, particularly as if up to 7,000 new houses are to be built south of the canal as part of the Local Plan.
“There is a good chance a large per cent age of the new house owners will want to travel north along the A49.