CALLS have been made for tougher measures to combat the air pollution 'crisis' in West Oxfordshire.

Witney's Bridge Street and Horsefair, in Chipping Norton, both fall short of national standards and were declared Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) in 2005.

West Oxfordshire District Council must produce air quality action plans for these areas, but the Bridge Street plan is still under review, even though a document for Chipping Norton was completed 11 years ago.

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Andrew Coles, district councillor for Witney Central, claims air pollution in Witney will only get worse, with 5,000 houses earmarked for the town and surrounding areas between 2011 and 2031.

Mr Coles wants urgent action and said the absence of a plan for Witney was 'failing' residents.

He said: “The situation is at crisis point and tougher action is needed to protect people in polluted areas.

“With significant new development under construction in Witney, and more proposed, the situation will only get worse.

“West Oxfordshire needs to seriously up its game if we’re going to tackle this and protect people’s health.

Oxford Mail:

He added: “We’re failing the people of Witney. The council has had an awful long time to deal with this and it hasn’t.”

At the latest meeting of the district council’s environment overview & scrutiny committee, Mr Coles proposed a review of West Oxfordshire’s air quality measures and how it could reduce pollution.

In 2016, he joined Laura Price, Oxfordshire County councillor for Witney South & Central, and residents for a traffic survey in Witney's Mill Street.

Over a 12-hour period, nearly 10,000 vehicles, including more than 200 large lorries, used the town centre route.

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A new roundabout on the A40, west of Witney, has helped reduce the number of heavy goods vehicles travelling through the town.

Mr Coles claims additional slip roads at the Shores Green junction, east of Witney, will drastically reduce traffic in the town and help reduce pollution.

Read again: 'Build Shores Green slip roads now'

The district council and Oxfordshire County Council are working together on the scheme and design work could begin next year.

Environmental consultant Andrew Prosser, from Witney, agreed new junctions at Shores Green would help, but pushed for a more comprehensive approach.

He said: "Even Shores Green will help take some of the pressure off but it's not sufficient on its own.

"There are cycle paths into town but they're poorly signposted and joined up so there needs to be a big effort to improve access."

"We need a joined-up effort to get people walking and cycling and better public transport."

Mr Prosser will speak at an event called 'Improving Air Quality in Witney', which takes place at the Corn Exchange on Thursday.

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A district council spokesperson said the air quality action plan was revisited over proposals to introduce the Cogges Link Road in Witney.

An updated plan will be presented at the next environment scrutiny committee meeting on April 11.

The spokesperson added: "There were three key road developments that were necessary – Cogges Link Road, West End Link and A40 Downs Road junction.

"To date the county council have delivered the Downs Road junction and other road developments are related to future housing developments outlined in the local plan but not yet implemented."

Tickets for Improving Air Quality in Witney are on eventbrite.com