Clean Air Night draws attention to the environmental and heath impacts of wood burning, while council vows to improve air quality

Adomestic woodburner — Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

To mark Clean Air Night (24th January) Barnet Council has published its Air Quality Action Plan 2023-2028.

Clean Air Night draws attention to harmful effects of wood burning both on health and the environment.

According to Global Action Plan, the charity behind Clean Air Night, domestic burning, which includes wood and a small proportion of coal and ‘smokeless fuels’, is the single biggest source of harmful small particle air pollution in the UK. The annual health costs to society of the impacts of air pollution in the UK are estimated to be roughly £15 billion.

As part of a council commitment to reducing the exposure of Barnet residents to poor quality air, the new Barnet Air Quality Action Plan 2023-2028 sets out the actions the council will take to improve air quality in Barnet.

The action plan includes actions in seven broad categories:

Monitoring and other core statutory duties
Improvement of Public Health and implementation/continuation of awareness campaigns
Reducing Transport Emissions
Delivery servicing and freight
Borough fleet actions
Emissions from developments and buildings
Localised solutions

The full action and a summary can be found at https://www.barnet.gov.uk/environmental-problems/air-quality/air-quality-action-plan-2023-2028

More information on air quality in Barnet, including monitoring results, can be found at the council website: . www.barnet.gov.uk/environmental-problems/air-quality

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