Colchester is a popular town in which to live and work.

As such, it has become a victim of its own success as more houses are built and more residents drive along the streets. It has created a serious issue as figures have revealed the air pollution in some roads exceeds World Health Organisation leves.

About 100 deaths a year are attributed to the silent killer.

Work is being done to try to reduce levels...but is it enough?

WHEN one of Colchester’s busiest roads was closed for works last year, town centre traffic was chaos.

The clogged roads were only part of the problem It was irritating, no doubt, but a short term issue.

However, Colchester’s congested roads are more than just irritating. They are life-threatening.

Air pollution is a silent killer which is believed to be contributing to the deaths of more than 100 people in the town every year.

While the closure of Brook Street caused traffic problems, for the residents it was marvellous.

They enjoyed the rare chance for peace and quiet and a fume-free environment which led them to ask - somewhat speculatively - for the road to be closed for good.

Fresh calls could be made as Colchester Council’s latest figures for air pollution show emissions are still above the maximum recommended level.

The World Health Organisation’s recommendation of nitrogen dioxide is 40μg/m3. Brook Street’s latest readings are 46μg/ m3, St John’s Street is at 41μg/ m3 and East Street’s readings are at 41μg/m3.

Sarah MacFadyen, policy and public affairs manager for the British Lung Foundation, said the levels were a call for urgent action.

“It is worrying that roads in Colchester are breaching safe lev - els for air pollution,” she said.

“Toxic air contributes to 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK. It’s a major health issue for everyone, particularly people with a lung condition, the elderly and children.

“Evidence has shown children growing up in polluted areas are four times more likely to have poor lung growth. They are at risk of developing asthma and chronic chest problems in later life.

“National and local governments need to take urgent action 

on polluting vehicles to clean up the air in towns like Colchester.

“This can be done by establishing clean air zones and restricting polluting vehicles from polluted areas. We also need far more walking and cycling to help people make healthier choices.”

Colchester Council leader Paul Smith said public transport and cycling will continue to be improved to cut emissions.

He said: “We are looking at putting more charging points for

electric vehicles.

“We are also looking at whether we could charge taxis more for their licences if they are using high-polluting vehicles.

“They could pay more than those with low emissions, it’s

something we want to explore.”

Efforts are also being made by schools to encourage more

walking, the results of the latest annual National Travel Survey show an increase of five per cent from last year.

In the week the Government released its air quality plan banning new diesel and petrol cars from 2040, charity Living Streets says action is needed now to enable more people to take to their feet.

Joe Irvin, chief executive at Living Streets, said: “It’s great to see more children are walking to school, after many years of decline - it’s one of the easiest ways to reduce air pollution.

“Air pollution is harmful to everyone but for children, the

risk to their health is even higher as their exposure is much greater and they absorb and retain pollutants in the body for longer.”

However, it is not all about clearing congestion, as Prof Ian

Colbeck, from the School of Biological Sciences at Essex University, said the figures needed to be more readily available to see whether the council is making a difference.

The figures for 2016 have not yet been released and Mr Colbeck said it was difficult to see if the council was doing a good job in tackling the problem.

He said: “Colchester is good because it has a large number of diffusion tubes to measure emissions but it takes so long for the data to become publicly available.

“If there are real-time monitors at least we will have some

idea of what’s happening. It is an issue but we won’t see change for some time.

“With the Park and Ride, it’s taken some cars off the roads but the issue is the planners seem to be at odds with the transport needs of Colchester.”

It seems Colchester is on the road to cleaner air but there is a long journey to go before air pollution is wiped out completely.