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Windsor and Maidenhead air pollution checks increased after protests

LDRS Extinction Rebellion MaidenheadLDRS
Members of Extinction Rebellion supported protestors in Maidenhead

A council has agreed to install three more air pollution monitors following a series of environmental protests.

Members of Extinction Rebellion wearing ghostly gowns supported residents demonstrating outside Maidenhead town hall earlier.

Speakers at the rally urged the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to do more to detect microscopic air pollution particles.

Council members defied a recommendation by officers to make no changes.

LDRS Lead petitioner Thomas Wigley giving a speechLDRS
Thomas Wigley told the rally air pollution cost him his job and nearly his life

A 2,000-signature petition was presented to the authority by Thomas Wigley, who said he nearly died from a heart condition on a hot, polluted day in London.

Mr Wigley told the rally: "Particulate pollution affects us all and there are no safe pollution limits.

"I was 58 and I lost my job. Nobody needs to experience that. The no-need and no-money stance is dismissive and dangerous."

Tina Quadrino, chairwoman of Maidenhead Great Park, told supporters: "The actual cost of this equipment potentially is something like 50p per person per year.

"The cost of not doing it could be someone's life."

LDRS Tina Quadrino, chairwoman of Maidenhead Great Park, giving a speech in front of the town hallLDRS
Tina Quadrino said the benefits of air pollution monitors outweighed their small cost

Members of Extinction Rebellion rang a bell and carried placards during the protest, the fourth in a series, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Council officers said more stations could cost the council up to £30,000 with annual running costs of £5,000.

However, the authority agreed to add three devices to pick up so-called PM10 and PM2.5 particulates at sites yet to be determined.

Councillor David Cannon, in charge of public protection at the Conservative-run authority, said: "This council is already committed to improving air quality for its residents in its corporate plan.

"This commitment will provide us with the data to base our decisions on for all of our futures."

Currently the authority monitors nitrogen dioxide at sites in Maidenhead, Bray, Wraysbury, and two in Windsor, and monitors PM10 only in Maidenhead's Frascati Way.

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