CHESHIRE West and Chester Council is supporting the first World Environmental Health Day on September 26.
It comes as the council has been ranked joint fourth out of 431 council web sites for its air quality information with five out of five for quality by Air Quality Bulletin. Last year the council was ranked sixth.
Councillor Lynn Riley, executive member for community and environment, said: “We take our role as environmental health practitioners very seriously, working to reduce the impact of air pollution and provide information and reassurance to our residents.
“This year on World Environmental Health Day we are highlighting the issue of air pollution and what we do to protect the public.
“Through the work of our local air quality groups we raise awareness of air quality which can affect community wellbeing and deal with the common perceptions that people have in relation to the air they breathe in their locality.
“Information provided through the Cheshire West and Chester Council Air Quality web pages gives factual information about the quality of air that we breath and our work in relation to air quality management which in Cheshire West and Chester is mainly associated with vehicle exhaust emissions.
“It is great news that our web pages are proving useful to residents, community groups and organisations and have been ranked so highly.”
The council has three monitoring stations in and around Ellesmere Port, one in Chester and a new one is coming on line in Helsby on Monday, September 26 to mark World Environmental Health Day.
Cheshire West and Chester Council is building on the award-winning air quality forum that was originally based in Ellesmere Port, by expanding their forum membership and monitoring network to include information for residents in Helsby.
The Ellesmere Port Air Quality Forum was recognised at the North West Public Health Awards for its significant contribution to public health in 2009.
Purpose of the forum is to provide independent information and reassurance to the public about the air that they breathe.
And the air quality forum’s achievements have demonstrably reduced concerns over air pollution in the area since 2000.
Cheshire West and Chester Council’s web pages have recently been ranked joint 4th out of 431 council sites in Air Quality Bulletin’s annual website review marked five out of five for quality.
The review said: “Cheshire West and Chester has plenty of information on the site but also a useful map interface showing monitoring locations. Click on the monitoring icons to get user-friendly data.”
The web address can be found at www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.
