Swale has the highest number of roads breaching pollution limits in Kent, a new study by Friends of the Earth shows.

The environmental action group has released details of the most fume-ridden roads in the county, according to the latest data.

It shows that, in 2018, the most recent period covered by the statistics, the borough had 13 areas breaking air quality limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), one of which exceeded 60ug/m3. Dartford had the second highest number of hotspot roads in Kent at nine, while Maidstone was the only other borough to record more than 60ug/m3.

The Annual Air Quality Objective is set at 40ug/m3 of NO2, which is legally binding under EU law.

The leading cause of NO2 pollution is emissions from road traffic, which is also a huge source of climate-wrecking emissions.

The highest reading in Swale was The Mount in London Road, Ospringe, at 61.7ug/m3, followed by 58.3 at Keycol Hill, 56.1 in St Pauls Street, Milton Regis, 47.8 in Newington and 40.1 in East Street, Sittingbourne.

It comes just weeks after Swale council was obliged to set up an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) at Keycol Hill for persistent breaches of NO2 levels.

It also declared another in St Pauls Street - the road was already known to have high nitrogen dioxide levels but has also registered worrying amounts of PM10 - a type of particulate matter - in the air.

In total there are five AQMAs in Swale - all of which breached the limits, according to Friends of the Earth. AQMAs must be reported to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the local authority is then obliged to come up with a plan of how to bring down pollution levels.

St Pauls is one of the most puzzling of the AQMAs, and one of the most polluted roads in Swale. In fact the levels were so high for a residential urban area that the council initially thought its technology was faulty.

The route links Staplehurst Road to Mill Way and is flanked by a mix of residential properties and businesses.

Residents are aware of the issues affecting the area and are calling for more to be done.

Dave Moore has been running The Stumble Inn at the top of St Pauls Street for the last eight years.

“I’ve lived in this area for the last 55 years and I don’t think you can ignore this is a busy road,” he said.

“The trouble is, what can they do about it? We’ve had someone from Kent County Council here to plant two trees on the roundabout but that’s all I can see they’ve done.

“There’s so many cars coming here. We live here and there is a constant level of traffic is 24 hours a day.

“In the middle of the night you get big lorries coming up here.”

"I don’t think you can ignore this is a busy road."

Mr Moore said the traffic had always been like it, for as long as he could remember.

“You hear about the effects of this stuff, pollution and the ozone layer but what is there that they can do which will make a difference?” he added.

“If you’re building new houses you can’t do anything about the vehicles which go with them.

“People need to get about and electric vehicles are too expensive so what are people supposed to do?”

He added that trees in his pub garden have died before due to, what the 55-year-old thinks, is air pollution from the nearby road.

Meanwhile, the health effects of being exposed to high levels of NO2 can include eye, nose and throat irritation and triggering existing respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis. Long-term problems can include a gradual deterioration in health of the elderly and those with breathing problems.

Amanda Terry, who lives in St Pauls Street, said: “We constantly have lorries up and down here.

“We need a northern relief road and that would certainly make this a lot better and improve traffic through Sittingbourne.

“I have my windows open all the time and we just have to get used to the noise.

“When you go away to somewhere quieter you feel as if you’ve gone deaf because you can’t hear the traffic outside your window.”

The 48-year-old added: “There’s been a massive increase in traffic since I’ve lived here. All the roads have got slower, let alone this one.

“I think the level of pollution is ridiculous, especially in a residential area but they don’t seem to be doing anything about it.

“The problem is, you can educate as far as you do but it’s still down to the muppets in the vehicles who don’t really care.”

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said the road has become busier again since restrictions around travelling during he pandemic had eased - but said the temporary respite was noticeable in terms of the air quality.

“During lockdown it was a lot quieter and cleaner,” she said.

"I think the level of pollution is ridiculous."

“We don’t tend to get this street cleaned here very often and I’ve lived here for nearly 40 years.

“When you go away you really notice how much fresher the air is.”

Last June, Swale council declared a climate and ecological emergency - the purpose of which was to draw attention to the urgent need to reverse the decline in biodiversity in Sheppey, Sittingbourne and Faversham, and to take effective action to reduce emissions.

The declaration has set goals for the council’s operations to be carbon neutral by 2025 and for the borough as a whole to be carbon neutral by 2030.

The authority now has a cross-party steering group of councillors and officers to manage its response to the environmental emergency.

Among its priorities are making its own buildings greener, installing electrical vehicle charging points and cutting down on single-use plastics.

Reacting to the report, a Swale council spokesman said: “We’re working hard to improve air quality around the borough, especially in our five air quality management areas (AQMAs) – Newington, Ospringe, Teynham and East Street and St Pauls Street in Sittingbourne.

“There have been exceedances in some of these areas in the past few years, however because we’ve increased the number of diffusion tubes monitoring the air quality in these areas, the total number of exceedances in the report are misleading.

“In fact, last year’s air quality data shows an improvement overall in Swale, especially in our AQMAs where some levels of nitrogen dioxide have dropped below the annual mean objective of 40ug/m3.

“Defra has commended us on our 2020 Annual Status Report – which shows last year’s improvements – stating that we should continue our ‘good and thorough work’.

“Lots of factors can affect air quality and we’ve been working with developers, businesses and schools to change behaviour and seek greener actions that contribute to cleaner air for all.

“Deep cleaning the roads and pavements in our AQMAs to stop harmful pollutants deposited into the road being released into the air every time a vehicles drives over them, air quality mitigation measures for local developers to install low NOx boilers and electric vehicle points, and a clean air for schools campaign encouraging parents to turn off their engines outside schools are just a few examples of actions we’re taking to improve air quality in Swale.”

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