Redbridge Trades Council letter to Michael Gove MP asking for Homebase Application to be called in

 Many thanks to Redbridge Trades Council for writing to Mr Gove. Homebase is a rehearsal campaign for the Tesco Goodmayes application should Sadiq Khan pass it. 

The below is their email sent to Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Housing. It is rare for Mr Gove to call in developments, he recently did so for a Tesco/Homebase site per  PRESS

Dear Minister,

Proposed High Rise at the site of the Former Homebase store in Seven Kings IG3 8RS

We note that Keith Prince AM has written to you requesting that you call in the above development.

We ask you call in the development on air quality grounds for the following reasons:

1) No baseline assessment of the risk to child health has been carried out. So far neither Redbridge Council nor the developer has tried to establish the incidence of child health problems related to air pollution by contacting the local NHS Trust, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospital Trust, for details of child deaths and hospital admissions linked to air pollution. A local resident, Andy Walker has sent us statistics showing 18 child deaths in the BHRUT catchment for 12 months in 20/21 and 769 hospital attendances linked to air pollution as a possible contributory factor. The Trust will not provide full postcodes which are required in order to judge how dangerous it is to live by busy roads.

2) While it is welcome that the developer is providing air filters to the ground and first floor, there is no national specification for the quality of the air filters nor for their maintenance and who to report their maintenance to.

3) Should the development go ahead, there is no agreed planning condition for the monitoring of the effectiveness of the air filters by reporting upon whether child illnesses linked to air pollution are higher than average for the area. This is necessary to judge if any further mitigation measures are required.

The death of Ella Kissi-Debrah shows the dangers of air pollution and we hope you will call in this application.

Yours sincerely,

Bob Archer,                    Secretary, Redbridge Trades Council

Stephen Jones,              President, Redbridge Trades Council

Ujitha de Zoysa,            Vice-President, Redbridge Trades Council

Andy Walker,                 Treasurer, Redbridge Trades Union Council