CORNWALL Council has to come up with a plan to help improve air quality in Gunnislake after concerns about high pollutant levels.

Public Heath and Protection has been monitoring air quality in Gunnislake over a number of years. The results have highlighted high levels of nitrogen dioxide, which is the exhaust gases from cars and lorries passing through the town on the A390.

Because there are several 'hotspots' around the village Cornwall Council has decided the entire village should be declared a 'Air Quality Management Area' (AQMA).

Measures to improve the air quality are all likely to be traffic-related — to tackle the source of the pollution.

Environmental protection officer Eloise Travis said: 'The exceedence of nitrogen dioxide objectives in Gunnislake is primarily caused by the narrow streets within the town centre where traffic queues before being able to pass through one-way sections.

'However, the highest levels of pollution are measured at Alma Terrace. This is thought to be due to the road incline causing vehicles to work harder as they travel up the hill. In addition the terrace of properties and bank opposite prevent dispersion of pollutants.'

Calstock parish councillor Ian Kirk said Cornwall Council was constrained by law to do something about the pollution: 'Being in the valley it tends to hold the pollution, plus all the buildings surrounding the traffic lights means it accumulates there.

'It also seeps into the roads coming off the A390. The amount of traffic is amazing and more and more traffic causes air pollution.

'We have been told that heavy goods vehicles cannot be stopped from coming through the village because the A390 is a trunk road.

'My suggestion would be to restrict the amount of building of new houses along that road and the surrounding ribbon development at St Ann's Chapel. That would go someway towards preventing more cars using this road.'

Cornwall Council has already declared AQMAs in Tideford, Bodmin and Camborne/Pool/Redruth and is also presently preparing a declaration for St Austell.