Stop Maidstone Borough Council from developing Broadway Shopping Centre site into housing

Maidstone already has the 5th highest air pollution level in the UK (levels higher than Regents Street in London) and is just below double the advised EU limit (79.3ug/m3 with a target of 40.0ug/m3).

The development of over 200 flats on the Broadway Shopping Centre site will severely impact this area of Maidstone for multiple reasons:

AIR POLLUTION - please read more details below as this is one of the biggest concerns.

INFRASTRUCTURE

CONGESTION : Maidstone roads are already gridlocked at peak commuting times and weekends, additional housing and the traffic that additional housing brings will negatively impact this further.

PUBLIC SERVICES: Doctor's surgeries are already struggling to meet demand with the average waiting time for an appointment being 3-6 weeks.

Allowing this housing development to go ahead will negatively affect Maidstone residents health, transportation and public services

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION IF YOU OPPOSE ANY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ON THIS SITE.

TO OPPOSE THIS DEVELOPMENT PLEASE (IF YOU CAN) ALSO EMAIL YOUR LOCAL COUNCILLOR AND CHAIRMAN OF MBC PLANNING COMMITTEE CLIVE ENGLISH ON: [email protected]

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

AIR POLLUTION:

If half of the flats come with an allocated parking space that is a minimum of 125 additional vehicles producing an additional 575 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year (ave. vehicle produces 4.6 metric tons per annum). This will impact residents health and significantly increase Maidstone’s air pollution which is already dangerously high.

The leading culprit to air pollution today is traffic. The health affects from air pollution are well documented and include:

CANCER: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared outdoor air pollution, including Particulate Matter (PM), and also diesel exhaust, carcinogenic to humans, in the strongest class (Group 1). This is the same class as tobacco.

ASTHMA: Two thirds of people with asthma say that poor air quality makes their asthma worse. This puts them at higher risk of an asthma attack, according to Asthma UK . They also state that being exposed long-term to high concentrations of air pollution may cause adult-onset asthma.

STROKE & HEART FAILURE: Short-term exposure to air pollution can increase the risk of hospitalisation or death from stroke in the following week. This is according to research  published by the British Medical Journal.

HEART DISEASE: Air pollution is linked to the development  of cardiovascular diseases, including furring of the arteries. It can also exacerbate conditions for those already living with heart disease. British Heart Foundation's Professor David Newby’s research suggests  that people living with heart failure have an increased risk of being hospitalised and of dying where pollution levels are high.

DIABETES: The development of Type 2 diabetes is not only due to lifestyle or genetic factors, but also traffic-related air pollution, according to research  by the American Diabetes Association.

DEMENTIA: Links are being suggested between environmental factors and Alzheimer’s Disease. As found by PNAS , toxic magnetite particles from air pollution have been discovered in human brains in “abundant” quantities. This substance can create oxidative cell damage, which is linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease.

HEALTH AFFECTS TO CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULTS:
CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULTS:

ASTHMA (According to Asthma UK):
1. Children and young adults with asthma are more at risk from the effects of pollution because they have faster breathing rates and their lungs are still developing.
2. Children living in areas with high pollution are more likely to have reduced lung function as adults.
3. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of air pollution may cause asthma in children.
4. Lung development
5. Children aged between 8-10 years old, who lived in highly polluted parts of cities, had up to 10% less lung capacity than normal . Dr Ian Mudway, a leading expert on the air pollution impacts on child health, suggests this reduced lung function may never be reversed.

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT: Air pollution exposure in pregnant women was found  to harm brain development and contribute to behavioural and cognitive problems later in childhood.

OBESITY & DIABETES: It’s possible that air pollution can be a catalyst for obesity and diabetes in young children. A recent study of children aged 8 to 15 who were exposed to higher levels of air pollution were also found to have a lower insulin sensitivity. As well as a decline in beta-cell function and a higher body mass index (BMI) at age 18.