London met legal limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution for the first time ever in September. In the first of two articles, Lydia Fraser-Ward reflects on a five-year campaign to help us all breathe more easily
In 2020, taking my two-year-old son to local parks, I began worrying about how healthy it was for him to play outside. Usually, parents would be eager for toddlers to run around green spaces, but our nearest parks, Ray Park and Elmhurst Gardens, sit alongside the M11 and North Circular, two of London’s worst-polluted roads. We spent hours on the swings just a few metres from constant traffic, and I couldn’t stop asking: how harmful was the air we were breathing?
Determined to find answers, I discovered Mums for Lungs, a grassroots organisation founded in 2017 by Jemima Hartshorn. The group campaigns on the health risks of air pollution, particularly for children. I was shocked to learn one in 10 London children suffer from asthma, and that pollution contributes to an estimated 30,000 deaths annually in the UK. It felt like an invisible killer, yet one that rarely makes headlines.
I applied for a new community strand of the Breathe London programme and received one of their first solar-powered air quality sensors, installed in Elmhurst Gardens next to the playground. The sensor measured nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM) hourly. The results were alarming: readings frequently exceeded UK legal limits and surpassed World Health Organization guidelines. Yet, because legal limits are based on annual averages rather than daily exposure, the local authority had no obligation to act.
The fact is, the London Borough of Redbridge knows there’s an issue with pollution in the borough and actually declared itself an Air Quality Management Area back in 2003. But as a borough lacking in essential bus and Tube connections, it’s no surprise many residents rely heavily on vehicles, with 72.5% of Redbridge households owning a car or van in 2023, much higher than the London average.
Air pollution became personal in other ways too. I appeared in a Client Earth video supporting the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which requires owners of the most polluting cars to switch to cleaner alternatives or pay a daily charge. I was saddened to receive online trolling in a local newspaper. It was clear the message wasn’t getting out there about the true risks air pollution posed to local people’s health.
Motivated to act, I began connecting with other concerned residents and started a branch of Mums for Lungs in Redbridge. This marked the beginning of my journey to empower local families, share information and explore practical ways to reduce exposure to harmful pollution in our borough. Understanding the problem was the first step; changing it – as I will explain in the next issue – would require community effort and sustained pressure on local authorities.
Mums for Lungs website: www.mumsforlungs.org/about-air-pollution
Breathe London Community Programme, node data: www.breathelondon-communities.org/
Redbridge School Streets: www.redbridge.gov.uk/roads-and-pavements/redbridge-school-streets/
We Care for Our Air on PWLC Projects website: www.pwlcprojects.com/wecareforourair
Redbridge Cycling Campaign: redbridgecycling.org/
Ride for Their Lives: ridefortheirlives.net/
