Violet campaigns for cleaner air in Newcastle

Blog - 14 March 2022

Violet Rook is a longstanding volunteer with Healthwatch Newcastle and is campaigning for cleaner air in the city. During COP26 (the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow), Violet took part in an ITV news item.

Violet campaigns for cleaner air in the city

Violet Rook being interviewed by ITV News

An ITV reporter visited the area to look at pollution levels in Newcastle city centre. Violet is a seventy-three-year-old asthmatic, has volunteered for Healthwatch Newcastle for many years and is active in her community. She is particularly concerned about the dangers posed to young people by air pollution. Violet told ITV news, “The numbers have been going up. It’s just a natural phenomenon seeing as there are so many new builds around here and people need to get where they want to go. For anyone, it’s dangerous, from young people with children standing at the bus stop. It’s like any kind of animal in nature. If you don’t adapt, you die.”

Clean air zones

Both Newcastle and Gateshead councils intend to introduce ‘clean air zones’. Newcastle City Council, schools and local NHS consultants have highlighted the need to protect children against harmful pollution caused by vehicles.

Dr Sara Walkers, Director of The Centre for Energy at Newcastle University, is encouraging motorists to opt for more sustainable travel. We need to think about other forms of active sustainable transport including walking, cycling and public transport. Dr Walkers says, “Everything that we do makes a difference in terms of the overall impact on our climate.”

Watch the ITV news report (Violet appears around 2 minutes 55 seconds in) at https://tinyurl.com/ITVairpollution

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