A protest to address toxic air quality has been organised this Sunday by members of the Gasworks communities, which includes representatives of the Southall Gasworks campaign for clean air.

Gasworks Communities United (GCU) are a national alliance of communities affected by Berkeley Homes's development of disused gasworks sites in the UK.

GCU said that residents in Southall have been inhaling toxic gases since 2017 and that, despite hundreds of complaints, Ealing Council have refused to serve an abatement notice for statutory odour nuisance.

The group Clean Air for Southall and Hayes (CASH), comprising of Hayes and Southall residents, affected by the noxious odours from Southall Waterside, have been campaigning for better air quality monitoring in Ealing.

Ealing Council has recently encouraged the use of an 'odour app' for residents to register any smells in the area to track air quality.

GCU said that "leaders of these councils must be held to account" and that they are aware of the "ticking time bomb".

They ask that dangerous air pollution caused by the redevelopment of gasworks sites be evaluated in conjunction with existing pollution levels, to provide an accurate picture of the health and environmental impact of such schemes.

Berkeley Group's redevelopment sites include Southall Gasworks (the Green Quarter), Hornsey Gasworks (Clarendon), Bromley-by-Bow/North Canning Town Gasworks (TwelveTrees Parks) and Sunninghill Gasworks.

They say that the sites contain many heavy carbons including cyanide and the carcinogen benzene, all hazardous to health.

Members of GCU who live near sites where planning applications have recently been submitted or approved are deeply concerned that remediation will replicate the experiences of residents where this has taken place or is ongoing.

1. Independent air quality impact assessments that evaluate air pollution from

brownfield site redevelopment in conjunction with existing pollution levels.

1. The implementation of independently assessed, robust remediation

groundwater.

1. Detailed health research to assess the redevelopment risks, prioritising

The protest will take place on Sunday 26 September, 11 am at West Ham underground station.

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