As the Echo reported, there was a public meeting to discuss the proposed new development at Bincleaves.

Thanks to Councillor Wakeling for organising it, and for Juno Developments and Councillor Northam for helping us understand the issues.

I raised the question of traffic from the proposed development. With 189 homes, a 65 bed care home, gym, swimming pool, spa, restaurant and offices, there will be a significant amount of traffic coming out of Bincleaves Rd, which will then go through either Hope Square or down Boot Hill. A conservative estimate would be 20 lorries or vans a day and 400 car movements.

The problem then becomes one of air pollution. Boot Hill is already one of the most polluted areas in Weymouth, and this increased traffic will make it worse.

There is complacency in Dorset Council about air pollution. This is a shame. The UK now has the highest death rate for lung conditions in western Europe, according to research carried out by the charity Asthma and Lung UK. Over 100,000 people in Britain die every year from asthma attacks, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia. The number of hospital admissions is increasing. Air pollution is causing people to develop lung conditions or make existing conditions worse. It causes a significant reduction in intelligence, damages foetuses, and causes low birth weight. People exposed to polluted air are more likely to die from COVID-19.

Dorset Council have a statutory duty to monitor air quality and declare air pollution hotspots, and to do something about them. There are two hotspots - Chideock (fair enough) and Dorchester High East St. These two zones scored above the safe limit of 40 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre of air.

Boot Hill's air monitoring stations have consistently recorded 30s and 40s microgramme readings, notably in the high season months of August and September: if the Bincleaves development goes ahead, these figures will get higher.

The real situation is worse than that, The danger readings of 40 and above are based on World Health Organisation data from 2005, which were revised last year. The new danger readings are above 10 - a quarter of the previous danger level. On these readings, Boot Hill air pollution hits a danger level every month of the year. And in addition, the new WHO guidelines identify a new pollutant - microparticles from diesel fumes called PM 2.5 - which is causing significant sickness and death. Dorset Council has one meter measuring PM 2.5 - on Boot Hill - which has been out of action since 2019. They have no plans to replace it.

The proposed new mega-development at Bincleaves will make things worse for the beleaguered residents of Boot Hill - but air pollution knows no boundaries. The increased pollution reacts with sunlight to produce tropospheric ozone which will affect children and vulnerable adults across the whole of Weymouth.

I understand that something will have to be built at Bincleaves: that jobs are sorely needed in the area: and that progress must go on. But this application for outline planning permission is the first bid in a negotiation: the developers could make an effort to meet local concerns about air pollution, for example by laying on a local bus service to the development, specifying deliveries by electric vehicle only, bringing in supplies by sea, and thinking creatively about their effect on the environment. While they are there, they could at least make some provision for affordable housing, and place covenants on the properties banning their use as Air B n Bs and holiday lets.

So far, they haven't done this: their pitch is for maximum profit with an apparent disregard for the local environment. A little creative thinking, on their behalf and in the responses of the officers who consider this application, could produce a better result for everyone.

Steve Elsworth

Old Castle Rd