Beckton Community Air Quality Group
About us
Beckton Community Air Quality Group started when Tollgate Medical Centre invited Ellen Wilkinson Primary School to team up to think about the air quality in the area , and how that impacts on our Children’s health and their education. Tollgate Medical Centre and The Ellen Wilkinson Primary School are located on Tollgate Road in the London borough of Newham. In 2020 The British Heart Foundation ranked Newham as the worst local authority for air quality in the UK. In addition to poor air quality, Newham has some of the worst London wide health statistics. We know the very young and those with respiratory and circulatory illnesses are the most vulnerable to poor air quality. We also know that one in twenty road journeys is healthcare related. That is why it made sense for a GP practice of 18000 patients and a local primary school of 480 pupils to come together to take action on local air quality. Our students, patients and staff are representative of this borough’s great diversity. Almost 70% of the Ellen Wilkinson pupils have English as an additional language (with 47 different first languages). Together we want to raise awareness, reduce exposure and improve air quality on Tollgate Road.
“The availability of hard data offers a powerful rationale for action. We also hope this work will forge a long-lasting local commitment and relationship between health, education and our environment.”