Lewisham Council is expected to close its Strategic Air Quality programme, as part of proposed budget cuts to services over the next two years.

The programme, which costs the council £60k in staff costs, is a non-statutory service with money currently spent on air quality campaigns like the Lewisham Air app.

Lewisham Council environmental health service manager David Edwards said the council would continue to fulfil its statutory obligations through the public health directorate.

“Air quality has only two sides – the statutory side and the campaign [or] public side,” he told the sustainable development select committee.

“Eighteen months ago [was when] we started looking at this. The proposed cut, we are using that money at the moment towards some of the air quality campaigns.

“They are short-term, [and include] money spent in assisting with  school audits, green screen [a wall of plants which absorb pollution like nitrogen dioxide], the Lewisham App and things like that. So the money will come out of that, [while] the statutory responsibility remains in public health,” he said.

According to the council’s report, risks from cutting the service include a loss of focus on the “strategic delivery invested over the past eighteen months.”

Committee chairman Cllr Liam Curran said many residents were already aware air quality was a concern.

“In some ways public campaigning etc. would be done for us. I think most people are aware this is such a big issue,” he said.

Mr Edwards said Chancellor Philip Hammonds budget announcement was unlikely to have any effect on the cut.

“Some £20m been put down for air quality but spread across 500 local authorities…it depends how they divide it up [before we can consider] what it means. It is better than nothing but we are not counting on it,” he said.

Lewisham Council needs to cut £30m from its budget over the next two financial years.