Lewisham Council agreed to a public consultation on tackling air pollution in the borough yesterday (March 28).

The consultation process will explore updates to parking policy in Lewisham, the council said.

The Mayor and Cabinet approved the plans on Thursday, which amount to the first public review of existing parking policy in the borough for five years.

The current parking policies were introduced in 2014.

The proposed changes would introduce banded resident parking permits, based on a vehicle's CO2 emissions.

This would see those with the least polluting vehicles paying less than they currently do, while those with the most polluting vehicles would pay the most.

The consultation will launch in late summer 2019 and will last for six weeks, Lewisham Council said.

The plans to tackle air pollution by targeting vehicle emissions and parking costs are similar to those adopted by other boroughs in South London, such as Kingston-upon-Thames.

A council spokesperson said: "Air pollution is a global health crisis. In the UK alone 40,000 deaths a year are attributed to outdoor air pollution. Children and older people are most vulnerable to the toxic impacts of air pollution.

"Vehicles are the largest contributors of air pollution in London, which is why we are proposing policies that will encourage residents and business to use low emission vehicles. By switching to low emission vehicles you can help to clean our borough’s air."

In a 2018 poll of all London boroughs revealed that the vast majority of Londoners (82 per cent) agreed that tackling air pollution should be a priority, while 67 per cent of respondents said they had "suffered symptoms from poor air quality, including breathing difficulties and asthma getting worse."

Lewisham Council said that the plans could help residents in the borough save money by using low-emissions vehicles, and urged all interested parties to take part in the consultation.

A council spokesperson said: "Choosing a low emission vehicle can save you money as well as the planet.

"This consultation has a focus on reducing vehicle use, but it is aimed at everyone who is invested in our local environment and clean air. I urge parks groups, schools, cyclists, walkers, businesses, vehicle owners, pedestrians and parents to get involved and help us find the solutions we need."

In November last year, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan visited Lewisham for the launch of a new low-emission bus zone which runs from Camberwell to New Cross along Peckham High Street, covering 380 buses on 20 routes.

He praised Lewisham council's work on air quality and echoed those who regard pollution in the borough and across London as a public health crisis.

Mr Khan said: "I am impressed by policies the council of Lewisham have taken for example working with schools to stop idling vehicles, make green screens and other policies being done to help waking and cycling," he said.

"We need councils to recognise that this is a health crisis – what we need is action."

A 2017 study by researchers at Goldsmiths, University of London, revealed that air pollution levels in New Cross and Deptford were up to six times higher than World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

More details on the proposals can be found at: https://www.lewisham.gov.uk/articles/news/~/link.aspx?_id=7AD25150238240AC99008C3B5355A157&_z=z