We recently moved to a new area and were incredibly excited to buy our first home as a couple, with a baby on the way. However, although we love our street, we have found that we often can't go out into the garden or even open our windows due to the strong smell of wood burning coming from our neighbour's houses. I am now nearly 9 months pregnant, and my strong sense of smell has meant I've frequently been jumping out of the shower to shut the window in the mornings due to the awful smell!
On a more serious note, I am extremely worried about the impact that the particles released from wood burning (PM 2.5) will have on my growing baby's tiny lungs. Both in the womb, and out in the world. I'm aware that Manchester has some of the highest rates of A&E child admissions for asthma, and I'm scared that simply by living where we live I'm endangering my child's health before they're even born. I also avoid driving where I can (have always got around my bike) and would love to continue this with my child, but we live close to Didsbury Road which has no safe cycling infrastructure and where cars are constantly speeding, so I'm worried that we'll end up driving more than we should and adding to the air pollution problem!
We'd love authorities in Greater Manchester to take the threat of air pollution seriously - tackle wood burning, enforce a clean air zone and install safe cycling infrastructure everywhere so that people aren't left with driving as their only option.
Claire, Greater Manchester