EASTLEIGH Borough Council will be going ahead with plans to buy new equipment to tackle air pollution.

The council will be spending around £128,000 on air monitoring equipment to provide more accurate data at four locations across the borough.

These Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) include Southampton Road, Steele Close and The Point in Eastleigh, as well as Hamble Lane in Bursledon.

The council has a history of monitoring and delivering initiatives to deal with air pollution and has three Air Quality Action Plans (AQAPs).

These plans set out actions and initiatives that are both targeted to the local area and borough-wide schemes.

Cabinet Lead for Transport Cllr David Airey said: “The Council has a long history of dealing with air quality issues in the borough and this information will help ensure we continue to plan for the future.”

He added: “We are committed to tackling poor air quality and the health impacts of poor air quality. Investing in a range of equipment will help us to better monitor air quality, to assess long term trends in pollution levels and to identify the causes and instances of poor air quality and in turn inform and issue warnings to the public.”

The council was previously awarded £58,750 by the government to pay for 25 mobile air quality and traffic monitors as part of a targeted programme around the borough.

Over the past 18-months, it has been trialling smart monitors developed by manufacturer, Iknaia. based in Chilworth.

The monitors can detect levels of pollution on Eastleigh’s streets in real time.

They are portable which means the council’s environment team can collect data from many different locations and assess the impact that traffic is having on the air residents breathe.

They complement the static air quality monitoring stations that are already in place.

The 25 sensors are located close to the interchange between the M3 and M27 motorways and close to Southampton International Airport.

They will then be moved to other key locations around the borough over the following three years.

Among other clean air initiatives, the council operates airAlert, in partnership with Southampton City Council, airAlert is a free service that sends messages to a mobile or home telephone, informing subscribers that poor air quality is predicted in their area.