East End Quality of Life Initiative
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About Us

Who we are

The East End Quality of Life Initiative (EEQOL) is an innovative, community led project with a track record of delivering social, economic and environmental change within Sheffield, across South Yorkshire and with influence nationally. The project is funded by Sheffield Public Health.

 

What we do

EEQOL works through a community advocacy and research role to give practical support to community forums in Tinsley, Darnall, and Handsworth. The project co-ordinates a city-wide community network monitoring air quality, using diffusion tubes to monitor levels of nitrogen dioxide.

 

Past Achievements

  • Worked with  Sheffield City Council, Tinsley Parents and Childrens Consortium, and Tinsley Sure Start to ensure the new Tinsley Green Centre is an outstanding example of environmental good practice for Sheffield.

  • Helped set up the participation of local communities to influence decision making in regeneration areas funded by Objective 1 in South Yorkshire

  • Undertook a participatory Health Impact Assessment of the Rotherham Sheffield Motorway Corridor Planning Study.
What's New?
Traffic-related articles in the Sheffield Star, June 5-7 2017:

£50M Lorry depot 'needs no environment study', June 7, 2017

City could ber a 'mini Holland' for cyclists, June 7, 2107

Is 'Junction 33A' the answer to M1 jams? June 6, 2017

Scaling back £300m Meadowhall plans, June 5, 2017

REVEALED: Air pollution hot spots in Sheffield where deadly fumes are more than twice legal limit The Sheffield Star reveals Air pollution in Sheffield is up to two-and-a-half times the legal limit, shocking new figures show. The latest readings, published at the beginning of May, were taken from monitors placed across Sheffield as part of the East End Quality of Life Initiative.

Read Ted Gunby (Carterknowle and Millhouses) response in his letter to the Star
Green wall yields huge cuts article in Air Quality Bulletin in May 2017 on King's College London study
Community Air Quality Monitoring Graphs have been updated to show February and March 2017 data
Telegraph Voices: How could the air quality across Sheffield be improved - and why? Sheffield Telegraph, 20 April 2017:
  • Pollution has been far too low a priority - Neil Parry, East End Quality of Life Initiative
  • Fossil fuels are at the centre of a real crisis - Joan Miller, Sheffield Climate Alliance
  • Let's devise a strong plan and seek Government funding - Peter Sephton, Sheffield city centre residents action group
  • Plants would be destroyed - Maria Val Martin, Sheffield University
Children exposed to air pollution article in the Sheffield Star, 6 April 2017
Tinsley Time and Travel Heritage Walks Family Art and History Days Mon 10 April, Thu 13 April, Sat 13 May with Ignite Imaginations
Air Quality, Noise and Health since March 2013, we have published monthly updates of research into the health impacts of air quality and noise. You can view past copies here:

Green Spaces and Health Newsletter An occasional update on research into the health effects of access to green spaces and exercise. You can subscribe to receive updates automatically and you can view past copies here: 

People, Places and Health Conference, organized by Minding the Gap at the Hilton Sheffield Hotel, Victoria Quays, on 19 September 2016. The presentations from this excellent conference are available to download here:

  • Buses, Bicycles and Building for Health: practice-based evidence from the UK, Dr David Ogilvie, Programme Leader – Physical Activity and Public Health, University of Cambridge
  • Come into the garden … , David Buck, Senior Fellow, Public Health and Inequalities, Kings Fund
  • The Built Environment, Professor Tim Townshend, Urban Design for Health, Newcastle University
  • Health Inequalities and the Built Environment, Sorcha Daly, Researcher, Institute of Health Equity, University College London
  • Identifying the loneliest in our communities, Cllr Shelagh Marshall OBE, North Yorkshire County Council and Campaign to End Loneliness
  • Active by Design: Designing places for healthy lives, Victor Callister, Deputy Director of Architecture and the Built Environment, Design Council CABE

Evaluation of the conference
London Air Quality Network Conference, 21 June 2016 - 60 years on from the Clean Air Act - air pollution in London today. Presentations are now available.

The Institute of Health Equity release Marmot Indicators 2015 Fair Society, Healthy Lives, The Marmot Review of health inequalities in England, was published in 2010. The review set out the key areas that needed to be improved to make a significant impact in reducing health inequalities. Today the Institute of Health Equity have launched the Marmot Indicators 2015. These are a new set of indicators of the social determinants of health, health outcomes and social inequality, that broadly correspond to the six policy recommendations proposed in Fair Society, Healthy Lives: 

1. Give every child the best start in life

2. Enable all children, young people and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives

3. Create fair employment and good work for all

4. Ensure healthy standard of living for all

5. Create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities

6. Strengthen the role and impact of ill health prevention

Sheffield - Marmot Indicators 2015

Sheffield - Healthy Life Expectancy - Census 2011
Air Pollution - Radio 4's Putting Science to Work - which technology is best designed to help us reduce air pollution in our cities?
Air pollution death toll - 698 people died prematurely in South Yorkshire in a year by Ellen Beardmore in the Star, 23 November 2015
BBC Look North covered the story about unacceptably high levels of air pollution at the taxi rank at Sheffield's Midland Station on 3rd November 2015, following distribution of a leaflet to taxi drivers encouraging them to switch off their engines when stationary.
Every Tuesday at midday at St Lawrence Church enjoy a tasty, nutritious and sociable lunch, and do your bit to reduce food waste in Tinsley
Schools shut under a cloud of diesel Jonathan Leake's article about Tinsley schools in the Sunday Times, 28 June 2015
All choked up: did Britain's dirty air make me dangerously ill? Read John Vidal's article in the Guardian, 20 June 2015

Committee on the medical effects of air pollution Statement on the evidence for the effects of Nitrogen Dioxide on Health - read report

Evidence of associations of ambient concentrations of NO2 with a range of effects on health has strengthened in recent years. These associations have been shown to be robust to adjustment for other pollutants including some particle metrics.

Although it is possible that, to some extent, NO2 acts as a marker of the effects of other traffic-related pollutants, the epidemiological and mechanistic evidence now suggests that it would be sensible to regard NO2 as causing some of the health impact found to be associated with it in epidemiological studies.
Poor air quality linked to hospital admissions Chris Burn, in the Sheffield Telegraph, 2 April 2015 - read article

Air pollution in Sheffield ‘closely linked’ with heart disease cases Chris Burn, in the Sheffield Star 28 March 2015 - read article

Hosted by Care4Air, the eighth Clearer Future Conference was held in Sheffield at the Hilton Hotel, Victoria Quays, on Wednesday 25th March. You can find links to the presentations here.

Pressure on Sheffield drivers to be more air aware

Ellen Beardmore reports in The Star (11 Feb 2015) on Sheffield Council’s Air Aware campaign which is aiming to raise awareness about air pollutants nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter.
Air Quality and Health in Sheffield, Conference, Friday 17th October 2014 Follow the links to the presentations from speakers including Dr Ian Mudway from Kings College London, Alan Andrews from Client Earth, and Councillor Jack Scott from Sheffield City Council.

Sheffield Green Party councillor calls for action over air quality ‘crisis’ - article in the Sheffield Star
Jack Scott presented an eloquent view of air quality difficulties in Sheffield to the Environmental Audit Commission recently, as reported in Air Quality Bulletin, October 2014

‘Death sentence’ outcry as Sheffield greenlights Ikea store - see report in the Yorkshire Post,  24 June 2014

Pollution from Ikea in Sheffield ‘will cause deaths’ - see report in the Sheffield Telegraph, 19 June 2014

Pollution and Traffic fears over IKEA Store - see article from Sheffield Telegraph, 19 June 2014
Health Impact Assessment Workshops were held recently in Leeds and Sheffield. The presentations can be accessed here:

Erica Ison - The basics of health impact assessment (HIA) part 1 and part 2

Sue Wright - Public Health England (PHE) and HIA Gateway
The Arts Council has published a report -

The value of arts and culture to people and society – an evidence review

Its findings on Health and Wellbeing include "Those who had attended a cultural place or event in the previous 12 months were almost 60 per cent more likely to report good health compared to those who had not, and theatre-goers were almost 25 per cent more likely to report good health. Engagement in structured arts and culture improves the cognitive abilities of children and young people. A number of studies have reported findings of applied arts and cultural interventions and measured their positive impact on specific health conditions which include dementia, depression and Parkinson’s disease."
Youth Artwork on display on the Tinsley Canal
The windows of the pump house on the Tinsley Canal are currently exhibiting artwork done by local young people from Tinsley Green Youth Club. They worked with local artist Joe Logan and other volunteers to create huge pieces of art that reflect their experiences of the canal and how they would like to see it treated. Find out more on the River Stewardship Company's website.

Read Neil Parry's article about air pollution in Heeley

Citizen clean: Campaigners frustrated with the Government's failure to cut the amount of air pollution are uniting to tackle 'invisible killer'

If you live within earshot of the M1 in Sheffield, don't be alarmed if you spot a furtive character attaching small plastic tubes to lamp posts and garden fences across the neighbourhood. It's probably just Neil Parry, a clean air campaigner, and he's not up to anything sinister, unless you are a developer trying to build a new road or a supermarket planning a lorry-filled depot. - read an article from The Independent, 19 March 2014

EEQOL attended the TUC's climate change conference in London on 21 October 2013. The speeches and presentations from the event are available online.

Citizen Science - local air quality; local action an article about community air quality monitoring by Neil Parry and Barbara Rimmington, published in Chemical Hazards and Poisons Report, September 2013
Mapping for Change Air Pollution Conference, London, 17th April 2013

Neil Parry was invited to present to an Air Pollution Conference hosted by Mapping for Change at University College London on 17th April 2013. The conference was organised  for concerned communities and organisations (mainly London-based). Speakers included:

  • Murad Qureshi, Chair of Health & Environment Committee, Greater London Authority

  • Dr Ian Mudway, Environmental Research Group, King’s College London

  • Maria Arnold, Healthy Air Campaign

  • Simon Birkett, Clean Air for London

  • Neil Parry, East End Quality of Life Initiative, Sheffield

  • Louise Francis, Mapping for Change

Links to all the presentations can be found here.
Sheffield urged to clean up its act and save lives Sheffield was urged this week to step up its efforts to tackle air pollution for the sake of residents' health and the local economy - article in the Sheffield Telegraph 21 February 2013
Post Independence Day

Browse pictures from Frome's Independence Day discussions on Flickr by following this link.

Ted Gunby of Carter Knowle and Millhouses Community Group and Neil Parry from East End Quality of Life Initiative attended Independence Day in Frome Somerset, debating  the future of the High Street, the increasing dominance of the big four supermarkets and the nature of our villages, towns and cities, Under discussion:

  • What kind of places do we want to live and work in?

  • Is there an alternative to so-called ‘big box’ retailing?

  • How do we ensure that regeneration and redevelopment include a central role for independent business and the interests of local people?

  • How do we keep a lid on the huge expansion of supermarkets via campaigning, the planning system, and local politics?

Ted and Neil distributed a leaflet and in discussion informed campaign groups that air quality and health concerns can be an important weapon in campaigns to stop supermarkets

See http://www.independenceday2012.co.uk/ for information, and http://www.tescopoly.org/ if you are concerned about the market-distorting power of the major supermarkets.
Traffic pollution obstacle as Tesco plans superstore (Manor Top) Sheffield Telegraph 18th October 2012
Sainsbury's drop legal bid over superstore plan (Archer Road) Sheffield Telegraph, 4th October 2012

Ted Gunby, chair of Carterknowle & Millhouses Community Group said the decision was "good news for the neighbourhood", and Neil Parry, EEQOL, said "developers have to think hard about the air quality issues raised by developments"
Sheffield East End Quality of Life's website was ranked 12th in a recent review  of websites (page 6) in Air Quality Bulletin (September 2012). They found it "a fact packed news site detailing the busy work of Neil Parry and his team"
Suburb fumes over air pollution - read the article in the Sheffield Telegraph 6th September 2012 about the report from Broomhill's Air Quality Symposium

Listen to Radio 4's File on 4 about Diesel Pollution, broadcast 7 Aug 12 (Neil Parry's interview with Julian O'Halloran is about 24 minutes into the programme)
Read the article which appeared in the Sheffield Star on 9th July 2012
Read the article which appeared in the Sheffield Telegraph on 5th July 2012
Pollution health fears as sun shines on Sheffield

Neil Parry was interviewed on Rony Robinson's programme on Radio Sheffield, 28 March 2012 (available to listen again from Radio Sheffield for a limited period, approx 02.35 minutes into the programme).

"Pollution health fears as sun shines on city" article on 29 March 2012 in Sheffield Telegraph.

"Air pollution six times over limit" and "Trapped indoors by air pollution" articles on 2 April 2012 in Sheffield Star.
Healthy Air in Sheffield Conference Friday 2nd December 2011

Comments received:

Thank you for an excellent morning, I found it extremely interesting and illuminating, it certainly stimulated a great deal of valuable discussion during the coffee and lunch breaks. Jenny Allen, S11 resident

Well done for the coverage but especially for organising the conference it was excellent. Sylvia Hamilton, Darnall Forum

The conference was really great, congratulations for sorting it all out. David Bocking, Pedal Ready

I really enjoyed the conference. The speakers were all of exceptionally high quality. I will be briefing my group shortly and planning our next steps. Catriona Mulligan, Hexham
Healthy Air in Sheffield Conference Friday 2nd December 2011

Presentations available to download here, from

Lewis Merdler's presentation included EPUK's film supporting Healthy Air Campaign Watch the film now

Download Conference Summary.

Green Party Conference in Sheffield 10 September 2011 download Neil Parry's presentation to the Green Party Conference here.
Carterknowle and Millhouses Community Group celebrate rejection of supermarket expansion plans

They hope the Sainsbury verdict will have a knock on effect on the nearby Tesco planning application. Read the articles from Sheffield Star 9 August 2011 and  Sheffield Telegraph 11 August 2011, or download the Planning Inspector's full report.

Interview about air pollution and health in Sheffield on BBC Look North, 9 March 2011

Traffic fumes may damage babies' breathing

Research at Sheffield Children's Hospital investigates links between air pollution and babies' respiratory problems, reported in the Sheffield Star, 3 March 2011

'Radical action' needed to curb city's air pollution

Sheffield Telegraph 3 March 2011

We're being choked

Air pollution blackspots in Sheffield on the front page of the Sheffield Star and in the Opinion column, 28 Feb 2011.

Carter Knowle & Millhouses Community Group Campaign against local supermarket

Local concerns about poor air quality and its effects on health have led to a vigorous campaign against the development of a supermarket in the area. Articles appeared in the Sheffield Telegraph on 3 Feb 2011, and the Yorkshire Post on 7 Feb.

Fumes: Traffic emissions on Abbeydale Road already breach national pollution guidelines, a key reason for the planning decision 

Published Date: 03 August 2010 By Ben Spencer  The Star News Reporter

A LONG-running campaign to halt plans to expand a superstore in the south of Sheffield has succeeded, after councillors rejected an application for planning permission.

Supermarket giant Sainsburys wanted to build a two-storey extension at their Archer Road site in Millhouses, increasing floorspace by 40 per cent.

Company bosses were encouraged when council officers backed their plans, but members of a city planning board threw out the plans on grounds of increased traffic and air pollution.

During a heated town hall meeting residents made impassioned arguments for both sides.

Patricia Kirk and Marian Price said they had been shopping at the store for many years and welcomed the 80 new jobs the company said the extension would provide.

But Kate Stone, governor of Holt House Infant School, said she was "extremely concerned" about the impact on road safety and pollution. Amanda Hunn, of nearby Hastings Road, said small businesses in district shopping centres were worried about the effect on trade.

Ogo Osammor, Sheffield Council's air quality expert, said the extension would increase traffic from the site by five per cent and the impact on air quality would be "minimal". But councillors were concerned when he said some parts of Abbeydale Road were already "at or above" the national guidelines for nitrogen dioxide emissions. Voting against the plans Coun Mazher Iqbal said: "It is important that we improve quality of life across the city."

But board chairman Coun John Hesketh said: "I'm certain Sainsburys will appeal. That appeal will focus on the fact that this board decided to ignore the advice of our own officers."

Ted Gunby, chair of the Carterknowle and Millhouses Community Group, later said the board had made "a courageous decision".

Time for action on city's Air Quality - letter in Sheffield Telegraph 8 April 2010
Air Pollution and Health in Sheffield on BBC Look North, 6 October 2010

East End Quality of Life Initiative and Sheffield Primary Care Trust talk about the burden of air pollution on the health of Sheffield residents - see the clip on YouTube.

Air quality in Sheffield again featured on BBC's Look North on Monday 25 January 2010.

Follow this link to watch the programme

Download the briefing paper by Professor Reece Walters of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (CCJS) at King’s College London Crime is in the air :air pollution and regulation in the UK

Concerns over air pollution in Tinsley featured on BBC's Look North on Monday 2 Nov 2009

Follow this link to watch the programme (feature starts approx 50 seconds into programme).

Residents protest over traffic pollution

Concerned residents confronted motorists making their morning commute into Sheffield to urge them to cut their car use - read the full article in the Star, 17 September 2009, and see more photos from Tinsley and Darnall.
Outstanding Contribution to Improving Air Quality

Neil Parry, Project Co-ordinator for East End Quality of Life Initiative, recently received Care4Air's most prestigious award for his outstanding contribution to improving air quality in South Yorkshire.

 

Click here for more information and to view Care4Air's video.

Click here to read David Bocking's article in the Sheffield Telegraph, 18 June 2008.
Air Quality and Health Trends in the Community Assembly East area

Download a booklet with useful information on air quality, health and neighbourhoods for the Arbourthorne, Darnall, Manor Castle and Richmond Wards.

 
Air Quality and Health Trends

East End Quality of Life Initiative has produced some booklets for the Community Air Quality Monitoring groups, bringing together air quality and health trends with a summary of the health effects of air pollution which can be found on the Reports page.

 
Air Quality in Sheffield

Download the latest air quality graphs for your local community.

Find out more about air quality in Sheffield.

 
Browse our Photo Gallery

Tinsley Health Week 2009

Installing underfloor insulation in the cellar of a terraced house in Tinsley

Tinsley in the snow, February 2009

Tinsley insulation advice, February 2009

29 April 2008 Tinsley Forum visit to Crosby Beach and Liverpool

See some of the events and projects in Darnall and Tinsley that East End Quality of Life Initiative has been involved in over the years.

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Visit our blog / archive
Recently updated health and air quality trends for Darnall and Tinsley - see our reports page for more updates
Handsworth Asda Demonstration against Air Pollution

Read the article in the Sheffield Star for more details.
Kettlebridge Action Group win Green Pennant Award

Read the article in the Sheffield Star for more details.

How energy efficient is your home?

Find out more about fuel poverty and affordable warmth in Sheffield:

Contact Sheffield City Council's Sustainable Housing and Affordable Warmth (SHAW) team on 0114 273 6294 or visit www.sheffield.gov.uk/greenhomes

Care4Air hosted the 5th annual Clearer Future Conference on Thursday 17 September 2009 at the Royal Victoria Holiday Inn, Sheffield. Follow this link for more details or to download presentations.
Read about research into links between air pollution and deaths from pneumonia, published 15 April 2008
Recent Achievements