AN ACTION plan to bring down illegally high levels of air pollutants in a market town is to go before the public for their view.

Traffic congestion in Malton is so severe at one particular hot spot in the town centre, that levels of nitrogen dioxide breach legal air quality levels.

A 14-point Air Quality Action plan has been drawn up by Ryedale District Council to reduce pollution from traffic, which was put before councillors at last week’s commissioning board meeting.

Now the plan will undergo a 12-week public consultation. The district council also has to submit the action plan to the government agency Defra for approval.

Phil Long, head of environment for the council, said: “Essentially the Butcher’s Corner junction is an air quality zone. In simplistic terms that means we need to get the emissions down.”

The plan includes proposals for banning heavy goods vehicles from crossing the railway level crossing dividing Malton and Norton, getting motorists to turn their engines off in traffic queues and making it safer for children to cycle or walk.

The plan has already been approved by North Yorkshire County Council's planning committee.

A major part of the scheme involves a £5.5m improvement to the Brambling Fields junction on the A64 Malton bypass.

It would involve building a new eastbound slip road and roundabout to divert some of the heavy goods vehicles away from the centre of Malton and Norton as they travel to and from businesses such as Malton bacon factory.

But it has already divided opinion in the town.

Ryedale District Councillor for Malton, Paul Andrews, said: “Putting in a new slip road at Brambling Fields could be done at once at relatively low expense. But the council have made it clear that they want any improvements to be paid for by building housing.

“But how many houses do you have to build? There must be a full cost/benefit analysis of this.”

Councillor Michael Knaggs, North Yorkshire County Councillor for Malton, was also critical of proposals for the sliproad.

He said the more dangerous junction with the A64 was at the other end of town.

He said: “There’s been no accidents, no fatalities at Brambling Fields, so why try and mend something that’s not broken? That money could be spent at the other end of town, at the York junction, where there’s been 20 plus fatalities.”