Wandsworth Air Quality Citizens' Assembly

We have held a Citizens' Assembly on Air Quality as part of our work tackling the climate emergency and improving health in the borough. The Assembly has produced a set of recommendations for us and other key partners on what action can be taken.

Air Quality report

The final report from the Wandsworth Citizens’ Assembly is now available (published in June 2023):

Launch event

We held an online launch event on Thursday 13 July to share the Wandsworth Citizens' Assembly on Air Quality recommendations. This included a summary of the assembly process, presentations from assembly members, a summary of recommendations as well as how the council and partners are taking these forward.

Watch AQCA report launch webinar:

Public workshop: Citizens' Assembly on Air Quality Actions

This event is being postponed to September and the date will be confirmed soon. Sign up to the climate newsletter to stay up to date.

To action the Air Quality Citizens Assembly recommendations, we need to work together with the Assembly members, the Council, community partners and interested residents to explore ideas for how the recommendations that focus on awareness raising, encouraging public behaviour change and community action can be encouraged and implemented.

So, the Council are hosting a public workshop to explore how residents themselves see them being practically implemented and encouraged in their neighbourhoods.

Your views on air quality in Wandsworth

Thank you to everybody who shared their views. Over 50,000 votes were cast and over 350 new statements were added, providing vital differing perspectives.

The findings from this survey were reviewed by the Citizens’ Assembly on Air Quality in their fourth session on 29 April. You can watch this video to find out how the information was presented to the assembly.

Public webinar

We held an online public webinar on Thursday 30 March to give residents the chance to find out more about the Citizens’ Assembly on Air Quality, the online survey and how your views will help us shape our future Wandsworth Air Quality Action Plan. You can view frequently asked questions about the interactive survey.

About the Citizens' Assembly

The Citizens' Assembly is an example of a deliberative process (or mini public). Our Citizens’ Assembly will bring together a group of 50 randomly selected residents from across the borough. During the sessions, participants will hear from a range of 'witnesses' or 'commentators'. Participants will have an opportunity to question the commentators, share opinions with each other, deliberate and challenge each other and ultimately reach a set of recommendations on the action that we and other local stakeholders can take to tackle air quality.

The process will be led by a team of independent facilitators with extensive experience in citizens' jury/assembly facilitation from the social enterprise and community interest company Shared Future. It will take place over four Saturdays starting in late February 2023.

An oversight panel was set up to ensure the process is unbiased and fair. It includes representatives from Wandsworth Council, public sector partners, community groups and academia. The role of the Oversight Panel is to ensure that the project design is fair and rigorous, monitor the process and push for implementation of the assembly's recommendations.

How participants have been recruited

A profile of participants was agreed by the Oversight Panel to reflect local diversity. Participants were then randomly recruited in conjunction with The Sortition Foundation to match the agreed profile.

Each participant will receive a £78 shopping voucher (reflecting London Living Wage) for each day they attend and if required support with any childcare or transport needs (or any other support needs as appropriate).

What we will do with the information gathered

Towards the end of the assembly, participants will reflect upon the previous sessions and write a series of recommendations. All recommendations (in the participants' own words) will be presented in a report which will include an explanation of the recruitment process and the structure of the sessions.

The recommendations will be prioritised with an opportunity for participants to record the reasons for their level of support for each recommendation. All recommendations will be published in the report with a ranking according to the prioritisation and a list of reasons given for their decision by assembly members.

The first assembly meeting

The assembly met for the first time on Saturday 25 February. The assembly heard from four experts on topics including air pollution, the impacts on health, the local picture and personal perspectives.

Speakers included Dr Iarla Kilbane Dawe (co-author and lead researcher for the Defra/Local Government Association Guidance on Air Pollution and Air Quality lead for Waterman Group), Shannon Katiyo (Director of Public Health, Wandsworth Council), Maria Vaz and Jason Andrews (Wandsworth Council Air Quality Team) and Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah CBE from the Ella Roberta Foundation. The presentations are available to watch below.

The second assembly meeting

The assembly met for a second time on Saturday 11 March, hearing from experts on topics including transport, climate change and the current Wandsworth Air Quality Action Plan as well as community groups and school children.

The presentations are now available to watch below. These include presentations by:

Pupils from St. Mary’s Primary School
Andrew Haggar (Climate Change Lead, Wandsworth Council)
Ruth Pates (Living Streets) and Toby Hopkins (Wandsworth Cycling Campaign)
David Tidley (Transport Lead, Wandsworth Council) and Oliver Ivens (MP Smarter Travel)
Jason Andrews and Maria Vaz (Air Quality, Wandsworth Council)
Ruth Pates (Mums for Lungs) and Marta Zietkiewicz (Parents for Future)
Marion Neffgen (Extinction Rebellion)
Diana McCann (The 10,000)
Graham Peterson (Trade Union Clean Air Network)

The third assembly meeting

The assembly met for the third time on Saturday 25 March, hearing from experts on topics including:

Concerns and considerations around air pollution reduction measures in Wandsworth
Air quality
Public health and climate change
Air quality inequalities and social injustice
Previous Wandsworth consultation responses to the Air Quality Action Plan and the Walking and Cycling Strategy

The presentations are now available to watch below. These include presentations by: