A plan to improve air quality doesn't go far enough and could put children's health at risk, councillors have warned.

Medway Council ran a consultation on its plan for Four Elms Hill, leading onto the Hoo Peninsula, to try to tackle emissions on the major road, between March and April this year.

Proposed interventions included encouraging people to cycle, supporting the electrification of buses travelling onto the peninsula, and implementing a zero emissions only zone for HGVs and LGVs.

If the plan is approved, it will be submitted to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) which will be asked if it agrees with the measures.

The plan would sit alongside two others for Pier Road in Gillingham and Rainham High Street.

The national air quality target - in terms of what is an acceptable level for health - for nitrogen dioxide is 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air as a yearly average.

In 2019, three of the council's monitoring posts in this area recorded levels exceeding this – one on Main Road, Chattenden, recorded an average level for the year of 53.2 micrograms per cubic metre of air.

The plan was discussed during a meeting of the council's regeneration, culture, and environment overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday(August 11) and it was decided the plan would be sent to cabinet members for approval.

However, Cllr Simon Curry (Lab) said he didn't think the measures proposed would make a difference

The opposition spokesman for regeneration, culture and environment, said: "I'm struggling to see where the levels will fall.

"The HGVs and the buses are not going zero carbon any time soon, they are going to carry on polluting for however many years, maybe another 10 years.

"In addition to that, the number of HGVs are going to increase because all the new developments are going to need a heap load of lorries going up that hill in order to build the new housing and all the development around Kingsnorth.

"So all I can see from this plan is the problem becoming worse.

"The purpose of this is to reduce the pollution because currently if it carries on, another generation of children in that area are going to grow up with compromised lungs."

He added how council officers reported their modelling exercises showed a new relief road which is being proposed by the council and zero emissions buses travelling on Four Elms Hill would not allow the council to achieve the target levels of nitrogen dioxide.

The relief road would connect the A289 to Woodfield Way, if it goes ahead.

The Luton and Wayfield representative said he thought it would be best to create an electric bus lane on the hill and compel developers to use only low emission or electric vehicles for construction traffic.

Stuart Steed, the council's environmental protection officer, conceded introducing low emissions buses wouldn't make a great difference to the levels of nitrogen dioxide because there were not many buses travelling on and off Hoo.

He said modelling had been carried out to take into account the council's £170m Housing Infrastructure Fund plans - which includes the relief road and a number of other road changes to support 10,600 new homes.

He also said the government's agenda on zero emissions vehicles means the number of these HGVs and cars travelling on the road will increase making a significant difference.