Air quality tests are a national issue, not a local one according to the leader of Douglas Council, David Christian.

Mr Christian was providing a written answer to fellow council member Andrew Bentley.

Green Party member Mr Bentley had asked if the council would request that the Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture reconsider its decision not to re-establish air quality tests in central and outer Douglas.

Testing paid for by MHKs Ralph Peake and Bill Shimmins and MLC Bill Henderson showed that the air quality at the Quarter Bridge would have failed EU pollution standards from a level recorded in December last year and be just 0.07 micrograms below the 40g cubic metres limit in January.

Mr Christian said that the council is a ’responsible local authority and one that takes the health its residents and visitors very seriously’.

He added: ’However, air quality is never purely a local issue, though there can be local areas affected for better or worse.

’It is a matter for monitoring on a wider, national basis and as such any decision on the frequency and level of monitoring - as well as action in the case of poor results - rests with the DEFA.’

Mr Christian did say he was in favour of the DEFA being invited to review its decision. But he added he was ’conscious that the DEFA in common with other departments and local authorities has to be wary of unnecessary expense’.

When the matter was debated in Tynwald, DEFA Minister Geoffrey Boot reminded members his department had ’committed to biannual monitoring’ in July 2018.

Mr Boot also quoted a figure of ’£50,000 to £100,000’ to set up monitoring with the same figure needed each month to continue the work.

However Mr Peake, Mr Henderson and Mr Shimmins said their testing cost them ’in the region of £100’.