NEW buses and driver checks have been promised to help tackle “horrendous” pollution levels near a children’s nursery and playground.

Environmental health campaigner Maria Sheppard took her fight to reduce air and noise pollution at the Woodbine Place bus terminus in Wanstead to Redbridge Council’s external scrutiny committee last night (January 11).

Dr Sheppard’s petition to get London Mayor Sadiq Khan to fit all buses with anti-idling devices has reached nearly 1,000 signatures.

The meeting at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford was attended by representatives from Transport for London (TfL) and its bus company contractors.

Grilling both TfL and the council, the Queen Mary University public health lecturer implored them to stop bus drivers leaving their engines running, overcrowding, and speeding in the area.

She said: “There are three signs telling bus drivers to switch off their engines.

“I know the drivers can read, so why do they keep doing it?

“The pollution they cause has short and long term health consequences for the 500 children who use Treehouse Nursery in Woodbine Place every week.

“It’s absolutely horrendous.”

She also expressed concerns about the noise of buses with their engines kept on for residents like her who live in Woodbine Place.

She added: “The noise pollution is almost constant, with the last bus of the day at 1am and the first at 5am.

“That only gives me and my neighbours four hours respite from the noise.

“On top of that there are often five different buses when there should only be three.

“I want to know why Woodbine Place is being used as a waste ground for London traffic with a children’s nursery and playground so close by.”

TfL’s Tom Cunnington said Sadiq Khan is “very concerned about air pollution” and aims to make London buses one of the cleanest fleets in the world by 2020.

A representative from the bus company that operates the 308, W12 and 101 buses that stop at Woodbine Place said he shared Dr Sheppard's concerns.

He said: “We have complete amnesty down there.

“We have response units visit the site twice a day to check drivers are turning off their engines as they should be.

“If we catch anyone not doing so they are put straight on report, which could lead to serious disciplinary action.

“The W12 bus fleet will also be completely replaced next year, which we hope will contribute to less noise and pollution.”

In terms of overcrowding, he said there was “only so much he could do” to stop other buses using the terminus, particularly when nearby traffic is disrupted on major roads like the A406 and A12.

A Redbridge Council spokesman added they are still considering implementing fixed penalty regulations to fine drivers who leave their engines on.