Campaigners say they were “surprised” to hear Waltham Forest Council was nominated for an air quality award.

Waltham Forest Streets for all say pollution has increased because the Mini Holland – and do not think the authority should be in the final of this year’s National Air Quality Awards.

A spokesman for Streets for All said: “We do not dispute that LBWF is eager to improve Air Quality in the borough and in this goal Waltham Forest Streets for All totally supports them.

“However we do dispute that the measures that Cllr Loakes has imposed on the borough have improved Air Quality.”

The group claims road structure and direction changes as part of the council’s Mini Holland cycling scheme has pushed traffic away from certain roads, but concentrated it in others, causing pollution to increase in those areas.

The spokesman added: “This traffic is causing gridlock across the borough. Slow moving, stop start traffic like this generates far more pollution than free moving traffic.

“So the pollution in the adjoining non-closed roads is far worse than before. We get frequent complaints about this from our members.

“It makes you wonder how these awards get decided.”

Cllr Clyde Loakes, deputy council leader and cabinet member for the environment, said: “We have been working hard to improve the quality of air that our residents breathe.

“Recent data collated by independent consultants has shown that not only has air pollution dramatically dropped in the last decade, but also modelling work has shown that this reduction and our radical interventions to improve the borough’s roads have helped to extend the life expectancy of our children by at least six weeks.

“It’s because of this that on an almost weekly basis we are now hosting councillors, MPs and other interested parties from across the UK on tours to see the infrastructure changes we have installed and the positive impact it is making.

“Waltham Forest is providing the much needed political leadership that is so desperately required if we are to address the widely documented public health disaster caused by poor air quality associated with vehicle emissions.”

The winners will be announced at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Thursday October 4.