Action has been demanded after Glasgow pupils complained about the air at their school near M8.

Youngsters at St Patrick’s Primary School, which is located on the edge of the busy motorway in Anderston, said the air was “dirty” at their school last month.

Now Scottish Green Councillors are calling on Transport Scotland to tackle CO2 emissions after claiming “neighbourhoods have been destroyed” due to heavy traffic.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has insisted that a quality station within the playground monitoring shows that the human health-based air quality objectives are all being met.

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Councillor Christy Mearns said: “I welcome the progress that has been made in recent months, with Glasgow City Council and Transport Scotland now engaged in more formal dialogue on these issues.

“However, it’s clear that a much greater level of commitment is required from Transport Scotland to explore longer-term replacement options in order to meaningfully tackle air quality issues, excessive noise pollution and to fix the public realm which is still so badly affected by the M8.

“Unfortunately, it seems that there is still more focus on celebrating the success of the Kingston Bridge, rather than on repairing the damage which has been done because of it.

“Neighbourhoods have been destroyed, local residents live with constant noise and heavy traffic on their doorsteps, and children continue to suffer the harmful effects of toxic air on their developing bodies.

“Given the vast amount of public money being spent on repairing the M8, which will bake in many more years of unnecessary air pollution, CO2 emissions and car journeys, it’s high time that the Scottish Government advocated for some of this to be directed towards a more positive end goal that supports people and planet instead.”

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We previously reported how Jimmy Prentice, a teacher at St Patrick’s Primary School, said:​ “Children feel the impact which vehicle pollution has on their health.

"We have had pupils complain to staff saying ‘we deserve to breathe clean air’ and ‘a cleaner environment is a better place to learn’."

Now Scottish Greens’ Transport spokesperson, Mark Ruskell MSP, has joined Bailie Mearns for a walk around the M8’s perimeter in the City Centre.

Reacting to experiencing the effects of the M8 on its surrounding areas, Mr Ruskell commented: “Cities around the world are rethinking their road space and it is time for Glasgow to be bold and do the same.

"The M8 has for decades been a blight on the city and it's time to think about how the road’s impact on surrounding communities can be lessened.”

A TS spokesperson said: “Scotland enjoys good air quality compared with much of Europe, and we have met our air quality objectives for the second consecutive year. But we are not complacent and we are determined to go further.

“The M8 through Glasgow remains one of Scotland's most important arterial routes.

“We have been engaged with officers from Glasgow City Council on the future of the M8 since 2021 and met most recently last month to discuss progress. We are working to evolve the Glasgow Managed Motorways study, to consider the reallocation of road space and the M8 aspirations of Glasgow City Council.”