FUNDING of £100k has been secured for a pilot project to help people in Tideford breathe more easily.

The village, and in particular the section alongside the A38, has some of the poorest air quality in Cornwall. Monitoring of particulates has been carried out for years, but now, a new system will provide 24hour real-time data for the first time.

In addition, homes in the worst-hit areas, Mill Road and Quay Road, will receive filtration systems to purify the air breathed by residents.

Cornwall Council has allocated the cash for air quality monitoring systems to be installed on all of the homes along these two streets, and one or two units will also be placed inside houses.

The units differ from those used up until now in that they are placed nearer ground level, to give a more accurate measure of the air inhaled, rather than up high on the side of buildings. Connected to the 4G network, they’ll provide live data, giving a more comprehensive picture of pollution than information gathered in the past.

The system is the same as that used to track air quality data in London, says Cornwall Councillor for Rame and St Germans, Kate Ewert.

Having listened to people in Tideford, she knows how worried they feel about the serious impact of air quality on health.

“We’re fully aware that this is just a sticking plaster, and that it won’t solve all the underlying issues, but it is going to improve quality of life,” she said.

“This is a really exciting project, and if successful could well be rolled out across other areas.”

The units are set to be installed towards the end of October and the project will initially run for a period of 12 months.