LORRIES could be banned from a town centre during the rush hour in a bid to reduce pollution.

This is just one of a number of actions Eastleigh Borough Council is looking at to tackle an ongoing problem.

High levels of nitrogen dioxide have been detected and a recent survey showed efforts designed to reduce it had failed with levels remaining above national guidelines.

So the council is looking at a new action plan to address air pollution, which is caused by vehicle fumes, including stopping access to the town centre by HGVs.

Though the council’s report said that given increases in housing and vehicles in and around the area this “can be seen as a positive result”, further action, it accepts, is needed.

Councillors are being asked to approve the new action plan to reduce transport emissions, improve public transport, work with taxis and local haulage companies, create travel schemes and increase public awareness.

As the worst spot for pollution Southampton Road is heavily used by HGVs to access industrial estates and for town centre deliveries, council bosses are looking at restricting HGVs’ movements at peak times into the town centre or re-routing them to reduce congestion.

The council is also looking at parking and waiting restrictions and weight limits.

But this is just part of a raft of measures being considered, which also include a park-and-ride scheme.

Others include ensuring drivers turn their engines off at Eastleigh Bus Station and at the taxi rank, improving bus services, more incentives to use buses, working with local firms to make haulage lorries’ engines more efficient, improving the cycle network and even planting more trees.

The action plan also suggests looking at the much-discussed Chickenhall Lane link road north of junction 5 of the M27 from the A335 Southampton Road to Chickenhall Lane – an estimated cost of £120m.

The borough currently has four areas of air pollution concern – one for Eastleigh town covering Leigh Road, Romsey Road, Southampton Road and Wide Lane, another near to the M3 junctions 12 to 14 and others at Bursledon and Botley.

Members of the Eastleigh Local Area Committee are being recommended to support the plan when they meet today at Eastleigh House at 7pm.

Teresa Smith, manager of Eastleigh Business Improvement District, which represents businesses in Eastleigh, said restricting HGVs could make deliveries difficult as employees would not be working well before or after normal working hours to receive them.

David Webb, chairman of the Small Business Federation’s south east Hampshire branch, said: “We are concerned that efforts to deliver improvements in air quality are not achieved at a disproportionately high cost to small businesses – with damaging consequences for jobs, business viability and the economy as a whole.”

He called on the council to ensure it limited the effect on businesses.