'Ignorance is bliss' means that not knowing unpleasant facts can keep you happy and free from worry. However, the drawbacks of ignorance are the inability to improve a situation and the fact that ignoring a problem usually allows it to become worse over time. That can leave you vulnerable, particularly where health is concerned.
So, when you are sitting at an outdoor bar or café in Rustington, pausing your conversation as yet another one or two buses idle beside you or rumble along The Street; if you live on The Street or Ash Lane; or if your child attends the pre-school, you should make yourself aware of the potential long-term risks associated with air and noise pollution.
Almost every organ in the body can be affected by air pollution. The specific diseases most strongly linked with exposure to air pollution include stroke, ischaemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and pneumonia. That is not good news. Chronic exposure to these environmental stressors can also contribute to physiological stress, including hypertension and increased heart rates, affecting both nearby residents and bus drivers. In addition to these illnesses, almost 330,000 premature deaths in the EU can be attributed to air pollution every year.
Health problems in both children and adults can occur as a result of short and long-term exposure to air pollutants. For some pollutants, there are no thresholds below which adverse effects are guaranteed not to occur, and children and older people are particularly vulnerable.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health states that:
'Air pollution poses a serious threat to children's health in the UK, contributing to a range of adverse health outcomes and premature mortality.'
That research makes particularly concerning reading when one of the timing points in Rustington is directly outside the pre-school. The same research states:
'Air pollution adversely impacts human health throughout the life course. Exposure to air pollution during gestation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence affects developing organs, and increases the risk of chronic disease in adulthood.'
It also explains why children are especially vulnerable: they inhale more air in proportion to their body weight than adults, breathe closer to ground-level sources of pollution such as vehicle exhausts, and have less ability to control their exposure.
Air pollution is not the only concern. The Urban Transport Group (UTG) notes that stationary bus idling is a significant concern not only because of emissions but also because of its broader impact on the urban environment and quality of life. When buses remain stationary with their engines running, the resulting noise and vibration can propagate into the surrounding environment, affecting residents and local infrastructure.
There is well-documented scientific and public-health evidence that long-term exposure to environmental noise can have measurable adverse health effects. These include sleep disturbance, increased stress responses, high blood pressure and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and it may be a risk factor in Parkinson's Disease.
In the context of Rustington, these findings are particularly relevant where bus services operate frequently through residential streets and where multiple routes converge at timing points. Unlike intermittent private-vehicle traffic, repeated bus movements involving acceleration, braking, engine idling and stationary waiting can create a more continuous pattern of noise, vibration and exhaust emissions in a relatively confined area.
Of course, West Sussex County Council, Arun District Council and Stagecoach are aware that air and noise pollution can cause harm. Yet Stagecoach and Compass operate more than 200 diesel bus movements through Rustington Village each day, at times seven or eight an hour in each direction.
These buses do not only contribute to noise, vibration and local air pollution, their frequent movements and periods of stationary waiting also contribute to congestion.
Despite West Sussex County Council having responsibility for the Local Transport Plan and Bus Service Improvement Plan, and Arun District Council having responsibilities within the local planning and environmental framework, residents have been told that bus operators determine service frequencies and routes. Residents have also been told that traffic noise is not covered by environmental regulations.
If that is the position being taken by the councils, it raises an obvious question: who is responsible for addressing the cumulative impact on residents and children when frequent bus movements, idling, noise, vibration, air pollution and congestion are concentrated at a timing points in the middle of a residential community?
Further reading:
The following study into noise pollution was conducted byThe UK Health Security Agency:Noise pollution: mapping the health impacts of transportation noise in England
If you believe that the volume of buses or the associated noise, vibration, and pollution in Rustington is affecting you adversely, you can submit a complaint to WSCC, ADC, Stagecoach or email MP Alison Griffiths (or all four). For more information please see the blog page: What Can You Do?
For more information on the effects of air pollution visit the Transport Environment webpage and the WHO website.
If you are interested in this subject there is a very informative article by the BBC titled:Noise: The Invisible Killer - How our noisy world is seriously damaging our health and a more recent article titled: The Guardian view on noise pollution: keep it down published in July 2026.
