Air Quality
There is a variety of work carried out by Environmental Health, which deals with air pollution and its control.
Local Air Quality Management
A local Authority is required to continually assess its local air quality and report this information back to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (defra). The aim of local air quality management is to assess the level of a pollutant against a government standard and objective and identify where areas do not meet these requirements.
The Air Quality Standard is the maximum concentration of a pollutant. The Air Quality Objective is the year by which the standard has to be achieved.
Where the standard and objective are unlikely to be met the local authority is required to declare an Air Quality Management Area and produce an Action Plan detailing what it intends to do to meet the standard and objective in that area.
The pollutants of interest are Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide, Lead, 1-3 , butadiene, Carbon Monoxide, Benzene and Particulate Matter (dust).
In response to requirements under Local Air Quality Management the Borough Council is responsible for the completion of specific reports relating to air quality.
The most recently completed reports can be viewed on the Current Consultations page
Current Work / Latest News
- The Department has very recently declared three further Air Quality Management Areas in Crewe, Disley, Knutsford and Macclesfield. This brings the total number of Air Quality Management Areas in the Borough to 12.
- A new Air Pollution Monitor has been installed in Knutsford, to supliment our monitoring and ensure detailed information is available in this area.
- The next formal report due to DEFRA is the Annual Progress Report, which will be published for consultation on or before 30 April 2010.
- As part of the process of trying to improve air quality within the Borough, the Air Quality Action Plan is being thoroguhly reviewed to cover the whole Borough. It is envisaged this document will be published for consultation in late 2010.
- The Council is also investigating devloping an overarching Air Quality Strategy, which will aim to integrate the Air Quality Management work with other areas of the Council at a strategic level.
1. Update and Screening Assessment Reports (USA):
These are required on a three yearly basis and review air quality in the Borough as a whole to determine whether any area may be exceeding the Air Quality Standard for any of the seven pollutants detailed above. Reports have been completed in 2000, 2003 and 2006. To view the reports please visit our Update and Screening Assessment Page using the link below.
2. Detailed Assessment Reports (DA):
These are produced where an Update and Screening Assessment in any of the given reporting years identifies a likely problem with a pollutant(s). The aim of these reports is to look more closely at any identified hotspot to assess how likely it is to happen and to support the declaration or otherwise of Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA's). A number of Detailed Assessment Reports have been produced following the identification of hotspots within the Update and Screening Assessment rounds. To view the reports please visit our Detailed Assessment Page using the link below.
3. Annual Progress Reports (APR):
These reports are produced in years where either an Update and Screening Assessment or a Detailed Assessment are not required. The role of these reports is retain a focus on air quality and to update on any specific changes that have been identified in the intervening years and to highlight any new monitoring results. Annual Progress Reports for the Borough were first produced in 2005. To view the reports please visit our Annual Progress Report Page using the link below.
4. Further Assessment Reports (FA):
Further Assessment Reports are produced about 12 months after the declaration of Air Quality Management Areas. The aim of these reports is to look again at the air quality within the designated areas to check that the original decisions made to declare an area are still valid. Conversely Further Assessments offer the opportunity to amend or revoke Air Quality Management Areas where new evidence suggests that air quality concentrations are within the Air Quality Standard limits.A number of Further Assessment reports have been completed. To view the reports please visit our Further Assessments Page using the link below.
5. Air Quality Action Plans (AQAP):
Air Quality Action Plans are produced within 12-18 months of the declaration of Air Quality Management Areas. They include the results of Further Assessment work and refine the Areas that are still exceeding an Air Quality Standard. The role of the AQAP is to detail the actions that the local authority and their partner agencies are planning to implement to address the air quality problem, the timescales involved and the potential costs and benefits of the schemes under consideration. A number of Air Quality Action Plans have been produced. To view the Plans please visit our Air Quality Action Plan Page using the link below.
As you can see Local Air Quality Management operates to a very tight timetable but ensures continued focus on air quality and pollutant concentrations on a Borough wide scale.
Air Pollution Monitoring
The Environmental Health Division carries out monthly monitoring of air pollution levels across the whole Borough. This work is completed to support the Authority in its Local Air Quality Management Work.
For more details on monitoring sites, pollutants measured, historic and on-going results as well as comparisons with air quality standards laid down by the European Union and Central Government please visit our Air Quality Results Page using the link below.
For information on how we monitor air pollutants please visit our Air Quality Monitoring Page using the link below.
Industrial Air Pollution Control (LAPPC)
This regime is laid down in the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007 innvolves the setting of conditions by which a process can operate to control emissions to atmosphere. Conditions are subsequently monitored by the Environmental Health Division to ensure compliance. For more details on the regime please see ourAir Pollution Control - Industrial Processes Page.
Complaints about Air Pollution
The Environmental Health Division often receive complaints relating to air pollution which are not covered by Industrial Air Pollution Control or require a more reactive response than Local Air Quality Management provides. In the main, these complaints relate to domestic and industrial burning or agricultural odours.
These type of complaints are dealt with under three main pieces of legislation:
1. Section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Statutory Nuisance)
2. The Clean Air Act 1993 (Industrial and Trade Dark Smoke Offences)
3. The Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007
Complaints dealt with under Statutory Nuisance are subject to a standardised procedure, which requires evidence gathering by the complainant and subsequent officer investigation.
In the case of dark smoke offences, officers of the Environmental Health Division attempt to witness the situation first hand, although, where this is not possible the Statutory Nuisance procedures are used to gain the necessary evidence.
The Environmental Permitting Regulations place a duty on local authorities to issue Permits to particular types of process with the aim of regulating emissions to atmosphere. Complaints about these type of processes therefore involve an investigation in to whether conditions of these Permits are being breached and whether further action is required by the operator to achieve compliance.
For more details on making a complaint please visit our Air Pollution Complaints Page using the links below.
Clean Air Act Approval
Under the Clean Air Act 1993 a Local Authority can set conditions on industry relating to minimum chimney heights to prevent high concentrations of emissions at ground level.
For more information on this area of work, please visit our Clean Air Act Page using the link below
Construction and Development
The Environmental Health Division also play in proactive role in preventing air pollution problems through the Building and Development Control functions. For more information on the scope of this work or to see the leaflet that we send to developers please visit Air Pollution - Construction and Development page using the link below.
Education and Information about Air Quality
The Environmental Health Division often becomes involved in awareness raising exercises for specific topic areas in which they work. This can either be general information sharing through newspaper articles or focus groups, involvement in 'environmental days', talks to schools and interest groups or simply providing information in response to an individuals' request.
If you are interested in more detail on any of the above please contact the Pollution Control Team.
For a list of general information leaflets held by the Pollution Control Team on air quality please visitour Air Quality Information Page.