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HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
ITEM
AGENDA 21 PANEL
30 OCTOBER 1996
UK NATIONAL AIR QUALITY STRATEGY
REPORT OF HEAD OF REGULATORY SERVICES
Contact: Rex Reeves 01705 829501
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 The purpose of this report is two-fo
ld.
Firstly, it is to update the Panel on the UK
National Air Quality Strategy and on recent
progress regarding ambient air quality matters
generally as they relate to this Authority.
1.2 Secondly, to consider the County Cou
ncil's
response to the formal invitation of the
Secretary of State to comment on the draft UK
National Air Quality Strategy, which was
published on 8 August by the Department of the
Environment and launched for consultation via
a news release on 21 August 1996 by the
Environment Secretary John Gummer. As this
draft Strategy will very likely have
implications for some of the County Council's
services, this report is intended to provide a
corporate response to this consultation
process.
2. Background
2.1 The Environment Act 1995 set up a le
gal
framework for the national and local
management of air quality. This Act required
the Secretary of State to prepare and publish
a national air quality strategy in
consultation with everyone who has an interest
in air quality matters. As part of this
process, on 8 August 1996 the Department of
the Environment published a draft document
titled "The United Kingdom National Air
Quality Strategy" for public comment.
Comments must be received by 21 November 1996.
3. UK National Air Quality Strategy
3.1 The draft UK National Air Quality St
rategy
(the Strategy) is a document which addresses
all aspects of ambient air quality policy.
3.2 The objective is to improve all area
s of poor
air quality, reduce any remaining significant
risks to health (even for those most sensitive
to air pollution) and ensure that by 2005 we
achieve consistently good air quality
throughout the country which will mean the
effective elimination of summer and wintertime
smog episodes.
3.3 This Strategy, which is the first of
its kind
in Europe:-
i describes the internationa
l and European
framework within which the Strategy must
operate;
ii sets out the new national
air quality
objectives to be achieved by 2005. These
are set with reference to air quality
standards which represent no or minimal
risk of health effects to the public;
iii details how far towards ou
r clean air
targets current policies will get us and
identifies the remaining areas to be
tackled;
iv discusses the contribution
that can be
made at a national level and at local
level in the key sectors - government,
industry and transport and
v will be first reviewed in
1999.
3.4 The air quality standards proposed r
epresent
concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere
at which there would be no or minimal effect
on public health. They are taken from the
best available consensual view of medical
experts and either the UK Expert Panel on Air
Quality Standards (EPAQS) or the World Health
Organisation (WHO). These standards will be
used as bench-marks or reference points for
setting objectives. There are measurable
standards for the following air pollutants:-
benzene, 1.3 butadiene, lead, carbon monoxide,
nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particles - PM10 and
sulphur dioxide.
3.5 Air quality objectives provide the f
ramework
for determining the extent to which policies
should aim to improve air quality. The
general objectives give a broad indication of
what the Government hopes will be achieved by
the implementation of the Strategy and
identifies the priority areas. These are
complemented by specific objectives which are
measurable and against which progress can be
assessed.
3.6 The Strategy builds on the existing
systems
for controlling air pollution such as smoke
control areas, authorization for specified
industrial processes as required under the
Environmental Protection Act 1990 enforced by
both central and local government and improved
emissions standards for fuels and new road
vehicles and introduces a new system of local
air quality management to help clear up any
pollution hot spots.
3.7 Initially, local authorities are req
uired to
make air quality assessments, carry out air
monitoring and modelling for specific
pollutants and prepare emissions inventories
for their particular areas. Where they find
that national air quality objectives are not
met or at risk, local authorities will have to
designate Air Quality Management Areas and
make action plans for improvements in air
quality. The Government will provide a wide
range of assistance to local authorities in
developing this new approach, which will
include the technical help in making air
quality assessments, new powers to test
vehicle emissions and guidance on traffic
management techniques, land-use planning and
public information strategies. The County
Council will work in partnership with other
local authorities in our area to carry out
these obligations required by the Strategy.
4. Hampshire County Council Involvement
4.1 Responsibility for local air quality
presently
falls mainly on the district, borough and city
councils. However, as the County Council has
planning, transport, waste and other strategic
responsibilities (which all have the potential
to impact on air quality and the environment
generally), it is in the interest of this
Authority to be actively involved in the
strategic management of air quality. Also,
this is consistent with our objectives in
"Charting a Course" of caring for the
environment and builds on experience gained in
working in close cooperation with our district
council colleagues in our waste management
strategy.
4.2 Another reason for the County Counci
l's
involvement is that it has a responsibility to
make recommendations to district councils with
respect to carrying out air quality reviews,
the assessment of air quality management areas
and the preparation of air quality action
plans or their revision.
4.3 Also, if in the judgement of the Sec
retary of
State the County Council fails to discharge
its duties then it can be ordered to comply
with any direction given in an action plan
prepared by a local authority.
4.4 During the February meeting of this
Panel the
County Scientific Officer presented a report
on the work and purpose of the Local Authority
Air Quality Forum (Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Air Quality Forum). This report also stated
that the geographic area of Hampshire had been
put forward as a pilot group of authorities
intended to start the work of the UK National
Air Quality Strategy during 1996/7. Since
this report, Hampshire County Council has been
selected by the Government as one of only
three county councils to participate with
other local authorities throughout the UK in
the phase one pilot scheme of the Strategy for
testing the national guidance on air quality
monitoring. This Authority will participate
in a first phase area, which requires working
in partnership with 14 other authorities
including the IOW Council and all the city,
borough and district councils in Hampshire.
4.5 During August this year, the County
Council
accepted the offer of an air quality grant
(Exchequer grant) towards the cost of
expenditure on air quality management, which
will be principally administration costs and
officer time in contributing to the work of
the Hampshire and IOW partnership area during
the first phase work of the Strategy. Each of
the 15 authorities in our area received the
same grant of £6,700 towards officer time
spent on review and assessment, production of
reports, consumables and travel expenses. In
addition to this, our partnership area
received a grant of £100,500 towards the cost
of some air monitoring (and the purchase of
the necessary equipment) by a small number of
district councils selected by the Government
for monitoring specific pollutants in
particular areas of Hampshire.
5. Consultation Issues
5.1 The Secretary of State has requested
comments
from local authorities on the following issues
of the draft Strategy:
i to specifically comment on
how far
transport planning and traffic management
are expected to ameliorate conditions in
those areas where traffic emissions
appear to have a significant effect on
air quality;
ii to comment on the guidance
relating to
the interface between land use planning
and air quality until the Government's
Planning Policy Guidance can be reviewed
to take account of the Environment Act
1995 and this Strategy;
iii whether the Strategy has g
ot the right
balance of action and responsibility
between national and local levels;
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iv is there a sufficiently cl
ear policy
framework for business, local government
and members of the public to assess and
consider the particular issues that may
arise for them; and
v do the air quality standar
ds and
objectives and proposed targets date of
2005 strike a sensible balance between
benefits of public health and quality of
life and the abatement costs?
vi Additionally, besides maki
ng any general
comments, the views of local authorities
on the proposed establishment of an Air
Quality Forum, involving, among others,
local government, as an ongoing mechanism
for keeping progress with the Strategy
under review are requested.
6. Comments
6.1 The comments in reply to the above
consultation issues are given in the attached
Appendix.
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the comments contained in the Appendix to this
report be sent to:
i the Secretary of State as the County Council's
response to the draft UK National Air Quality
Strategy consultation process and also to
ii the Association of County Councils and the
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Quality Officers
Working Group for their separate considerations in
response to the same consultation process.
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APPENDIX
1. The publication of the draft National Air Qual
ity
Strategy is to be welcomed. As transport planning,
traffic management and land use planning are key
target areas where this Authority has a major role
to play we make the following comments, which
relate to the consultation issues 5.1 i and ii:
2. Emissions from the transport sector affects us
all,
whether car drivers or not, and the development of
a national strategy to address this issue is a
sensible approach. Local authorities will clearly
have an important role to play in dealing with the
problem of pollution. Hampshire has been
designated one of the first phase pilot areas
following the approval of the Environment Act 1995.
The Government is looking to these areas to help
refine guidance. One of the issues that must be
resolved in the Environment Act 1995 is the
definition of 'local authority' which apparently
omits highway authorities from the legislation.
However, it must be recognised that despite the
potential for some new powers and improved advice
the guidance the County Council acting along cannot
solve the underlying problem of traffic growth.
3. The Strategy acknowledges that known technolog
ical
developments will be insufficient to meet the
stringent emission targets emerging from the
European Union. The benefits of cleaner vehicles
and fuels are expected to be offset by increased
traffic growth as we move into the next century.
Therefore, traffic growth is a root cause of the
problem. Technology will go a long way towards
dealing with the symptoms of vehicle emissions, but
lasting solutions will only be achieved by
addressing the increasing demand for car use, which
formed part of the response to Central Government
on the revised draft of PPG1. This issue of air
quality must be properly embraced when PPGs are
revised if the Strategy is to be integrated into
the transport and land use planning process.
4. It is disappointing, therefore, that the Strat
egy
appears to accept forecast traffic growth as
inevitable. An integral element of transport
strategies under development in Hampshire is the
setting of targets for modal shift to help stem the
tide of traffic growth. A national perspective on
modal shift targets and the implications for air
quality would be helpful in assisting local
authorities to develop local strategies. Not all
of the transport targets considered to date use
2005 as a target date and the implications of this
will need to be considered in the light of trends
post 2005.
5. The advice and guidance on sustainable land us
e and
transport provision given by PPG13 and the package
approach is already being actively pursued through
the County Structure Plan Review and the
development of integrated transport strategies.
Indeed, examples of County Council initiatives are
contained in the Government's publication on best
practice for PPG13. Ten integrated strategies are
planned to geographically cover Hampshire
identifying many millions of pounds of investment
needs for infrastructure and services. Whilst
further Government advice and guidance on the
subject of linking transport planning, land use
planning and traffic management would be helpful,
it is action and funding that needs to be pursued
urgently. The Government now has an ideal
opportunity to revise PPG1 which sets out the
framework for the planning process and PPG23 which
deals with pollution issues but not specifically
air quality. The draft Strategy in its current
form does not provide sufficient guidance to
develop the role of land use planning in improving
air quality.
6. Air quality monitoring is being planned as par
t of
all of the transport strategies under development
in Hampshire and will be used to test the success
of transport policies. The necessary equipment is
not cheap and further guidance on the
standardisation of methodologies and approach would
be helpful and cost effective. In the past the
subject of air quality and emissions has tended to
be esoteric and difficult for the general public to
fully understand. Therefore, it is vital that the
strategy addresses not only the issue of providing
understandable data, but also considers ways in
which the public is able to access such
information. In Winchester the County Council is
testing alternative media for communicating air
quality information to the public using a
combination of LED display units and accessible
computer terminals. In time this could be linked
directly to the ROMANSE project to provide a
comprehensive traffic information service, as well
as to traffic signals to help control traffic
levels should air quality become poor.
7. Traffic management has an important role to pl
ay in
helping to improve air quality, particularly in
urban areas. However, it would be wrong to look at
the use of traffic management in isolation. For it
to be successful it must be part of a wider
transport and land use strategy which helps
encourage alternatives to the private car. Without
adequate investment in complementary measures and
services to actively promote public transport,
cycling and walking, stringent traffic management
alone could seriously affect the economic viability
of an area, especially if there are competing
centres in relatively close proximity.
Additionally it is implied that traffic management
should be used to deal with pollution "hot spots".
However, this is a reactionary measure, and it is
important to adopt a strategy which is also
preventative by using measures to avoid hot spots
occurring in the first place.
8. Land use and transport planning strategies wil
l
take a relatively long time before the benefits of
reduced travel are achieved. However, such
strategies will only be successful if they are
accompanied by a fundamental change in public
attitude and behaviour towards the use of the car.
This is an issue that the County Council has been
tackling though its successful HEADSTART campaign,
without Government finance. The Strategy
recognises the importance of good information to
help raise awareness. Public attitudes and
behaviour provide the key to the transport
solutions but more tangible assistance from
Government to encourage local initiatives would be
welcomed.
9. The Strategy proposes possible new permissive
powers for local authorities to introduce fiscal
measures to improve air quality. Car parking
charges in urban areas are an effective means of
managing demand. The existence of a relatively
large stock of Private Non-Residential (PNR)
parking outside of local authority control has
tended to dilute the effectiveness of car parking
charges as a means of traffic restraint. The
ability to tax PNR parking could provide a
substantial source of income, but the impact on the
local economy would need to be carefully assessed
before such a measure is introduced. Similarly,
the impact of congestion charging and area
licensing would also give rise to a wide range of
issues, including social equity, the effects of
traffic diversion and the relative impacts on
competing commercial centres. Should any authority
embark on fiscal measures to mange demand then
there would need to be transparency as to how the
revenue raised would be used and whether or not it
would be additional to traditional funding sources.
More advice and guidance on this issue would be
helpful.
10. The Strategy proposes new powers for local
authorities to punish inconsiderate drivers who
leave the engines of parked vehicles running
unnecessarily. It is not clear at this stage what
is the extent of this problem, or how it could be
enforced. This initiative would act as a
deterrent, but it is hoped that improved awareness
would limit the occurrence of such incidents
leaving resources to concentrate on the more
fundamental aspect of the Strategy.
11. The growth in demand for air transport continu
es to
rise, yet air traffic is one of the few aspects of
transport not subject to the principle of demand
management advocated in Government guidance.
Greater encouragement for improved public transport
access is needed as part of the solution. This
could be promoted through the introduction of
integrated through ticketing and the consideration
of remote check-in centres at public transport
interchanges. More investigation of these and
similar initiatives are needed.
12. The rail industry is in need of a major invest
ment
programme not only to improve vehicle efficiency in
terms of emissions, but to promote rail as an
attractive alternative to the car and to provide a
level playing field in terms of competition with
road freight. The Strategy needs to look wider
than localised pollution caused by ageing rolling
stock to a more integrated solution which embraces
the barriers preventing greater use of rail as a
mode of transport.
13. Comments, other than those relating specifical
ly to
transport and land use planning are:
Those local authorities which have requested m
ore
powers to improve air quality will welcome the
proposed transfer of the burden of tackling air
quality to local authorities. However, there
appears to be one serious omission in this draft
Strategy and that relates to resourcing this work.
Other than some grants awarded to first phase local
authorities to help towards the costs of
kick-starting this Strategy, there is no mention of
extra resources or funding to enable local
authorities to carry out these additional
responsibilities! This point is particularly
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relevant when some local authorities (as is the
case with this County Council) have been
additionally considerably resource depleted as a
consequence of Local Government Review
restructuring.
14. The draft Strategy appears to provide a clear
policy framework regarding the separate roles and
responsibilities of the business sector, local
government and the general public. The
clarification of some of the technical issues
should be achieved via further Government advice
which is promised in the near future.
15. The proposed specific air quality standards fo
r the
8 initial pollutants appear to have been evaluated
on sound science and the best available medical
opinion and provide a valid base for the launch of
this Strategy. Furthermore, this proactive
initiative should place the UK in the driving seat
in meeting its future air quality responsibilities
both within Europe and the international arena and
encourage other countries to play their part in
helping to reduce transboundary pollutants such as
ozone, which the UK alone cannot fully control.
The proposal to balance the benefits of public
health and abatement costs is a sensible, pragmatic
approach - particularly so for resource depleted
local authorities which are required to play a
major role.
16. As a general comment, it is essential that at
the
first review stage in 1999, this Strategy must
address the effects of airborne pollutants not only
with respect to human health but also regarding
their damage to crops, vegetation, ecosystems,
materials and buildings. This is necessary in
order to achieve a sustainable approach to
protecting human health and the environment at
large, which is consistent with the objectives of
the Agenda 21 initiative.
17. This Authority is, by endeavouring to fulfil i
ts
Agenda 21 Environmental Management Plan objectives
(particularly those relating to transport, land use
planning, waste management and energy efficiency)
already continuing to play its part in improving
air quality generally and by reducing its carbon
dioxide emissions which contribute towards global
warming.
18. This Authority, with other local authorities i
n our
area, have formed the Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Air Quality Forum to primarily review and improve
local air quality. The proposal to establish a
national Air Quality Forum is fully supported.
This proposal will engender the commitment and
ownership which is essential in order to review and
coordinate local efforts in achieving the
objectives of this national Strategy.
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