Archived decisions

Contact: Phil Tidridge tel: 01962 840222 e-mail: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 Winchester City Council has reviewed air quality in line with current legislation and following Government guidance. Where standards are not met, an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) has to be declared and measures implemented to address the problems. An AQMA has been declared for Winchester city centre, particularly based on nitrogen dioxide monitoring, and as a result an Air Quality Action Plan is to be developed and consulted upon. The main source of the pollutants is road traffic and the initiatives included in the Winchester Movement and Access Plan (WMAP) and the European CIVITAS/MIRACLES project to reduce the environmental impact of traffic will be crucially important if the Government standards are to be met.

2. Background

2.1 Since the implementation of Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 all local authorities have been under a duty to review air quality within their district. The current standards that have to be met are prescribed under the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000 (as amended). It is a requirement that each local authority conducts a formal staged review of air quality within its district in accordance with a comprehensive set of guidance documents. These reports are then sent to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for approval.

2.2 The Regulations include a set of air quality standards with different compliance dates between 2003 and 2010. Where it is predicted that air quality is unlikely to meet these standards then an Air Quality Management Area needs to be declared to implement additional measures to try and achieve such compliance. The Council has to first declare a specified area by a legal process of issuing a local order. It then has up to 18 months to perform any additional monitoring to fully quantify the extent of the problem, which is termed a Stage 4 assessment. It also has to produce a strategy document identifying actions that will be taken, which must involve public consultation and stakeholder input. Declaring an AQMA has significant cost implications both in terms of capital costs for additional monitoring and staff time involved in collating this data and producing the strategy document.

2.3 Winchester City Council has prepared and issued four reports in compliance with the above duty. These are summarised below:

(i) Winchester City Council Stage 1 Review - Concluded that only three pollutants needed further assessment, these being carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particles (PM₁₀s).

(ii) Winchester City Council Stage 2/3 Review - Concluded that CO, NO2, and PM10 levels would comply with relevant standards. However, DEFRA required further assessment for nitrogen dioxide levels at houses close to main roads within the city centre.

(iii) Winchester City Council Air Quality Review and Assessment (Additional assessment of nitrogen dioxide levels within Winchester town centre) - This report was produced in response to DEFRA's comments. It concluded that there were a small number of properties close to busy city centre roads that could have levels higher than the background site and that dispersion modelling should be performed to investigate these locations further. DEFRA rejected this conclusion advising that we should declare an AQMA and then perform this dispersion modelling.

(iv) Winchester City Council Updating and Screening Assessment Report July 2003. This is the latest report issued in compliance with DEFRA guidance. In effect it is an audit of the conclusions of the above reports in light of the new guidance issued this year. It concluded that the main issue remained that of Winchester city centre and that an AQMA was still necessary. It also identified that some monitoring of the Watercress Line (steam railway) will be necessary in the current financial year to check compliance with the 15 minute sulphur dioxide standard near to Alresford station. This report was approved by DEFRA in September 2003.

3. Current Position

3.1 Further to the data contained in the first of the three reports it was decided by the City Council's Cabinet that dispersion modelling of the town centre should be performed before declaring any AQMA. This was funded by the County Council. The contract was awarded to consultants Casella Stanger who completed the study in June 2003. The report concluded that, close to city centre main roads, levels of nitrogen dioxide would fail to meet the annual average air quality standard of 40_g/m³. With regards to particle levels it proved impossible to ratify modelling results against available monitoring data and it was therefore recommended to include particles in any AQMA declared. Additional monitoring/modelling for particles was recommended to explore this issue further.

3.2 Subsequent advice on the shape of the actual AQMA was sought from Casella Stanger, who coincidentally run the DEFRA help line on air quality action plans. They advised that the AQMA should be declared to cover the problem areas including the arterial roads, although within the city centre there were advantages of a single zone. The proposed AQMA can be described as the `area surrounded by the city centre one way system and the town centre end of the major roads feeding into it' and is shown in Appendix 1.

3.3 On 3 September 2003 a report (CAB0777) was submitted to and approved by the City Council's Cabinet. It was resolved `that the City Secretary and Solicitor be authorised to make an order for the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) for the Winchester Town.' At the time of writing this report this order is still being drafted.

4. Way Forward

4.1 Following the declaration of an AQMA there is a recommended maximum period of 18 months in which further investigations can be conducted to fully establish the exact extent and causes of the failures; referred to as a stage 4 assessment. This work has then to be translated with full consultation into an Air Quality Action Plan that is submitted to DEFRA for approval. This identifies options, impacts, costs and benefits of options available locally to try and achieve compliance with the relevant air quality standards.

4.2 As road transport is the main local source of these pollutants there is going to be a need for a significant input from the County Council, including both WMAP and the European CIVITAS/MIRACLES project.

4.3 The majority of the Stage 4 work for nitrogen dioxide has already been performed, although Casella Stanger has recommended that the city centre diffusion tube survey for nitrogen dioxide be continued. It was also recommended that real time monitoring be continued and additional monitoring/modelling be conducted regarding particle levels. The diffusion tube survey has therefore been recommenced and discussions on the various monitoring/modelling options for particles are currently being pursued.

4.4 The current air quality monitoring equipment is approaching the end of its productive life and will require replacing in the next few years at a cost of around £75,000. Currently, the County Council meets the cost of running these stations.

4.5 Together all this work has significant cost implications and the City Council is keen to explore all avenues for sharing the financial burden of performing future monitoring and modelling projects within the city centre, particularly in view of the support this work can provide in evaluating transport initiatives.

5. Conclusion

5.1 Following the declaration of an AQMA for central Winchester, action will be required to promote improvements in air quality, particularly involving WMAP and related initiatives. Continued and extended air quality monitoring will be required to assess changes to ensure that compliance with Government requirements is achieved.

Recommendations

1. That the report be noted.

2. That the Executive Member for Environment notes the financial implications of air quality monitoring in Winchester in accordance of the requirements for the Air Quality Management Area.

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