Agenda item

The Head of Regulatory Services took the opportunity to introduce to Members of the Board to the Principal Environmental Health Officer, Technical Pollution, and lead on Air Quality matters, Worcestershire Regulatory Services.

 

The Principal Environmental Health Officer introduced the report and in doing so informed Board Members that the Air Quality Report 2024, was to provide Members with an update on the local air quality management actions taken by WRS on behalf of the partners since 2023 and future projects.

 

Members’ attention was drawn to the policy guidance, DEFRA as detailed on page 133 of the main agenda report, which stated that

 

“Improving air quality is a priority for Government. Poor air quality results in adverse health impacts, as well as wider costs to society for instance to the National Health Service and environmental impacts threatening habitats and biodiversity. The impact of air pollution is not always evenly spread; poor air quality can have a disproportionate impact on certain groups, including those on low incomes. Government is committed to driving improvements to air quality through national measures to reduce emissions of harmful pollutants and by empowering local leaders to act to reduce people’s exposure to air pollution.”

 

Up until the end of 2023, the assessment of air quality in Worcestershire had been based on:

 

a)     Palmes-type diffusion tubes for indicative measurement of ambient concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)

 

b)     Information and models produced at a national level or held by the Government (e.g. National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory).

 

c)     Continuous Monitoring with fixed sites in the County – currently at Wyre Forest House and Wychbold.

 

Across Worcestershire, there were currently 172 diffusion tubes in the locations as detailed at Appendix 1, Map 1, to the report.

 

In early 2024, a network of real-time Zephyr 'low-cost’ air quality sensors were installed on lampposts across the county, as detailed at Appendix 1, Map 2, to the report.

 

The purpose of the project was to provide enhanced monitoring data and inform future policy decisions and actions to improve air quality as well as future behaviour change work. The sensors each monitor 9 different parameters in real-time; compounds of Nitrogen Oxide gas pollutants (NO, NO₂ and NO_x), Small, Fine and Ultra Fine Particulate Matter (PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and PM₁, respectively) as well as temperature, pressure and humidity.

 

Appendix 2 to the report contained line graphs showing information from some of the sensors this year so far. All sensors were now fixed to lampposts.

 

In 2021, significant updates to the enabling legislation for Air Quality (The Environment Act 1995), had resulted in several refreshed Government guidance documents:

 

·       DEFRA Air Quality Policy (PG22) and Technical Guidance (TG22)

·       Environmental Improvement Plan 2023

·       Air Quality Strategy (2023)

 

In 2023, new national PM_2.5 targets were established, each with an interim target: -

 

·       10 ?g/m³ annual mean concentration PM_2.5 nationwide by 2040, with an interim target of 12 ?g/m³ by January 2028

 

·       35% reduction in average population exposure by 2040, with an interim target of a 22% reduction by January 2028, both compared to a 2018 baseline.

 

In February 2024, the EU reached a provisional agreement, for the annual limits for PM_2.5 and NO₂ be reduced from 25 µg/m³ to 10 µg/m³ and from 40 µg/m³ to 20 µg/m³ respectively. The deal still needed to be formally confirmed by the European Parliament and Council and then it would go through the adoption procedure. The EU targets were thought to be a step towards the more stringent WHO Air Quality Guidelines.

 

The key current UK air quality objectives for the main pollutants were: -

 

Nitrogen Dioxide: 40 µg/m³ annual mean

 

Fine Particulate Matter (PM_2.5): 20 µg/m³ annual mean (reducing in line with the new PM_2.5 target, outlined above.

 

Air Quality Status Reports (ASR) - annual status reports were required to be produced and sent to DEFRA annually, in June. The information in the Annual Status reports was primarily based on the NO_x tube data gathered by WRS as well as information from each of the partner Authorities, including Worcestershire County Council. Each report was sent to DEFRA annually and published on the WRS website by District.

 

Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) for Worcester City, Bromsgrove and Wyre Forest

 

Worcester

In February 2023, work commenced on a steering group to take this forward. Senior representatives from Worcester City and Worcestershire County Councils were appointed as co-chairpersons. The Steering Group has met monthly since then and was supported by four topic specific sub-working groups on Transport, Sustainability, Public Health, and Planning. The groups looked to determine potential measures informed by the available source apportionment work.

 

The draft AQAP report was considered by the Licensing and Environmental Health and Environment Committees of Worcester City Council on 22 May and 6^th June, respectively and a copy to be submitted to DEFRA before the 1st July, the deadline in order to meet DEFRA’s requirements. A summary of the AQAP plus a full draft copy would go out for public consultation in July 2024 before a final draft was submitted to Worcester City Council’s committees in October and November 2024, ahead of final publication scheduled for December 2025.

 

Wyre Forest and Bromsgrove

In May 2024, work commenced to progress AQAPs required for Bromsgrove and Wyre Forest Districts. This was delayed until then due to the lack of source apportionment data (information about traffic pollution sources) as representative traffic surveys could not be completed during COVID restrictions. Discussions with DEFRA meant that WRS now only had until 1^st November 2024 to submit a draft AQAP for each District and public consultation which, given that it had taken over 1 year to draw up the AQAP for Worcester City, was a significant undertaking by staff of both WRS and partner authorities.

 

At the time of writing, AQAP workshops had taken place between each district and work had commenced to draft AQAPs for both Districts to meet the required deadline.

 

Wychavon

In discussion with the DEFRA LAQM Team, in September 2023 it was agreed that consideration for an AQAP would be delayed until a full year’s worth of continuous monitoring data had been obtained for the site. Monitoring results from May 2023 to May 2024 indicated that concentrations were within 75% of the AQ objectives for NO2 and, following further discussion with Defra it had been agreed not to proceed to AQAP at this time. There was a possibility that the data may indicate the possibility of revocation of the AQMA or, failing this, if the data indicated it was still required, proceeding to AQAP would be undertaken following a further period of review to be reported in the ASR 2025.

 

Real-time Air Quality Portal

Following a successful bid to the DEFRA Air Quality Grant in 2022, WRS were awarded a grant of over £260, 000 in Feb 2023 to fund a network of real-time air quality monitoring equipment across the Districts.

 

In January 2024, the 26 monitors were successfully deployed across the County, making a total network of 27 monitors. A quarterly reporting was being finalised for the current period.

 

Air Quality - Behaviour Change

In January 2024, utilising section 106 (s106) air quality contributions and grant funding, a fixed-term technical officer post, focussed on Air Quality Behaviour Change was established. Around the same time, a 3-month Air Quality Behaviour Change survey, developed in collaboration with Worcestershire County Council Public Health team, was also published. The survey closed in May 2024, and over 1300 responses were received. The survey responses and data were currently undergoing analysis, and a full report would be published soon. The data was also useful as a baseline study for the behaviour change work.

 

Air Quality - Supplementary Planning Document

Since September 2023, WRS had assisted planning policy officers working on the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) to an Air Quality Supplementary Planning Document (AQ SPD) for the South Worcestershire councils.

 

Air Quality Strategy

It was a requirement in DEFRA guidance that any district that did not have any Air Quality Management Area (in Worcestershire that was Malvern Hills and Redditch) must still have an Air Quality Strategy to improve local air quality, avoid exceedances and reduce the long-term health impacts associated with air pollution.

 

Future Work

During 2024 the priority of officers was to complete the statutory duties identified in this report. However, looking forward, projects that were potentially important towards the Air Quality Strategy might include:

 

·       source apportionment of fine particulate matter,

·       integration of traffic and air quality data – something that we have begun to explore,

·       potential future links with indoor air quality in houses and businesses.

 

The unfortunate withdrawal of the Air Quality Grant scheme for Local Authorities earlier this year by DEFRA, a scheme that the six partners had previously benefitted from, meant that currently there was only a limited set of options for financing some of this work going forward.  Given the recent changes in EU and WHO objectives, it was possible that a future Government might review and potentially introduce more ambitious UK targets for some air pollutants, for example a reduction in the objectives for nitrogen dioxide. Notwithstanding this, it seemed likely that air quality, would remain a high-profile subject area for the foreseeable future with strong links to the health and climate change agendas.

 

In response to questions from Members, the Principal Environmental Health Officer explained that with the EU had provisionally agreed for the annual limits in their Directives for PM_2.5 and NO₂ to be reduced from 25 µg/m³ to 10 µg/m³ and from 40 µg/m³ to 20 µg/m³ respectively.  Should the UK Government choose not to align with this change, the current UK air quality objectives for the main pollutants would remain and be higher than our neighbours; so, it was not about levels, it was also about what objectives were looking to be achieved.

 

Air quality was about looking at the amount of pollution exposure to residents, e.g., nearby nurseries, schools, homes, not about traffic congestion or necessarily being in built-up areas. The impact of traffic pollution dropped off quickly after the edge of the carriageway, so houses set back a distance from the road may be deemed to be not subject to impact. There could be no relevant exposure from congested roads, if the above were not located nearby to such roads, so congestion itself may not be relevant for exercising the local authority’s air quality duties. A lot of factors can provide mitigation, e.g., trees, heights of buildings, and winds that could help to dissipate pollutants could all help or hinder the situation where people lived close to congestion, so there were a lot of factors to consider.

 

The Principal Environmental Health Officer was asked about the impacts of wood burning stoves and said that early research into wood burning stoves and fine particulate matter was not yet conclusive about the impacts.  However, given that wood burning stoves were perhaps more of an aesthetic addition to most homes rather than a primary source of heating, they were one of the sources of pollutants that people could do something about for themselves, and that officers were working with academic colleagues, looking at the impact of wood burners on air quality inside the home.

 

RESOLVED that the report and actions be noted, and that where they can that Members assist in enabling positive discussions about the improvement of air quality in Worcestershire and beyond.