Worthing Borough Council

Local Air Quality Management

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01903 221064

Environmental.Protection@worthing.gov.uk

• Introduction
• The Grove Lodge Air Quality Management Area
• Links
• Downloads

The Environmental Protection Team of the Council has a key role in managing local air quality. Their role includes the monitoring of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and suspended airborne particles (PM₁₀’s) throughout the Borough.  The Team also review and assess air quality against specific health based national objectives for seven key pollutants and are required to produce annual reports of air quality within the Borough.  These may be viewed at the foot of this page.

Worthing Borough Council is a member of the Sussex Air Quality Partnership (Sussex Air), which promotes improvements in air quality related issues in Sussex.  The partnership comprises representatives from City, Borough and District Councils in East and West Sussex, East and West Sussex County Councils, the Sussex Health Protection Agency, Sussex Primary Care Trusts, the Environment Agency, the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton.

Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 requires the Secretary of State to publish a national Air Quality Strategy and established the system of local air quality management (sometimes shortened to LAQM), for the designation of Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA’s), which commenced in 1997. Air quality objectives are set out in the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000, as amended by the Air Quality (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2002.  These prescribe attainment dates for meeting air quality objectives for eight pollutants, seven of which fall within the LAQM regime.

Section 82 of the Environment Act 1995 provides that every local authority shall review both the present and likely future air quality within its area. Section 83 requires local authorities to designate an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) where air quality objectives are not being achieved, or are not likely to be achieved within the relevant period, as set out in the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000. This applies only to those locations where members of the public might reasonably be exposed. An AQMA is a geographical area that is notionally drawn up around a pollution hot spot.  Local authorities have to designate these AQMA’s ‘by means of an order’.  Over 200 AQMA’s have been declared across the UK varying in size from single properties to entire Boroughs. Once an area has been designated Section 84 requires the local authority to carry out a further assessment within 12 months and develop an Action Plan, describing what actions relevant agencies will be taking to try and comply with the relevant Objective.

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The Grove Lodge Air Quality Management Area

Following a period of public consultation, Worthing Borough Council has made an order under the provisions of Section 83(1) of the Environment Act 1995 for an Air Quality Management Area on the A27 near the Grove Lodge roundabout. 

The Order may be cited as the Worthing Borough Council Air Quality Management Area No.1, effective from 13 July 2010.

The Order covers the A27 near the Grove Lodge roundabout and incorporates Upper Brighton Road from First Avenue to the Grove Lodge Roundabout, 22-27 Lamorna Grove and Warren Road from the Grove Lodge Roundabout to the northern slip road of Warren Court.

Grove Lodge AQMA - Full map download below

The Order has been made in relation to a likely breach of the Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) annual mean objective as specified in the Air Quality Regulations 2000.

The Order may be viewed below.

Background to the AQMA Declaration

Monitoring in the vicinity of the Grove Lodge roundabout on the A27 Upper Brighton Road, has suggested that the nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) annual average air quality objective was being breached. Detailed air quality modelling was therefore carried out by the Sussex Air Quality Partnership on behalf of the Council.  The modelling and subsequent Detailed Assessment showed that the NO₂ Annual Mean Objective was being exceeded and was likely to continue to be exceeded, at residential receptors and that an AQMA should therefore be declared. 

The Council’s ‘Updating and Screening Assessment 2009’ showed that the objective for annual average NO₂ continued to be exceeded in the vicinity of the Grove Lodge roundabout during 2008 and therefore an AQMA must be declared.

A period of public consultation on the proposals was therefore carried out.  Local residents, businesses groups, neighbouring local authorities and highway authorities were consulted.  A Newsletter was produced giving more information on the proposed AQMA for Grove Lodge, which can be downloaded below.

What next?

We are already working on our ‘Action Plan’ and aim to have this completed within the next 12 months.  The Plan must set out how we intend to work towards reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide in the AQMA.  As the elevated levels are primarily caused by traffic, we will be consulting with the Highways Agency (responsible for the A27) and West Sussex County Council (the other highway authority) to look at ways of reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide.  For example, improving traffic flow would reduce the number of idling vehicles, thus reducing pollution. 

We will also consult other interested parties and want to hear from members of the public who may have ideas on how we could achieve the objective of reducing nitrogen dioxide levels. 

• You can submit your views by contacting Environmental Health and clearly stating 'Grove Lodge AQMA' using our on-line contact form.

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Links

• Sussex Air : Where you can also view data from certain monitoring sites across Sussex
• airAlert : A service provided by the Sussex Air Quality Partnership (SAQP), that sends alert messages to vulnerable people in Sussex informing them that poor air quality is predicted in their area. The alerts are sent to home phones via voice message, to mobile phones via text and via email.
• DEFRA's Local Air Quality Management site : a wealth of information about Local Air Quality Management, the pollutants of concern and the national air quality objective.
• UK Air Quality Archive : Also a useful information resource

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Downloads

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