Committee Report: Amendment of Air Quality Management Areas within the Wigan Borough
| Report to: | Environment Panel, Cabinet, Council |
|---|---|
| Date: | 8 June 2005, 16 June 2005, 13 July 2005 |
| Subject: | Amendment of Air Quality Management Areas within the Wigan Borough |
| Report of: | Bob Saunders - Director of Community Protection |
| Contact officer: | Paul Cartmell - (01942) 827075 |
| Purpose / summary: | To vary the Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) declared within the borough and inform of recent local developments related air quality. |
| Alternative options considered and reason for selecting the one recommended: |
|
| Recommendation / decision: | That the Director of Legal and Property Services be authorised to undertake necessary advertisement and public notices (associated with the making of an order) and subsequently to make an order designating new varied Air Quality Management Areas within the Wigan borough. |
| Key Decision: | 1 |
| Implications: | |
| Financial: | Within existing budgets |
| Staffing: | Within existing resources |
| Policy: | Environmental Protection Strategy, Air Quality Action Plan, Local Transport Plan, Unitary Development plan |
| Equal Opportunities - Has a Diversity Impact Assessment been conducted? | No |
| Wards affected: | All Council wards |
| Special Interest Members – Which have been consulted | Councillor M J Crosby |
Categorisation of the report:
| Discussion leading to a decision | X | Discussion | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | - | Decision | - |
| Sharing for corporate understanding | - | Information | - |
Tracking/Process:
| Consultation | Ward Members | Partners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory Consultees, 18 May 2005 | Councillor D Molyneux and Councillor M J Crosby, 18 May 2005/23 May 2005 | - | |
| Panel | Overview & Scrutiny | Cabinet | Council |
| Environment, 8 June 2005 | - | 16 June 2005 | July 2005 |
List of Background Papers in accordance with Section 100D of the Local Government Act 1972:
| Document | Date | File Reference | Place of Inspection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second Round Review and Assessment of Air Quality | September 2004 | Environmental Protection Section, Community Protection Dept. Unity House Westwood Park Drive | |
| Greater Manchester Air Quality Action Plan | July 2004 | Environmental Protection Section, Community Protection Dept. Unity House Westwood Park Drive |
| Proper Officer | B. Saunders |
|---|---|
| Date | 24 May 2005 |
Background
Local Air Quality Management
The Environment Act 1995 sets out duties for local authorities in relation to local air quality management. Local authorities have responsibility for determining whether health based objectives for seven air pollutants will be met by specified target dates. The seven pollutants are benzene, 1-3 butadiene, carbon monoxide, lead, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. One of the key duties for local authorities is the need to produce periodic air quality review and assessment reports setting out whether the Government’s health based objectives will be met by relevant target dates. If the air quality review and assessment identifies areas where the objectives are not likely to be met the Council must designate these ‘Air Quality Management Areas’ (AQMA’s). The effect of designating these areas AQMA’s is to focus attention on these potential ‘hot spots’, so that actions may be directed to improve air quality. Being classed as an excellent authority (as defined by the Local Government Act 2003), Wigan unlike many other authorities, is not obliged to produce an Air Quality Action Plan. However, regardless of this exemption, the authority has chosen to work with all the Greater Manchester authorities to produce a Greater Manchester Air Quality Action Plan (produced mid 2004). This plan lists proposed and ongoing actions to improve air quality both at a Greater Manchester and at a local level.
The Council completed it’s first formal air quality review and assessment in 2001, which identified that the air quality objectives for nitrogen dioxide may not be achieved in certain parts of the Wigan borough. The Council designated the relevant areas an Air Quality Management Area by order on 13 August 2001. A map showing these areas is shown in Fig 1 below :-
Fig 1 - Map showing existing AQMA (NO2) in the Wigan Borough
In undertaking the Review and Assessment the Council worked closely with the other nine Greater Manchester authorities to maintain a consistent approach to air quality review and assessment. This has continued since and has resulted in a number of joint initiatives, for example the Greater Manchester Air Quality Action Plan referred to above. The most recent initiative is the pending Greater Manchester Local Transport Plan (which will incorporate many of the transport related action plan issues). A local report is currently being prepared for submission to DEFRA regarding the local authority’s progress regarding all these matters. For the latest (second formal) Air Quality Review and Assessment the Council has again worked closely with all the Greater Manchester authorities.
This latest Air Quality Review and Assessment was completed by the Council in September 2004. The Air Quality Review and Assessment process involves using monitoring information about air pollution levels and collecting information on emission sources. Air pollution dispersion modelling using state of the art computer programmes is then carried out if potentially significant pollution sources are identified. This review and assessment process has again identified (as in 2001) that the annual average objective for nitrogen dioxide will potentially not be met in some parts of the Wigan borough. However, the areas of potential exceedance identified in the 2001 assessment have been changed. As a result of these changes, there is now need to review the boundaries of the existing Air Quality Management Area. This requirement has also been confirmed as necessary by DEFRA following submission of the report to them. Required consultation has not raised any objection to these findings and proposals.
As a consequence of these changes the department is also reviewing its air quality monitoring capability. Following a year where one automatic monitoring site had to be closed (Leigh Police Station - due to refurbishment work) and another site opened (Wigan Deanery High School), the monitoring capability in two areas (Leigh and Ashton) is being re-evaluated.
Proposals
Air Quality Management Area Boundary Review
As already stated, the most recent review and assessment has identified new areas in the borough where the objective for nitrogen dioxide may potentially not be met. This change has occurred principally due to refinements in the modelling process used to predict air quality (use of more accurate traffic model – Sub Regional Highways Model, the use of Wirral, Tranmere for background pollutant concentrations and greater definition through the use of ‘intelligent gridding’) and additional information obtained from local air quality monitoring. This refinement has meant that for many locations the area where potential exceedances are predicted has changed. In some positions this means that the area has reduced in size, but in others, new areas have arisen. The new areas where predicted exceedances may occur are all along main traffic routes throughout the borough (associated with pollution arising from road traffic).
In all these areas the objective that may potentially be exceeded is the annual average concentration for nitrogen dioxide of 40 microgrammes per cubic metre. The proposed boundary for the Air Quality Management Area is however set at 36 microgrammes per cubic metre. This concentration was chosen after considering available monitoring data, the potential inaccuracies of the computer modelling used and a wish to take a precautionary approach to protect health. This is consistent with the methodology adopted in the determination of the AQMA boundaries in 2001 and the approach had been agreed across all 10 of the Greater Manchester authorities. This approach is also consistent with guidance produced by the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection.
The differences between the findings of the original air quality review and assessment (shown in Fig. 1 above) and the most recent review and assessment (shown in Appendix 1 below) mean that it is necessary to review the AQMA boundaries. A map showing the proposed new varied AQMA for the Wigan Council area is shown in Appendix 1 at the end of this report (the proposed new Air Quality Management Areas are shown in blue on the map).
It is therefore proposed that the existing AQMA is varied by order to cover all areas where the pollution concentration, predicted by computer modelling, is 36 microgrammes per cubic metre or more (the areas shown in blue on the map in Appendix 1).
Previously when the air quality management areas were made in 2001, the boundary was also adjusted so as to include complete plots of land (rather than partial areas) and complete rows of properties. This adjustment was undertaken to make administration of the AQMA easier. In this second review this has not been possible to do, due to the wide distribution of new areas (along major roads). The areas have therefore been left unadjusted. The benefit of this approach is that the areas reflect closely the results of the air quality modelling work undertaken.
Impact of the Air Quality Management Area amendment
Areas that have changed since the last review and assessment include the following:
- A reduction in size of the area at Leigh centre and at Chapel Street, Leigh, but extending in a linear fashion along principal roads serving Leigh centre.
- An increased size of area along the M6 motorway and A580 corridors
- The area in the immediate vicinity of Wigan centre remaining similar however the area extending to cover the serving road network.
- New air quality management areas along principal roads throughout the borough affecting new areas including Ince-in-Makerfield, Platt Bridge, Hindley, Atherton, Astley, Tyldesley, Golborne, Whelley, Aspull, Standish and Shevington and Lamberhead Green.
A table providing a summary of the areas affected is set out in Appendix 3 below.
The largest area of potential exceedance of the NO2 objective (as with the declaration in 2001) remains along the route of the M6 motorway, which runs the length of the borough, from north to south. Where other roads in the borough have been predicted to have exceedances of the objective, those areas of exceedance are generally confined to the immediate vicinity of the roads. However in some cases, the affected areas can extend a considerable distance (in the case of the A580 up to 120m and for the M6 over 300m from the centre of the road carriageway(s)).
It should be noted in some areas that the air quality management area has a ‘bubble’ like appearance, appearing and then disappearing along the length of a road. It should be noted that this is a feature of computer modelling work undertaken to ascertain the new AQMA’s. This feature can not easily be adjusted to compensate for this anomaly and has therefore been accepted by the Greater Manchester authorities. Greater interpretation will therefore be required when assessing whether or not a specific site or premises lies within an AQMA and therefore make the administration of Air Quality Management Areas more difficult. However, this is not considered to be a major problem as the primary emissions leading to the creation of the AQMA (emissions from road traffic) are also likely to be the subject of most assessments (primarily planning and environmental consultations). Such emissions (due to the movement of traffic) affect a wider area than that in the immediate vicinity of a specific site. It is therefore more important, practical and realistic in these cases to consider whether or not a site is near to an AQMA rather than whether or not it is inside it.
In other instances where existing air quality may have an adverse affect on a proposed use, for example, proposed new housing or a new school, it is of more significance to determine whether a site lies inside an AQMA. To determine this in some areas of the borough (i.e. where ‘bubble’ AQMA areas are shown) it will be necessary to extrapolate the declared areas to effectively join up these ‘bubbles’. This practically means that the areas along roads lying between these ‘bubble’ areas will also be classed as an AQMA. More generally speaking a site will be classed as being within an AQMA if part or all of the site lies within the designated area (bearing in mind the interpretation required with ‘bubble’ areas).
Using the proposed designated AQMA the Community Protection Department will continue to work closely with its partners, particularly the Council’s Planning and Regeneration Department and the Engineering Services Department. Given the importance of road traffic emissions the Engineering Services Department has contributed significantly to the production of the local Annex within the Greater Manchester Air Quality Action Plan, and regular consultation takes place with the Planning and Regeneration Department regarding the air quality impact of new developments in the borough. Following the declaration of the proposed amended AQMA, it is recognised that the need for associated consultation and intervention will increase due to the greater distribution of the AQMA within Wigan. It is recognised at a Greater Manchester and local level that the adoption and use of supplementary planning guidance will be a key tool in addressing air quality. It is planned that new guidance will be formulated during the coming year in consultation with the local and regional planning departments. Again given the importance of road traffic emissions, the pending incorporation of the Air Quality Action Plan within the Local Transport Plan is seen as fundamental in addressing the areas of potentially poorer air quality highlighted by the declaration of AQMA’s.
Recommendation
Members are advised to approve the variation of the AQMA boundary (under Section 83(2) of the Environment Act 1995) as shown on the map in Appendix 1 at the end of this report. It is therefore proposed that Cabinet make a request to Full Council recommending the Director of Legal and Property Services be authorised to undertake necessary advertisement and public notices (associated with the making of an order) and subsequently to make an order declaring new varied Air Quality Management Areas. A copy of the proposed designation order is contained in Appendix 2
Alternative options considered and reason for the recommended option:
With the knowledge of the wider distribution of areas across the borough, consideration was given to possibly declaring the Wigan area as a whole an AQMA. This has been the approach of some local authorities in the UK (e.g. Birmingham). This was however considered undesirable as this approach would be inconsistent with other Greater Manchester authorities and would detract from the emphasis the proposed AQMA’s give to the importance of traffic emissions i.e. the areas correspond to busy roads. The government acknowledges that the declaration of AQMA’s is not an exact science, and leaves the final decision on where to draw the boundaries with individual local authorities. For the reasons stated it is considered that the AQMA should be varied to correspond with the areas shown on the map below.
Conclusions
The Wigan borough AQMA should be varied by order (see Appendix 2) to correspond with the areas shown in Appendix 1 below.
Appendix 1
Map of Air Quality Management areas to be presented at meeting.
Appendix 2 — Environment Act 1995 Part IV Section 83(2) — Wigan Borough Council — AQMA Order
Wigan Borough Council, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by Section 83(2) of the Environment Act 1995, hereby makes the following Order to vary the Air Quality Management Areas designated by Order on the 13 August 2001.
This Order may be cited/referred to as the Wigan Borough Council Air Quality Management Area Designation Order 2005 and shall come into effect on [date].
The area shown on the attached map in blue is to be designated as an air quality management area (the designated area). The map may be viewed at the Council Offices.
This area is designated in relation to a likely breach of the nitrogen dioxide (annual mean) objective as specified in the Air Quality Regulations (England)(Wales) 2000 as amended.
The Order shall remain in force until it is varied or revoked by a subsequent order.
The Common Seal of Wigan Borough Council
Was hereto affixed on [date] and signed in the presence of/on behalf of said Council.
Director of Legal and Property Services and Solicitor to the Council
Appendix 3 — New Varied Proposed Air Quality Management Areas
| AQMA location | Description of area | Wards affected |
|---|---|---|
| M6 Corridor | Area lying along motorway generally extending between 150 –300m from the central reservation of the carriageways. The widest area of exceedance lies to the eastern side of the motorway | Standish Langtree, Shevington with Lower Ground, Pemberton, Orrell, Winstanley, Bryn, Ashton, Golborne & Lowton West |
| M58 Corridor | Area lying along motorway generally extending 50-70m from the central reservation. The widest area of exceedance lies to the northern side of the motorway | Orrell |
| A580 Corridor | Area lying along the East Lancashire Road, extending generally between 40 and 120m from the centre of the carriageway. | Golborne & Lowton West, Lowton East, Leigh South, Astley and Mosely Common |
| B5206 Moor Road, St James Road | Area lying along road near to Orrell Post / M58 extending generally 20m from centre of carriageway | Orrell |
| A5209 Shevington Moor / Almond Brook Road / School Lane | Area lying along road extending generally 20m from centre of carriageway | Shevington with Lower Ground, Standish with Langtree |
| A49 Preston Road / High Street / Wigan Road / Wigan Lane / Central Park Way / RiverWay / Chapel Lane / Poolstock / Poolstock Lane / Warrington Road / Wigan Road / Warrington Road / Lodge Lane | Area lying along road extending generally 20-50m from centre of carriageway | Standish with Langtree, Wigan Central, Douglas, Winstanley, Worsley Mesnes, Bryn, Ashton |
| Wigan Centre | Affects all principal routes leading to and from the town centre area | Wigan Central, Wigan West, Douglas, Ince |
| B5376 Bridgeman Terrace / Kenyon Road / Mesnes Road | Area lying along road extending generally 10m from centre of carriageway | Wigan Central |
| B5375 - Parsons Walk / Frog Lane/ Woodhouse Lane / Woodhouse Drive / Wigan Lower Road / Wigan Road | Area lying along road extending generally 20-25m from centre of carriageway | Wigan Central West Wigan, Shevington with Lower Ground |
| B5238 Scholes / Whelley / Wigan Road / Moorside / Scott Lane | Area lying along road extending generally 20m from centre of carriageway | Wigan Central, Inc/Whelley, Aspull-New Springs-Whelley |
| B5239 Bolton Road | Area lying along road extending generally 20-30m from centre of carriageway | Aspull-New Springs-Whelley |
| A577 Orrell Road / Ormskirk Road | Area lying along road extending generally 20m from centre of carriageway | Orrell, Pemberton, Douglas |
| A571 Victoria Street / Billinge Road / Wigan Road / Pemberton Road, Holmes House Avenue / Highfield Grange | Area lying along road extending generally 30m from centre of carriageway | Winstanley, Orrell, Douglas |
| Little lane, Norley Hall Avenue, Fleet Street / City Road | Area lying along road extending generally 10m from centre of carriageway | Pemberton, Douglas |
| Robin Park Road, Scot Lane, Beech Hill Avenue, Spencer Road, Marsh Green, Kitt Green Road, Eccles Road, Prescott Lane, Spring Road | Area lying along road extending generally 10-25m from centre of carriageway | Wigan West, Pemberton, Douglas |
| B5237 Bickershaw Lane / Smith’s lane | Area lying along road extending generally 10m from centre of carriageway | Abram, Leigh West |
| A573 School Lane / Warrington Lane / Warrington Road / Walthew Lane / Platt Street / Warrington Road / Aye Bridge Road / Wigan Road / High Street / Bridge Street / Warrington Road | Area lying along road extending generally 25m from centre of carriageway | Wigan Central,Ince/Whelley, Abram, Golborne and Lowton West |
| Heath Street, Peter Street, Barn Lane, Park Road / Sandy Lane | Area lying along road extending generally 10-15m from centre of carriageway | Golborne and Lowton West |
| A577 Manchester Road / Wigan Road / Atherton Road / Corner Lane / Smallbrook Lane / Wigan Road / Mealhouse lane / Tyldeley Road / Shuttle Street / Elliot Street / Manchester Road / Sale Lane / Mosely Common Road | Area lying along road extending generally 20m from centre of carriageway | Ince/Whelley, Hindley, Hindley Green, Atherleigh, Atherton,Tyldesley , astley Mosley Common |
| A58 Liverpool Road / Bolton Road / Lily Lane / Liverpool Road / Market Street / Castle Hill Road | Area lying along road extending generally 15-20m from centre of carriageway | Ashton, Abram, Hindley |
| Ladies lane / HallLane | Area lying along road extending generally 10m from centre of carriageway | Hindley, Aspull-New Springs-Whelley |
| Ashton Town Centre | Affects all principal routes leading to and from the town centre area | Ashton, Bryn |
| B5207 Church Lane / Golborne Road / Lowton Road / Bryn Road / Downall Green Road | Area lying along road extending generally 10 -20m from centre of carriageway | Golbone and Lowton West, Lowton East, Ashton, Bryn |
| A572 Newton Road / St Helens Road / Twist Lane / Spinning Jenny Way / Chapel Street, Manchester Road / Chaddock Lane | Area lying along road extending generally 10-25m from centre of carriageway | Lowton East, Leigh East, Leigh South, Astley and Mosely Common |
| A5082 Church Road / Hen Fold Road / Hough Lane | Area lying along road extending generally 10-15m from centre of carriageway | Astley and Mosely Common, Tyldesley |
| B5215 King Street / Leigh Road | Area lying along road extending generally 10-15m from centre of carriageway | Leigh West, Leigh East, Atherleigh, Atherton |
| B5235 Lovers lane / Schofield Lane | Area lying along road extending generally 10-20m from centre of carriageway | Atherleigh |
| A578 Twist Lane / Wigan Road / Leigh Road | Area lying along road extending generally 20m from centre of carriageway | Leigh West, Hindley Green |
| Plank Lane | Areas lying along road extending generally 5- 10m from centre of carriageway | Leigh West |
| A579 Lowton St Mary’s By-Pass / Atherleigh Way / Bolton Road | Area lying along road extending generally 10-25m from centre of carriageway | Lowton East, Leigh South, Leigh West, Atherleigh and Atherton |