Press release - Have your say on air quality

Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district councils have put together a new plan of action for the next four years to improve air quality in the districts and now they are asking residents to have their say on the proposals.

The current plans have been in place for eight to nine years and have been reviewed to ensure that the current pollutant levels are taken into account and that the right plans are in place to deal with the current obstacles. This has led to a new Joint Air Quality Action Plan for both districts, and the council would like to hear what local organisations and residents think of it.

The good news is that in the last five years most places have seen a consistent reduction in one of the main pollutants which is measured, Nitrogen Dioxide

This is specifically good news for Wallingford, Watlington and Abingdon. All three areas have seen the levels of pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) fall below the national objective level (40µg/m³) over the past three to five years. Following this, in accordance with Defra’s government technical guidance, the proposal is that they will no longer be designated Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs). Air quality monitoring will continue at those places.

This improvement can be attributed to a number of factors, including the work of previous air quality action plans, a change in behaviour with more people working from home and the use of cleaner vehicles such as electric vehicles.

Other proposals include promoting:

walking and cycling
the use of low emission vehicles
increased use of public transport

The priorities for 2023-27 include reducing traffic emissions within the remaining three AQMAs – Botley and Marcham in Vale and Henley in South Oxfordshire.

The survey

The councils would like residents’ views on the action plan and have devised a survey to collate opinions.

The survey is available here and opens on national Clean Air Day (15 June) and runs until 27 July.

Cllr Mark Coleman, Vale of White Horse District Council Cabinet member for environmental services and waste, said: “Air pollution is associated with several health issues including heart disease and cancer, and it particularly affects the most vulnerable in society.

“It is our aim to tackle it with our action plan which has proposals for the whole of districts as well as recommendations targeted at specific Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs). We look forward to hearing residents’ views on our plans.”

Cllr Sue Cooper, South Oxfordshire District Council Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “It’s very encouraging that we are making good progress with decreasing the levels of nitrogen oxides, especially in Watlington and Wallingford in South Oxfordshire and Abingdon in Vale thanks in part to the actions of our previous air quality action plans, more home working and greater use of cleaner vehicles such as EVs.

“Improving air quality is in both councils’ corporate plans and we hope the new action plan will have a similar positive outcome for the other AQMAs and improvement in air quality across both districts.”

The Air Quality Management Areas in detail

While the action plan does look to improve air quality across the districts, there are also area specific proposals for the six Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs).

Abingdon, Botley and Marcham in Vale
Henley, Watlington and Wallingford in South Oxfordshire

These are areas which have previously been designated as AQMAs by the councils due to elevated levels of a pollutant called nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) caused, in the main, by emissions from traffic.

Vale AQMAs

In Abingdon nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels have fallen below the national objective level (40µg/m³) over the past three years and so in accordance with Defra government technical guidance the plan is for the town to be no longer designated an AQMA. Although air quality monitoring will continue at those places.

In Botley the action plan proposes a feasibility study to improve the air quality on the A34. This study could consider options like traffic and behaviour surveys to understand why people drive or walk through the area, what type of vehicles they use and whether alternative routes can be promoted. The plan will also consider introducing road user charges for freight or heavy vehicles that travel through the AQMA.

In Marcham the action plan proposes reviewing all options to reduce vehicle emissions within the AQMA, including redirecting traffic and traffic calming measures.

South Oxfordshire AQMAs

Proposals for Henley include:

· promoting walking and cycling by improving the current walking infrastructure and the cycle network redirecting traffic

· improve the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure

· a workplace parking levy (a scheme that charges employers who provide workplace parking within the AQMA)

· review options to reduce freight vehicles emission, including weight limits and enforcement’.

· promoting the use of low emission vehicles by offering lower parking charges for low emission vehicles and increasing use of low emission vehicles as taxis by giving them priority space at ranks

· reviewing the Henley Freight Partnership, Strategic Routing Strategy, and explore and deliver further weight restriction zone enforcement.

· Promoting active travel engagement to air quality monitoring projects, where the pollution levels students are exposed to during their journey to school is measured.

· promoting active travel to school – such as School Streets (the closure of school roads to avoid parking at the gates), or other measures that promote parents parking away from the school gates and walking the final part of the journey.

In Wallingford nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels have fallen below the national objective level (40µg/m³) over the past five years and so in accordance with Defra government technical guidance the plan is for the town to be no longer designated an AQMA. Although air quality monitoring will continue at those places.

In Watlington nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels have fallen below the national objective level (40µg/m³) over the past three years and so in accordance with Defra government technical guidance the plan is for the area to be no longer designated an AQMA. Although air quality monitoring will continue at those places.

Notes to editors

What are Air Quality Management Areas?

Since December 1997 each local authority in the UK has been carrying out a review and assessment of air quality in their area. This involves measuring air pollution and trying to predict how it will change in the next few years. The aim of the review is to make sure that the national air quality objective levels will be achieved throughout the UK by the relevant deadlines. These objectives have been put in place to protect people’s health and the environment.

If a local authority finds any places where the objectives are not likely to be achieved, it must declare an Air Quality Management Area there. This area could be just one or two streets, or it could be much bigger.

Then the local authority will put together a plan to improve the air quality – a Local Air Quality Action Plan.