Executive Agenda Item: 6 11 July 2013 Air Quality in Hooley

REPORT OF: Head of Community Services AUTHOR: Leon Hibbs TELEPHONE: 01737 276403 E-MAIL: leon.hibbs@-bansteead.gov.uk

TO: EXECUTIVE DATE: 11th July 2013 EXECUTIVE MEMBER: Cllr. Mrs R. Renton

KEY DECISION YES REQUIRED: WARD (S) AFFECTED: Chipstead, Hooley, and (Recommendations 1 & 4) East (Recommendation 2) Reigate Central / Reigate Hill (Recommendation 3)

SUBJECT: Air Quality in Hooley - Further Assessment and the revocation of Three Air Quality Management Areas within the Borough.

RECOMMENDATIONS: (i) The area shaded red on the attached map of Hooley (Annex 1) be declared an air quality management area for the pollutant nitrogen dioxide. (ii) The M23 air quality management area (AQMA) Order No. 2 (Annex 2) be revoked. (iii) The A217 / Rushworth Road air quality management area (AQMA) Order No. 4 (Annex 3) be revoked. (iv) The A23 / Dean Lane air quality management area (AQMA) Order No. 5 (Annex 4) be revoked. (v) The Legal Services Manager be authorised to make the relevant orders under section 83 of the Environment Act 1995, to implement such decisions as are made under recommendations 1 to 4 above.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS: Recommendation 1: Declaration of an air quality management area in Hooley. Local monitoring of nitrogen dioxide pollutant concentrations and subsequent computer modelling indicates that the UK and EU annual average air quality standard for this pollutant is not being met. The Council is legally obliged to declare an air quality management area where there is a breach, or a predicted breach, of the UK air quality objectives.

Recommendation 2: Revocation of the M23 (south) air quality management area. The concentration of nitrogen dioxide (for which the air quality management area was declared) has declined in recent years to the point that levels meet the air quality standard Executive Agenda Item: 6 11 July 2013 Air Quality in Hooley by some margin. Computer modelling indicates that the relevant air quality standards on this section of the M23 will continue to be met, assuming 45 million passengers per annum using the airport in 2025, with concentrations around 40 % below the limit value.

As the current and forecast concentrations of nitrogen dioxide meet the relevant standards by a significant margin on this section of the M23, there is no longer a requirement for the air quality management area.

Recommendations 3 and 4: Revocation of A217 Rushworth Road and A23 Dean Lane air quality management areas. Nitrogen dioxide concentrations within the A217 Rushworth Road and A23 Dean Lane air quality management areas have met the relevant air quality standards over the past five years, and show a slow but steady improvement in pollutant concentrations. Given forecast improvements in road vehicle emissions in the medium and long term there is no longer a requirement for either of these air quality management areas.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The council has a statutory duty to assess air quality across the borough on a regular basis. A routine assessment of air quality in 2010 indicated that the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in Hooley was in breach of both the UK annual average objective and the hourly objective for this pollutant, primarily as a result of traffic on the A23. A subsequent Detailed Assessment in 2011 confirmed these findings, but with some uncertainty over the vehicle emissions factors supplied by DEFRA. A Further Assessment was completed in November 2012 using revised data from DEFRA, which confirmed that the annual average standard for nitrogen dioxide was being breached at around 52 residential properties in Hooley, but that the hourly air quality standard for this pollutant was being met.

As the Council has a statutory duty under section 83 of the Environment Act 1995 to declare an air quality management area where a breach of the air quality standards has occurred, or is predicted to occur, it is proposed that the shaded area on the attached map of Hooley (Annex 1) be declared an air quality management area for the pollutant nitrogen dioxide. A routine assessment of air quality in 2011 found that the concentration of nitrogen dioxide within three existing AQMAs (M23, A23 Dean Lane, A217 Rushworth Road) had met and would continue to meet the relevant air quality standards (even allowing for forecast road traffic growth), and thus could be revoked. However there remained some uncertainty associated with a jump in pollutant concentrations in 2010 compared to previous years at all three sites, and with respect to the M23 AQMA there was some uncertainty over the magnitude of the impact of proposed developments at Gatwick.

Subsequent computer modelling examining the impact of the additional traffic associated with the growth of Gatwick to 45 million passengers per annum by 2025 confirmed that the air quality standards would continue to be met within the M23 AQMA despite the additional traffic resulting from the growth of the airport.

Executive Agenda Item: 6 11 July 2013 Air Quality in Hooley

Subsequent monitoring has also demonstrated that the elevated concentrations measured at Dean Lane and Rushworth Road in 2010 were weather related rather than associated with road traffic emissions.

Under section 83(2b) of the Environment Act 1995 the council has the power to revoke / amend an air quality management area if ‘it appears on a subsequent air quality review that the air quality standards are being achieved, and are likely throughout the relevant period to be achieved within the designated area.’

As the recent reviews of air quality and current monitoring data indicates that nitrogen dioxide concentrations within the M23, Dean Lane and Rushworth Road AQMAs continue to meet the relevant air quality standards, it is proposed that the M23, Dean Lane and Rushworth Road AQMAs (Annexes 2, 3, and 4) be revoked.

The apparent dichotomy of declaring one AQMA yet revoking three others in part reflects the ‘dieselisation’ of the UK car fleet. This has led to a decline in air quality where residential premises are close to major roads with slow moving or stop start traffic such as Hooley, whereas in areas where traffic is generally freer flowing improvements have occurred albeit to a lesser extent than was forecast in the early 2000s.

Executive has authority to approve the above recommendations.

STATUTORY POWERS 1. Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 requires that local authorities periodically review air quality in their area against current and future air quality objectives as set out in the Air Quality Strategy (2007) and the Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010). The legislation sets out a stepped process that gradually requires more in depth air quality assessment work in possible areas of poor air quality, and an annual review of areas where air pollution is problematic and where an air quality management area (AQMA) has been declared.

2. The Detailed and Further Assessments represent the second and third stages, respectively, of a three stage process to confirm if a breach of the air quality objectives is occurring, or is likely to occur, at a previously identified site. The assessments are based on monitoring and detailed computer modelling, and where such an assessment confirms a new area of poor air quality, i.e. a breach of the air quality standards has occurred, or is predicted to occur, then an air quality management area (AQMA) has to be declared under section 83(1) of the act.

3. Where a subsequent annual review of the air quality data indicates that the air quality standards and objectives are being achieved within an AQMA, and are likely to continue to be met into the future, then the council is able to revoke an air quality management area under section 83(2b) of the act.

Executive Agenda Item: 6 11 July 2013 Air Quality in Hooley

ISSUES Hooley 4. A routine review of air quality across the borough in 2010 identified a number of properties in Hooley that were likely to be in breach of the UK annual average air quality objective for a pollutant called nitrogen dioxide, a colourless and odourless gas which comes mainly from road vehicle exhausts, and that there was a risk that the hourly, i.e. short term air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide, was also being breached.

5. Although these findings were contrary to a previous in depth assessment of this site in 2001 which had found no such problems, the results were not unexpected. The growing proportion of diesel vehicles on UK roads over the past ten years has limited air quality improvements in relation to nitrogen dioxide close to major roads, especially where traffic is travelling at relatively low speeds, and in some cases has led to a deterioration in air quality.

6. While diesel vehicles in general have lower carbon dioxide emissions than an equivalent petrol engine, and are often perceived as good for the environment, in terms of local air pollutants, diesels are up to three times more polluting than an equivalent petrol engine (based on Euro III, IV or V, permitted NOx emissions). In addition measures designed to reduce the particulate pollution from diesels, e.g. particle trap filters, often increase still further the amount of nitrogen dioxide emitted.

7. As a consequence of the routine assessment findings a more detailed examination (Detailed Assessment) was undertaken, which confirmed that the annual average and hourly air quality standards for nitrogen dioxide were being breached. However there was some uncertainty associated with the DEFRA supplied UK diesel emission factors at this time.

8. Subsequently DEFRA released updated data for the modelling of diesel vehicles in the UK fleet, which were incorporated into the modelling for the Further Assessment of Hooley. The main findings of this work were:

 No residential properties breached the hourly standard for nitrogen dioxide.

 A total of fifty two residential premises experience annual average nitrogen dioxide concentrations over 40 µg m-3 (micrograms per cubic metre) and so breach the UK and EU limit value for this pollutant, with a further six properties within 10 % of the limit value.

 By 2015 only eighteen properties are predicted to breach the annual average standard, but a further twenty one properties will be within 10 % of the limit value.

 By 2020 the current air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide is predicted to be met at all properties in Hooley, but with four properties within 10 % of the limit value. Executive Agenda Item: 6 11 July 2013 Air Quality in Hooley

9. Although the computer modelling suggests that the air quality standards will be met by 2020, assuming that the forecast vehicle emissions improvements occur in practice, where there is a breach or a predicted breech the air quality standards the council is under a statutory duty by virtue of section 83(1) of the Environment Act 1995 to declare an air quality management area (AQMA).

10. Therefore it is proposed to declare an air quality management area for the pollutant nitrogen dioxide that covers the area hatched red in Annex 1. The spatial extent of the AQMA is based on the 32 µg m-3 contour (the annual average air quality standard minus 20 % in common with other large AQMAs within the borough) with minor allowances to avoid cutting buildings in half.

Issues: M23, A217 Rushworth Road, and A23 Dean Lane. 11. The M23 air quality management area was originally declared in April 2002, and covered the M23 to the north and south of the M25. The AQMA was reduced in size in December 2003 following the findings of a detailed monitoring and modelling exercise which were reported to the Executive in October 2003.

12. At the time there was insufficient monitoring data to revoke the M23 AQMA between junctions 8 and 9, due to a combination of repeated loss / theft of the monitoring equipment and access problems to suitable monitoring sites. These problems were resolved by the end of 2008 and the monitoring data indicated that the annual mean air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide was being met with concentrations around 30 µg m-3.

13. However there remained uncertainty at the time over the impact of the proposed developments at Gatwick on this section of the M23, given the predicted increase in road traffic associated with the airport handling 40 million passengers per annum by 2019 and 45 million passengers per annum by 2025.

14. Subsequent computer modelling of the impact of airport growth on this section of the M23 indicates that nitrogen dioxide concentrations are likely to be around 23 µg m-3 by 2019 falling to 22 µg m-3 by 2025, with the predicted improvements in vehicle emissions more than offsetting the growth in road traffic. If the predicted improvements in road vehicle emissions fail to occur then the air quality standards are still likely to be met albeit by a reduced margin.

15. The A217 Rushworth Road and A23 Dean Lane AQMAs were originally declared in 2005, as prior to this both sites had altered between meeting and breaching the standard for nitrogen dioxide. Since then air quality has shown a slight improvement and, while not as great as forecast, this improvement has meant that the air quality standard has consistently been met at both sites since 2006.

16. Air quality at both sites is forecast to improve still further in the coming years despite road traffic growth. However, if the forecast level of improvement fails to occur in practice, the air quality standard is still likely to be met but by a reduced margin as with the M23. In the event that the forecast improvements from vehicle emissions do not occur both sites are located near to larger AQMAs on Reigate Hill (Rushworth Executive Agenda Item: 6 11 July 2013 Air Quality in Hooley

Road) and Hooley (Dean Lane) and therefore will benefit indirectly from measures introduced into these areas to reduce pollution.

17. Given that the annual air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide is currently being met within the M23, A217 Rushworth Road, and A23 Dean Lane AQMAs, and is forecast to be met into the future, it is proposed that all three AQMAs (Annex 2, 3, and 4) be revoked under section 83(2b) of the Environment Act 1995.

OPTIONS Hooley 18. As it is a statutory requirement under section 83 of the 1995 Environment Act to declare an air quality management area where there is a breach or a predicted breach of the air quality objectives, given the modelling and monitoring results and legislative requirements, an AQMA has to be declared for the A23 in Hooley.

19. However the size / extent of the air quality management area can vary from:

i) that proposed in recommendation 1 (Annex 1), which in essence covers the residential premises where air quality is likely to breach the air quality standard allowing for modelling uncertainties including the weather (minimum size and recommended option),

ii) to an AQMA covering the whole borough (or any size in between).

20. If an AQMA larger than that proposed in recommendation 1 were considered appropriate this would need to be justified, given it may include residential premises where there were no air quality concerns.

M23, A217 Rushworth Road, A23 Dean Lane AQMAs 21. There are two options for these three existing AQMAs:

i) revoke the AQMAs given that the air quality standards are now being met within these areas, and as pollutant concentrations are forecast to continue to meet the relevant standards into the future (recommended option)

ii) retain one or more of these AQMAs.

22. If the retention of one or more of these three AQMAs is considered appropriate this will need to be justified given the air quality standards are, and are forecast to be, met.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

23. The legal position is confirmed as being as set out in the body of the report above. Members attention is specifically drawn to the advice that the making of an air quality management area is a legal requirement when the statutory conditions are met. Executive Agenda Item: 6 11 July 2013 Air Quality in Hooley

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 24. At present there are no significant additional cost implications beyond those already allocated in the current budget. The resource and cost requirements may need to be reviewed to reflect the needs of the action planning process for Hooley, but a further report will be brought before the Executive if any decisions need to be made that involve additional significant cost to the council.

EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS 25. Poor air quality tends to have a disproportionate impact on those over 65 and under 18, on people with long term respiratory / cardiovascular problems, and on unborn children.

26. A full equalities impact assessment (EIA) has not been undertaken, as the council’s EIA screening assessment indicates that one is not required. However the screening assessment has identified that as the declaration of an AQMA in Hooley is the first stage in a series of measures to improve air quality, this indirectly has a positive impact on three of the protected groups (age, disability, and pregnancy) while neutral on the remaining protected groups.

RISK MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

27. Part 2 of the Localism Act 2011 sets out discretionary powers for UK Government Ministers to require a local authority or authorities to pay all, or part of, any sanction imposed on the UK for non-compliance with statutory standards. While the UK has never had a financial sanction imposed by the EU for an infraction of EU legislation, in 2012 the Commission did object to the UK Government’s postponement of the deadline for attaining the annual limit value for nitrogen dioxide and so of late the prospect of infraction proceedings against the UK on air pollution grounds has arisen.

OTHER IMPLICATIONS 28. This section of the A23 in Hooley is the responsibility of the Highways Agency rather than County Council, and is close to the border with the Borough of Croydon whose roads are managed by Transport for London (TfL). Consequently there are a number of organisations whose actions can affect this section of the road network, but with little or no local accountability.

29. However, the declaration of the AQMA will result in these bodies having to take greater account of the air quality impact of their policies on this section of the road network.

CONSULTATION 30. A letter was sent to all residential (149) and business (11) premises within the proposed AQMA in July 2011 and to the statutory consultees listed in Annex 5. A presentation was also given to the Hooley residents’ association on 28th October 2011, and following the release of DEFRA’s revised data sets and the Further Assessment Executive Agenda Item: 6 11 July 2013 Air Quality in Hooley

work an additional letter was sent in January 2013 (closing date 8th March 2013) updating residents on the latest findings and inviting any further comments.

31. Responses were received from eight residents in addition to a range of comments following the presentation to the residents’ association. All were concerned about the impact of air pollution on their health, and their children’s / grandchildren’s health, with individual concerns about the impact on house prices, and whether any subsequent measures to reduce pollution would affect access to / from their property.

32. None of the residents who responded objected to the declaration of the AQMA, and a number of suggestions and comments were made that are summarised below:

- Introduction of a 20 / 30 mph speed limit through the village (3) - Reduction in council tax for properties affected (2) - Compulsory purchase of properties (3) - By-pass around Hooley (2) - Restrictions on road traffic / lorries on the A23 (2) - Vehicle emissions controls (1)

33. Two residents also pointed out that any measures to improve air pollution needed to bear in mind the fact that the breaks in traffic created by the lights at Star Lane were the only way they could get out of their drives onto the A23, and that this was becoming increasingly difficult.

34. There were four responses from the statutory consultees. The London Borough of Croydon and the Highways Agency just noted the findings. Surrey County Council stated that they would ‘work with the borough council in the subsequent development of the action plans’; while DEFRA stated that ’the conclusions of the report are accepted.’ and that ‘We look forward to receiving a copy of the AQMA order when the declaration process is completed.’

35. No responses were received from residents within the M23, Dean Lane, or Rushworth Road AQMAs, to letters explaining the proposals to revoke the AQMAs in these areas.

POLICY FRAMEWORK 36. The assessment and management of air quality to ensure that it complies with health protection based standards is in accordance with corporate and community plan obligations.

Background Papers: Further Assessment of Air Quality in Hooley – November 2012. Detailed Assessment of Air Quality in Hooley – June 2011.

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Annex 2

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The Reigateand Banstead Boroug'hCouncil ~ Air Quality Management Area Order No. 2 2003 '.

Head of Legal & Property Services Town Hall Reigate Surrey RH20SH

M:\LEGAL\MISC\AM\RBBCAQMA - NO.2.doc BOROUGH COUNCIL Annex 2 SECTION 83 ENVIRONMENT ACT 1995

REIGATE AND BANSTEAD BOROUGH COUNCIL AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT AREA ORDER NO. 2 2003

The Reigate and Banstead Borough Council of Town Hall, Castlefield Road, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 OSH ("the Council") in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by the Environment Act 1995 Part IV Section 83 hereby makes the following order:

1. This Order shall be cited as the Reigate and Banstead Borough Council Air Quality Management Area Order No. 2 2003 and shall come into operation on the 23rd day of December 2003.

2. The area set out in the Schedule hereto is designated as an Air Quality Management Area ("the Designated Area") for the pollutant Nitrogen Dioxide.

3. This Order shall remain in force until it is varied or revoked by a subsequent order.

4. The Council may revise the air quality management area action plan and/or the designatedareafrom timeto time. . t ~

THE SCHEDULE

The area formerly known as Area 2.2 in the Air Quality Management Area Order 2002, namely the length of the to the South of Junction 8 where it re-enters the area of Reigate and Banstead Borough Council to the point where it leaves the area of Reigate and Banstead Borough Council North of Junction 9 of the M23, together with an area extending for a distance of 30 metres from either side of the carriageway of the said length of the M23, as shown edged in red on the attached plan marked as Air Quality Management Area Order No. 2 (2003) - Air Quality Management Area - M23 - near Horley.

GIVEN under the COMMON SEAL of ) THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH ) OF REIGATE AND BANSTEAD this ) 23rd day of December Two thousand ) and three )

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