2011 Air Quality Progress Report for Mendip District Council In fulfillment of Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 Local Air Quality Management March 2011 Local Rupert Williamson Authority Officer Department Neighbourhood Services Address Mendip District Council Cannards Grave Road Shepton Mallet Somerset BA4 5BT Telephone 01749 341461 e-mail [email protected] Report Reference number Date 2 Progress Report Executive Summary Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 places responsibility on local authorities to review and assess the air quality in their area in comparison to National Air Quality Objectives. The review and assessment of air quality takes the form of an Updating and Screening Assessment (USA) every three years, which is intended to identify significant changes that may have occurred since the previous rounds of Review and Assessment. This includes new monitoring data; new or changed emission sources and any local changes that may affect air quality. Progress Reports are produced in the interim years between USAs to keep stakeholders informed of changes and allow the local authority to take early steps to protect air quality if there are doubts about achieving any objective. If either the USA or Progress Report raises doubts as to whether an air quality objective will be achieved, then a Detailed Assessment is conducted to evaluate the risk that the objective will not be achieved. If the Detailed Assessment concludes that a risk exists, then consideration must be given to declaring an Air Quality Management Area and an Air Quality Action Plan should be introduced. The Air Quality Action Plan will include appropriate measures required to meet the objective. This report details changes that have occurred within the district of Mendip which may have an impact upon local air quality since the Progress Report in 2010. Monitoring data for nitrogen dioxide measured by permanent diffusion tube gauges is presented from 22 kerbside sites across Mendip. These data indicate that the objective value for nitrogen dioxide is being achieved at all monitored locations within Mendip with the exception of one location on The Butts in Frome that is marginally over. Due to the exceedence of the limit it is necessary to proceed to a Detailed Assessment of The Butts in Frome. Levels at a number of other locations remain relatively close to the air quality limit. Mendip District Council’s next air quality report will be a Updating Screening Assessment and a Detailed Assessment for The Butts in April 2012. Table of contents 1 Introduction 6 1.1 Description of Local Authority Area 6 1.2 Purpose of Progress Report 6 1.3 Air Quality Objectives 7 1.4 Summary of Previous Review and Assessments 9 2 New Monitoring Data 11 2.1 Summary of Monitoring Undertaken 11 2.2 Comparison of Monitoring Results with Air Quality Objectives 20 3 New Local Developments 27 3.1 Road Traffic Sources 27 3.2 Other Transport Sources 27 3.3 Industrial Sources 27 3.4 Commercial and Domestic Sources 27 3.5 New Developments with Fugitive or Uncontrolled Sources 28 4 Local / Regional Air Quality Strategy 29 5 Planning Applications 30 6 Air Quality Planning Policies 31 6.1 Key Considerations for Air Quality in Mendip 31 6.2 Integrating Local Planning Policy 32 7 Local Transport Plans and Strategies 33 7.1 Travel Planning 34 7.2 Air Quality 35 8 Climate Change Strategies 36 9 Conclusions and Proposed Actions 38 9.1 Conclusions from New Monitoring Data 38 9.2 Conclusions relating to New Local Developments 38 9.3 Other Conclusions 38 9.4 Proposed Actions 39 4 Progress Report Appendices Appendix A: QA/QC Data 42 Appendix B: Annualised Data 44 Appendix C: Triplicate Diffusion Tube Verification 47 Appendix D: Full Dataset of NO2 Diffusion Tube Data 48 List of Tables Table 1-1 Air Quality Objectives included in Regulations for the purpose of Local Air Quality Management in England. .......................................................................... 8 Table 2-1 Travel blank and lab blank QA ................................................................. 12 Table 2-2 Details of Non- Automatic Monitoring Sites ............................................ 19 Table 5-1 – Predicted Concentrations of NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 in 2012 – Annual -3 -3 Mean (μg m ) and number of Days with PM10 >50μg m ................................... 30 List of Figures Figure 1-1 The District of Mendip .............................................................................. 6 Figure 2-1 Frome Diffusion Tube Locations.............................................................. 13 Figure 2-2 Norton St Philip Diffusion Tube Location ................................................. 14 Figure 2-3 Shepton Mallet Diffusion Tube Locations ................................................ 15 Figure 2-4 Glastonbury, Street, Walton Diffusion Tube Locations ............................ 16 Figure 2-5 Wells and Surrounding Areas Wells Diffusion Tube Locations ................ 17 Figure 2-6 Buckland Dinham Diffusion Tube Location .............................................. 18 Figure 2-7 Trends in Annual Mean Nitrogen Dioxide Concentration Measured at Diffusion Tube Monitoring Sites. ......................................................................... 22 Figure 2-8 Trends in annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentration measured at Bath Street, Frome ...................................................................................................... 23 Figure 2-9 Trends in annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentration measured at Monmouth Drive, Frome ..................................................................................... 23 Figure 2-10 Trends in annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentration measured at Green Lane Avenue, Street ................................................................................ 24 Figure 2-11 Trends in annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentration measured at Main Street Walton ...................................................................................................... 24 Figure 10-1 Gradko International Ltd. WASP Results 2010 ..................................... 41 1 Introduction 1.1 Description of Local Authority Area Mendip District, shown in Figure 1-1, is a predominantly rural authority covering over 740 square kilometres of northeast Somerset. BRISTOL • SOMERSET Figure 1-1 The District of Mendip The population of Mendip is 109,100 (estimate for mid 2007), with the majority (approximately 60%) residing in the city of Wells, the towns of Frome, Glastonbury, and Shepton Mallet, and the village of Street, with the remaining in rural communities. Frome is the fourth largest town in Somerset. The principle roads within the District are the A39, A37, A361 and A371, which are the responsibility of Somerset County Council with the exception of a short stretch of the A361, which is the responsibility of the Highways Agency. Rail links are confined to a small length of the main line to London in the east of the District. Given the lack of public transport and the rural nature of the district, most homes have multiple cars. Agriculture underpins the district economy, but the quarrying industry and associated cement works dominate commercial activity. The majority of quarries are located in the eastern fringe of the Mendip Hills. The east Mendip Hills area is one of the primary producers of limestone aggregate within the United Kingdom. The principal towns also provide a wide variety of industries, including a foundry, printing works, and food and drink manufacturing. Of the 6 district and borough councils which make up the administrative county of Somerset, AQMAs have only been declared for nitrogen dioxide by South Somerset and Taunton Deane. Sedgemoor District used to have an AQMA due to sulphur dioxide due to a cellophane installation which has now closed. 1.2 Purpose of Progress Report Progress Reports are required in the intervening years between the three-yearly Updating and Screening Assessment reports. Their purpose is to maintain continuity in the Local Air Quality Management process. 6 Progress Report They are not intended to be as detailed as Updating and Screening Assessment Reports, or to require as much effort. However, if the Progress Report identifies the risk of exceedence of an Air Quality Objective, the Local Authority (LA) should undertake a Detailed Assessment immediately, and not wait until the next round of Review and Assessment. 1.3 Air Quality Objectives The air quality objectives applicable to Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) in England are set out in the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000 (SI 928), and the Air Quality (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (SI 3043). They are shown in Table 1-1. This table shows the objectives in units of microgrammes per cubic metre g/m3 (for carbon monoxide the units used are milligrammes per cubic metre, mg/ m 3). Table 1-1 includes the number of permitted exceedences in any given year (where applicable). Table 1-1 Air Quality Objectives included in Regulations for the purpose of Local Air Quality Management in England. Pollutant Date to be Concentration Measured as achieved by 3 Benzene 16.25 µg/m Running annual 31.12.2003 mean 3 5.00 µg/m Annual mean 31.12.2010 3 1,3-Butadiene 2.25 µg/m Running annual 31.12.2003 mean 3 Carbon monoxide 10.0 mg/m Running 8-hour 31.12.2003 mean 3 Lead 0.5 µg/m Annual mean 31.12.2004 3 0.25 µg/m Annual mean 31.12.2008 3 Nitrogen dioxide 200 µg/m not to be 1-hour mean 31.12.2005 exceeded more than 18 times a year 3 40 µg/m Annual mean 31.12.2005