North Lanarkshire Council AIR QUALITY ACTION PLAN 2013-2016 ENS_00945 07.2013 2 Contents Executive Summary 4 1.0 Introduction 5 2.0 The local Air Quality Management Process in North Lanarkshire 6 2.1 Background 6 2.2 Monitoring Data 2.2.1 Background concentrations in North Lanarkshire 2.2.2 Monitoring of PM10 in North Lanarkshire 2.3 Detailed Assessment in North Lanarkshire 2.3.1 Moodiesburn Detailed Assessment 2.3.2 Croy Detailed Assessment 2.4 Further Assessment in North Lanarkshire 2.4.1 Harthill AQMA Further Assessment 2.5 Emissions Inventory 2.6 Previous Action Plan Measures – Progress 3.0 Policies, Plans and Developments likely to Impact on the Council’s Air Quality Action Plan 15 3.1 Roads and Transportation Policies and Plans 15 3.2 Planning and Development Polices and Plans 17 3.3 Corporate Policies and Plans 18 3.4 Sustainable Development/Climate Change Polices and Plan 19 3.5 Planned Developments in North Lanarkshire Affecting the AQMA’s 20 4.0 Consultation 23 4.1 Public Consultation Exercise 24 4.3 Stakeholder Consultation Event 24 5.0 Action Plan Measures 39 5.1 Council-Wide Action Plan Measures 39 5.1.1 Corporate Action Plan Measures 39 5.1.2 Transport Action Plan Measures 40 5.1.3 Protective Services Action Plan Measures 42 5.1.4 5.1.4 Education Action Plan Measures 43 5.1.5 5.1.5 Roads Strategy and Safety Action Plan Measures 43 5.1.6 Planning Action Plan Measures 5.2 Action Plan Measures – Motherwell AQMA 44 5.3 Action Plan Measures – Chapelhall AQMA 5.4 Action Plan Measures – Whifflet AQMA 5.5 Action Plan Measures – Moodiesburn AQMA 5.6 Action Plan Measures – Croy AQMA 6.0 Evaluation of Action Plan Measures 49 7.0 Monitoring and evaluation of Action Plan 56 Appendix 1: Maps of AQMAs 57 Appendix 2: List of tables 59 Appendix 3: List of figures 60 Appendix 4: Questionnaire from Public Consultation 3 Executive Summary Under the 1995 Environment Act and subsequent Since the publication of the previous action plan, in air quality regulations made there under, North 2010 there have been several changes to the air quality Lanarkshire Council has a duty to prepare an Air management areas in North Lanarkshire and it was Quality Action Plan in order to address areas of air therefore felt appropriate to update the air quality quality in North Lanarkshire which fail to meet the action plan to reflect this, and also to build on the national air quality objectives. This is as a result progress made with the action plan measures from of monitoring in these areas and the subsequent the first action plan. This updated air quality action declaration of Air Quality Management Areas. North plan again includes a range of Council-wide measures Lanarkshire Council has five Air Quality Management that will directly improve air quality throughout North Areas, in Lanarkshire, as well as including action plan measures specific to each Air Quality Management Area. The • Motherwell Town Centre actions aim to strike a balance between the direct and • Whifflet, Coatbridge indirect costs of taking action and the benefit realised • Chapelhall in terms of improved air quality. Examples of action plan measures in the updated action plan include: • Croy • Further reducing emissions from Council-controlled • Moodiesburn vehicles, through the continued roll-out of pool cars All of the Air Quality Management Areas have been and electric vehicles declared as a result of exceedances of the annual mean • Measures aimed at improving the standard of public air quality objective for particulate (PM10) pollution. transport in North Lanarkshire, for example through The Action plan identifies a range of measures which the consideration of the introduction of Statutory the Council, in partnership with the community Quality Bus Partnerships and other stakeholders, have developed in order to • Greater awareness and alignment of the Council’s improve air quality within the Air Quality Management work in terms of its commitment to carbon Areas and throughout the wider North Lanarkshire reduction and local air quality management Council area. Because of the nature of the challenge facing North Lanarkshire Council, a number of the • The development of an air quality education action plan measures are wide-ranging and long-term, package for schools in North Lanarkshire as opposed to short-term quick fixes. The measures In addition to the measures themselves, the updated do, however, demonstrate North Lanarkshire Council’s air quality action plan also includes an evaluation of continued commitment to working towards improving the actions detailed and an estimation of the potential air quality for the residents of North Lanarkshire improvements they bring to addressing air quality and those who visit or work in the area. The Council in North Lanarkshire. Monitoring and re-evaluating prepared and published its first Air Quality Action Plan these actions will be the key to long term air quality in 2010 and this document contained thirty-six action improvements in North Lanarkshire. plan measures. Of these, thirty-five of the measures have been either completed or are ongoing. 4 1.0 Introduction The fourth largest local authority in Scotland, North Lanarkshire Council is situated in central Scotland, between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It includes the medium to large towns of Motherwell, Wishaw, Airdrie, Coatbridge, Bellshill, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and has a population of approximately 337,800. North Lanarkshire Council is a strategic transport hub with a number of major roads running through the area, namely the A8/M8 motorway which links Glasgow and Edinburgh, the M73/M74 running north and south, and the A80/M80 running from Glasgow to Stirling and the north of Scotland. Under the Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) Following the declaration of the initial three AQMAs regime local authorities throughout the UK have in North Lanarkshire (at Motherwell, Whifflet and a statutory responsibility to monitor and report Chapelhall), an Air Quality Action Plan was prepared on air quality in their area. National statutory air and published in 2010. Subsequent breaches of the quality objectives have been set for seven significant national air quality objectives led to further AQMA pollutants, along with dates for compliance with declarations at Croy and Moodiesburn. In addition the objectives. North Lanarkshire Council has been to this, another AQMA, which had been declared at monitoring air quality in line with its statutory duties Harthill for breaches of the annual mean objective for for a number of years now and has built up a good PM10 has since been revoked. It was therefore felt, level of knowledge of air quality across the district with all these changes, and with the time lapse since using a combination of diffusion tube screening the publication of the original 2010 Air Quality Action monitors and real-time automatic air monitors. The Plan, that an update to the Air Quality Action Plan was Council’s position makes it a prime location for a timely necessity. commuters to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling and this, combined with the significant amount of private residential housing that has been built in recent years has meant that North Lanarkshire has significant air quality challenges largely due to road traffic emissions. Monitoring has identified five areas across North Lanarkshire where the annual mean objective for Particulate (PM10) pollution is not being met. Consequently, these areas have been declared Air Quality Management Areas. They are: • Motherwell Town Centre • Junction of Lauchope St and Main St, Chapelhall • Whifflet Coatbridge • Moodiesburn • Croy 5 2.0 The Local Air Quality Management Process in North Lanarkshire 2.1 Legislative Background quality in the UK from today into for which an objective deadline the future. As well as direct benefits is set. Of the eight pollutants The National Air Quality Strategy to public health, these options are identified seven are required to for England, Wales, Scotland and intended to provide improvements be assessed and reported in the Northern Ireland sets out the air to the quality of life and help to LAQM regime. The pollutants quality roles and responsibilities of protect our environment”. contained within the National Air central and local governments, and Quality Strategy (NAQS) and their environmental regulators. The National Air Quality Strategy relevant objectives for Scotland are (NAQS) details assessment criteria The aim of the strategy is to “set presented in Table 1. for eight pollutants in the form of out air quality objectives and atmospheric concentration levels policies to further improve air Table 1: Pollutant Objectives outlined in the NAQS Pollutant Air Quality Objective Date to be achieved by Concentration Measured as Equivalent percentile Benzene 16.25 µg/m3 running annual - 31 / 12 / 2003 mean 3.25 µg/m3 running annual - 31 / 12 / 2010 mean 1,3-butadiene 2.25 µg/m3 running annual - 31 / 12 / 2003 mean Carbon 10 mg/m3 running 8 hour - 31 / 12 / 2003 monoxide (CO) mean Lead 0.5 µg/m3 annual mean - 31 / 12 / 2004 0.25 µg/m3 annual mean - 31 / 12 / 2008 Nitrogen dioxide 200 µg/m3 not to be exceeded 1-hour mean 99.79th percentile of 31 / 12 / 2005 (NO2) more than 18 times per year 1-hour means 40 µg/m3 annual mean - 31 / 12 / 2005 Particulate 50 µg/m3 not to be exceeded 24-hour mean 90.4th percentile of 31 / 12 / 2004 (PM10) more than 35 times a year 24-hour-means 40 µg/m3 annual mean - 31 / 12 / 2004 50 µg/m3 not to be exceeded 24-hour mean 98th percentile of 31 / 12 / 2010 more than 7 times a year 24-hour-means 18 µg/m3 annual mean - 31 / 12 / 2010 Sulphur dioxide 125 µg/m3 not to be exceeded 24-hour mean 99th percentile of 24- 31 / 12 / 2004 (SO2) more than 3 times a year hour means 350 µg/m3 not to be exceeded 1-hour mean 99.7th percentile of 31 / 12 / 2004 more than 24 times a year 1-hour means 266 µg/m3 not to be exceeded 15-minute mean 99.9th percentile of 31 / 12 / 2005 more than 35 times a year 15-minute means 6 The regulation of atmospheric emissions and Detailed Assessments were undertaken and potential monitoring of air quality is split across several different for exceedence of the PM10 annual mean objective government bodies.