North Kesteven District Council Annual Status Report 2018 Bureau Veritas June 2018 Document Control Sheet Issue/Revision Issue 1 Issue 2 Remarks DRAFT FINAL Date June 2018 June 2018 Submitted to Ayeisha Kirkham Ayeisha Kirkham Jo Davies Jo Davies Prepared by Consultant Consultant Signature Hannah Smith Hannah Smith Approved by Senior Consultant Senior Consultant Signature Project number 6477668 6477668 Disclaimer This Report was completed by Bureau Veritas on the basis of a defined programme of work and terms and conditions agreed with the Client. Bureau Veritas’ confirms that in preparing this Report it has exercised all reasonable skill and care taking into account the project objectives, the agreed scope of works, prevailing site conditions and the degree of manpower and resources allocated to the project. Bureau Veritas accepts no responsibility to any parties whatsoever, following the issue of the Report, for any matters arising outside the agreed scope of the works. 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North Kesteven District Council 2018 Air Quality Annual Status Report (ASR) In fulfilment of Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 Local Air Quality Management June 2018 LAQM Annual Status Report 2018 North Kesteven District Council Local Authority Ayeisha Kirkham Officer Department Environmental Health 1 Kesteven Street Sleaford Address Lincolnshire NG34 7EF Telephone 07712 583517 E-mail [email protected] Report Reference 2018 Annual Status Report number Date June 2018 LAQM Annual Status Report 2018 North Kesteven District Council Executive Summary: Air Quality in Our Area Air pollution is an issue that can affect everyone with varying levels of severity. The air that we breathe is essential for health and wellbeing and it shouldn’t have to be a cause of detrimental health effects. Where we live, where we work, our travel choices and journeys made can affect the concentrations of certain air pollutants that we are exposed to. Local authorities have an obligation through the LAQM regime to review and assess the air quality within their regions. Specific measures are implemented by way of an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) for areas where poor air quality has been determined, but action by community engagement through education and promotion also helps improve air quality at a local level. Good air quality begins at a local level, with actions being replicated on regional and national scales benefitting wider scale air quality and helping to meet the Air Quality Strategy (AQS) objectives that are set out in EU and UK law. Air Quality in North Kesteven District Air pollution is associated with a number of adverse health impacts. It is recognised as a contributing factor in the onset of heart disease and cancer. Additionally, air pollution particularly affects the most vulnerable in society: children and older people, and those with heart and lung conditions. There is also often a strong correlation with equalities issues, because areas with poor air quality are also often the less affluent areas1,2. The annual health cost to society of the impacts of particulate matter alone in the UK is estimated to be around £16 billion3. The District of North Kesteven is predominantly rural in character and has the town of Sleaford as its administrative centre. The District extends close to the city of Lincoln, incorporating the towns of North Hykeham and Waddington. The main source of air pollution in the District is road traffic emissions from roads, notably the A15, A17 and the A46. In addition there are over forty potentially polluting 1 Environmental equity, air quality, socioeconomic status and respiratory health, 2010 2 Air quality and social deprivation in the UK: an environmental inequalities analysis, 2006 3 Defra. Abatement cost guidance for valuing changes in air quality, May 2013 LAQM Annual Status Report 2018 i North Kesteven District Council industries in the District that are permitted under the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 19994. In 2017 there were no recorded exceedances of the AQS objectives at any of the monitored sites and there are currently no Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) designated within the District. Location Holdingham-1, which is a triplicate site, reported exceedances from 2012 to 2016, however once fall off with distance correction was applied the annual mean NO2 concentration dropped below the NO2 annual mean objective of 40µg/m3. As a consequence it was decided to relocate the Holdingham 1 site to a more representative location. In March 2017 the Holdingham- 1 diffusion tubes were removed and relocated to three separate locations (Holdingham 1, Holdingham 2 and Holdingham 3). The 2018 ASR details data from the new Holdingham-1 and Holdingham-2 monitoring locations, however, only provisional data was available for Holdingham-3 and therefore the data could not be included in this report. The additional tube is expected to be included within the 2018 ASR monitoring programme. Actions to Improve Air Quality A monitoring network of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) diffusion tubes is in place within the District and this currently does not show any exceedances of the relevant AQS objective for NO2 at any relevant location. This monitoring network is set to continue acting as a system to monitor changes in concentration of NO2 and to identify any changes in trends. Historically, air quality within North Kesteven has consistently complied with the UK AQS objectives. With continued levels of development being experienced across the country, an emphasis on air quality is important to ensure areas of poor air quality are identified and acted upon. Across the District air quality continues to be assessed through the monitoring network whereby any areas of poor air quality would be identified. Local Priorities and Challenges There are currently no AQMAs designated within North Kesteven, and it is a priority for this to remain. Although monitoring has shown NO2 concentrations to be below 4 Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999, 1999 LAQM Annual Status Report 2018 ii North Kesteven District Council the AQS objectives within the District there are still a number of challenges in relation to air quality that are to be addressed over the coming year. Significant housing developments within the District will lead to an increase in population and therefore in vehicle usage. Between 2015 and 2017; over 100 new council dwellings had been constructed5. Following the previous ASR, there were a number of poultry farms being considered for planning permission, as well as an upgrade of a junction along the A15 and A17. These were rejected by the council on the basis of adverse visual and landscape impacts to the area in both August 2014 and again, in May 2015, following an appeal6 .Since the rejections in 2014 and 2015, there have been further applications for the erection of a number of free range poultry units (1 application in 2017 and 2 applications in 2018). The status of these applications is not yet confirmed and will be considered in next year’s ASR. How to Get Involved North Kesteven District Council provides information on sustainability through the SustainNK initiative; this provides information on energy usage and sources, reducing vehicle emissions, and on many other sustainability areas. Information is provided through the North Kesteven website and also through a quarterly newsletter that provides details on current activities, schemes and initiatives available and ideas from members of the public. Although SustainNK is not directly promoted as an initiative to reduce concentrations of air pollutants, emissions would be lowered through the behavioural shifts associated with the different schemes. Details can be found through the following link: https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/residents/waste- recycling-and-environment/sustainability/. 5 n-kesteven.gov.uk, 2018 6 n-kesteven.gov.uk LAQM Annual Status Report 2018 iii North Kesteven District Council Table of Contents Executive Summary: Air Quality in Our Area .......................................................... i Air Quality in North Kesteven District .................................................................................. i Actions to Improve Air Quality ............................................................................................ ii Local Priorities and Challenges .......................................................................................... ii How to Get Involved.......................................................................................................... iii 1 Local Air Quality Management ........................................................................ 1 2 Actions to Improve Air Quality ........................................................................ 2 2.1 Air Quality Management Areas ........................................................................... 2 2.2 Progress and Impact of Measures to address Air Quality in North Kesteven .........................................................................................................................