Leicester City Council Air Quality Action Plan for Leicester Draft Report September 2004 Air Quality Action Plan for Leicester 0 CONTENTS CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. 0 1. INTRODUCTION AND AIMS OF THE PLAN ........................................................ 5 1.1 THE BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................... 5 1.2 REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT: THE NITROGEN DIOXIDE PROBLEM ................................... 6 KEY FACTS............................................................................................................................. 6 1.2.1 MAJOR SOURCES AND AREAS AFFECTED BY NO2 ................................................. 6 1.2.2 THE AMOUNT OF IMPROVEMENT REQUIRED ......................................................... 7 1.3 THE AIMS OF THE AIR QUALITY ACTION PLAN .......................................................... 9 1.4 PROGRESS IN LEICESTER .......................................................................................... 11 1.5 THE AIR QUALITY ACTION PLAN IN THE CONTEXT OF CORPORATE POLICY .............. 12 2. EXISTING STRATEGIES AND PLANS RELEVANT TO AIR QUALITY ............. 15 2.1 ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES ........................................................................................ 15 2.1.1 CORPORATE PLAN 2003-2006 ......................................................................... 15 2.1.2 LEICESTER‘S COMMUNITY PLAN ........................................................................ 16 2.1.3 LEICESTER‘S NEIGHBOURHOOD RENEWAL STRATEGY ........................................ 16 2.1.4 THE AALBORG COMMITMENTS .......................................................................... 17 2.1.5 LEICESTER‘S ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY ......................................................... 17 2.1.6 CITY OF LEICESTER CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGY ............................................. 18 2.1.7 BEST VALUE PLANNING 2003-4 ........................................................................ 19 2.1.8 LEICESTER BETTER BUILDINGS PROJECT .......................................................... 19 2.2 LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL SETTING THE EXAMPLE ....................................................... 20 2.2.1 ECO-MANAGEMENT AUDIT SCHEME (EMAS) ..................................................... 20 2.2.2 COUNCIL VEHICLE FUEL POLICY ........................................................................ 22 2.2.3 TRAVEL PLANS ................................................................................................. 22 2.3 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT MEASURES............................................................................ 23 2.3.1 GENERIC STRATEGIES ..................................................................................... 23 2.3.2 CONTRIBUTION OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION TO LOCAL AIR QUALITY ........................ 23 2.3.3 LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN ................................................................................. 24 (a) Leicester West Transport Scheme (LWTS) ...................................................................... 25 (b) Public Transport Improvements ........................................................................................ 25 (c) Urban Traffic Management Control (UTMC) .................................................................. 26 (d) Cycling and Walking ........................................................................................................ 26 (e) Breathe Easy Project ......................................................................................................... 26 (f) Roadside Vehicle Emission Testing .................................................................................. 26 (g) Provision of Information ................................................................................................... 27 2.3.4 THE NEXT LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN (2006 – 2011) .......................................... 27 2.3.5 CONSEQUENT AIR QUALITY ACTIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN (2006-2011) ….………………………………………………………………………..28 2.3.6 CITY CENTRE ACCESS STRATEGY (CCAS) ....................................................... 29 2.3.7 SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 30 2.4 POLLUTION FROM STATIC SOURCES ............................................................................. 31 2.4.1 REGULATORY POWERS .................................................................................... 31 2.4.2 ENERGY MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................... 31 (a) Energy Policy .................................................................................................................... 31 (b) Opportunities in Energy Supply ....................................................................................... 31 (c) Further Benefits of the ESCO approach to air quality in Leicester .................................. 32 (d) Intelligent Metering .......................................................................................................... 33 (e) Regional and Government Help ........................................................................................ 33 2.5 LAND-USE PLANNING AND REGENERATION .................................................................. 34 Air Quality Action Plan for Leicester 1 2.5.1 LAND-USE PLANNING FRAMEWORK .................................................................... 34 (a) Development Plans ........................................................................................................... 34 (b) Urban Design (Supplementary Planning Guidance) ......................................................... 36 (c) Development Control ........................................................................................................ 36 2.5.2 LEICESTER REGENERATION COMPANY MASTER PLAN ........................................ 37 2.5.3 NOISE IN AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT AREAS ..................................................... 37 2.5.4 IMPLICATIONS FOR LOCAL AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT.……………...…. ………. 38 3. FURTHER, SPECIFIC MEASURES FOR DELIVERING AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS IN LEICESTER .......................................................................... 41 3.1 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 41 3.1.1 IDENTIFICATION OF OPTIONS ............................................................................. 42 3.1.2 EVALUATION OF OPTIONS .................................................................................. 42 (a) Air Quality Impact ............................................................................................................. 42 (b) Cost .................................................................................................................................... 43 (c) Feasibility ........................................................................................................................... 43 (d) Timescale ........................................................................................................................... 43 3.2 OPTIONS ........................................................................................................................... 45 3.2.1 EMISSIONS MANAGEMENT ................................................................................. 45 (a) Regulation ......................................................................................................................... 45 (b) Fleet Management ............................................................................................................ 47 3.2.2 INFORMATION AND EDUCATION.......................................................................... 50 (a) General Public ................................................................................................................... 50 (b) Schools .............................................................................................................................. 52 ( c ) Corporate…………………………………………………………………………………52 3.2.3 LAND-USE PLANNING ........................................................................................ 54 (a) Strategic/ Urban design ..................................................................................................... 54 (b) Development Control ........................................................................................................ 54 3.2.4 MANAGING THE HIGHWAY NETWORK ................................................................. 57 (a) Regulation ......................................................................................................................... 57 (b) Traffic Flow ...................................................................................................................... 58 3.2.5 PROMOTION AND PROVISION OF ALTERNATIVES ................................................. 60 (a) Public Transport ................................................................................................................ 60 (a) Commuter management .................................................................................................... 62 (c) Schools .............................................................................................................................