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Introduction
Avon was formed
from the City and County of Bristol and parts of Gloucestershire
and Somerset by the Local Government Act 1972,
and came into being on April 1, 1974. It had six districts: Bristol, Bath,
Northavon, Kingswood, Woodspring and Wansdyke. The County of Avon no longer
exists; it was dissolved into four unitary authorities
as a result of the Local Government Act 1992 and the Avon (Structural Change)
Order 1995 on April 1, 1996. These four authorities are The City and County of Bristol, South
Gloucestershire (formerly Kingswood, and Northavon), North Somerset (formerly Woodspring)
and Bath and
North East Somerset (formerly Bath and Wansdyke).
Whilst the
majority of the Bristol City Council area is urban or suburban, two the other
three authorities (South Glos. And BANES) both contain parts of the Greater
Bristol Urban Area and North Somerset comes right up to the periphery of the
urban area. As the four authorities are
all unitary authorities they maintain responsibilities for both air quality and
transport planning. There is a Joint
Structure Plan which drawn up by the Joint Strategic Planning and
Transportation Unit (JSPTU), a joint committee composed of officers from all
four councils. However this group has no
direct responsibility for air quality.
Environmental Health
Professionals with responsibility for air quality from the four authorities
regularly meet and co-ordinate air quality work between them. Among the work they have carried out
(frequently with the assistance of the Air Quality Management Resource Centre
at UWE, Bristol) are co-ordinated Local Air Quality Strategies for each
authority, an Area-based Air Quality Strategy covering the former-Avon area set
within the wider context of the whole South-west region and a local air quality
forecasting service (http://www.cerc.co.uk/avon/). Some recent work carried out for the
former-Avon authorities by AQMRC, Bristol
has looked in particular at cross-boundary sources of pollution in the area –
particularly examining the effects of commuter traffic in relation to different
developments within the authorities. Joint Strategic Planning and Transportation Unit (JSPTU) prepares
the Joint Replacement Structure Plan on
Discussion
Many of the schemes considered within this project are to
have a positive impact on air quality across the former-Avon area. This is due
to many of the projects and proposals being part of wider objectives to reduce
traffic congestion provide more choice to the traveler and improve travel and
transport facilities across the area more generally.
As with all urban areas and their surrounding areas,
increases in traffic volumes and resulting congestion poses one of the greatest
threats to the urban environment and human health. The former-Avon area is by
no means an exception to this, with AQMAs declared in the urban areas of Bristol
and Bath’s city centres. AQMAs have
also previously been declared along the motorway corridors in the region and
along some more rural, though congested, roads in the area.
Whilst not setting out to consider all the proposed schemes
and developments that may impact on air quality on both a regional and local
scheme, some of those considered would have huge trans-boundary significance if
implemented. The Light Rapid Transit between Bristol
and South Gloucestershire, though currently on hold,
would lead to major changes in traffic patterns across the north fringe area of
Bristol and within the city centre
if implemented effectively. Similarly, initiatives to improve traffic flow and
reduce (particularly seasonal) congestion on the region’s motorway network will
afford trans-boundary improvements to air quality across the region.
In the short-term, efforts to increase, encourage and
co-ordinate the development of Travel Plans by larger employers across the
former-Avon area and could prove significant in reducing the overall impact of
traffic in terms of emissions, as an example. Perhaps more important is the
need for large-scale development underway at, for example, the Filton North Field development in South Gloucestershire or
the Westernside Development in Bath, to embrace the
need to consider air quality implications, as part of the commitment to
sustainable development, at the earliest opportunity, particularly with regard
to employment, consumption and travel demand requirements Across the wider area.
This has been the case with respect to these developments, although any
development of this scale is likely to impact on the surrounding road network
and adds to congestion at specific locations in the network.
No individual scheme is anticipated to bring widespread
positive benefits to the air quality experienced over the region. However, the
implementation of the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) offers the greatest opportunity
to reduce significantly the growth in vehicular traffic volume into the centre
of Bristol. The effectiveness of
this scheme would be further enhanced through the provision of a Park and Ride
scheme located in the northern fringe, and the de-trunking
of the M32 with associated initiatives. In light of the LRT no longer being
proposed, air quality improvements in the north-south corridors between South
Gloucestershire and Bristol City Council are unlikely to be achieved.
At a regional level, the proposed expansion of the regional airport, located
within North Somerset poses the greatest regional threat
to efforts to reduce overall transport emissions, with a potential for
undesirable impacts across all four former-Avon local authorities.
Whilst the threat of new development and expansion across
the region poses a potential threat to local and regional air quality, the very
need to solve the transport-related problems provides a real opportunity for
innovation and community involvement. New technologies, in the form of telematics, smartcards, alternative fuel systems and
transit systems, as examples, offer future solutions to alternatives to conventional
cars and a potential reduction in vehicle kilometres traveled. Reduced vehicle
emissions through a reduction in traffic volume will result in a decrease in
levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulates and carbon dioxide
(CO2) collectively.
This project has highlighted the importance and the
increasing need for more collaboration between the local authorities of the
former-Avon area. For some of the proposals outlined in this project, further
data will be required in order to assess the degree to which air quality is
likely to be affected across local authority boundaries and across the region
as a whole. On a positive note, it is clear from the Local Transport Plans and
Action Planning work being implemented or developed across the former-Avon area
that there is a dearth of activity underway to reduce the congestion being
experienced across the network. This will help address the local air quality
hot spots experienced across the region and the spatial movement of traffic
emissions across the local authorities within the former-Avon area.
Recommendation
Whilst
regional groupings of LA officers working on air pollution are becoming
reasonably common across Europe due to a common need to share experiences with people in similar circumstances,
these often take the form of helping each authority develop its own
policies. However, where transport and
land-use developments are a major issue on the fringes of a local authority
area it is vital that measures to resolve issues are not drawn up in isolation
by a single authority as this may simply leave the other areas dealing with a
problem that has been relocated into their area.
Further Reading
Potential links to:
Air Quality Strategies
http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/air/LAQS.htm
http://www.bristol-city.gov.uk/traffic/pdf/tt_airquaity_strategy.pdf
Area-based AQ Strategy for the former-Avon Area
Avon Forecast Website
http://www.cerc.co.uk/avon/
Transboundary Report
Not yet published
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