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Introduction
Planning
guidance related to air quality issues has been a contentious issue in the UK since the introduction of the Local
Air Quality Management process in the mid-1990s. The UK government issued Planning Policy
Guidance Note 23 (PPG23) in February 1997.
However despite this occurring in the same year as the LAQM process was
set out in the UK National Air Quality Strategy, the Guidance didn’t make any
reference to the LAQM work of LAs in the UK (although it did deal with the
Local Authority Air Pollution Control (LAAPC powers/responsibilities). This has led to planning decisions pertaining
to developments with an air quality impact, especially those in or near an Air
Quality Management Area, being carried out in an ad-hoc manner across the
country – often depending on either the political profile of air quality or the
dedication of air quality officers within the respective LA.
For a
number of years there was considerable pressure on the government to update the
guidance to incorporate advice on both strategic and development control planning
in relation to AQMAs and other relevant issues.
In 2002 the government finally issued a consultation draft of a new
PPG23. Despite many concerns that this
still did not provide enough advice, in an effort to reduce bureaucratic
‘red-tape’, the government has scrapped the policy of issuing this document as
an extensive guidance note and is now planning to release it as a “Planning
Policy Statement”.
In the
light of both the historic and likely future dearth of useful governmental
guidance on how air quality issues should be incorporated into planning
decisions, there is a continuing trend of non-statutory guidance being drawn up
by individual local authorities, regional groups of authorities and other
relevant bodies (such as the Air Quality Management Resource Centre at UWE,
Bristol, and the National Society for Clean Air). Historically, there is a strong tendency for
planners and transport planners in UK local authorities to refuse to deal
with air quality issues as these have always been dealt with by Environmental
Health departments (or their equivalent).
This can be seen to stem from similar sectoral splits all the way up the
governmental hierarchy which see Environment, Transport and Land-use Planning
all being dealt with by separate departments.
Discussion
There are a number of levels at which non-statutory planning
guidance is being or has been drawn up in the UK.
- UK
government guidance providing assistance with integration of planning
system and LAQM regime. This is a very limited section of the general
Policy Guidance for Local Air Quality Management. It has no statutory status and, because
it is part of the guidance documents produced by the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) it does not necessarily hold
much weight with land-use planners who currently answer only to the Office
of the Deputy Prime-Minister (ODPM).
- Regional
level assistance – guidance on strategic planning and LAQM; provided to
support local authorities across the South West of UK in integrating air
quality considerations into local planning frameworks. There are a number
of regional groups of local authorities who have drawn up Planning
Protocols to ensure that air quality is treated equitably within planning
decisions across their areas. These
include: Bristol, Somerset
and Gloucestershire Pollution Group; and The Association of London
Government. Some individual
authorities have also established protocols to help inform their planning
teams about air quality, including the London Borough of Hillingdon and
Sheffield City Council. All four of
these documents are available from the UWE website below.
- Development
of guidance on Development Control and Air Quality. This is being drawn up by a wide-ranging
committee co-ordinated by the AQMRC, UWE and the National Society for
Clean Air (NSCA). This is being developed
for planners, air quality professionals, developers and consultants alike. The guidance is expected to be finalised
soon – draft copies are expected to be available in June 2004 with final
copies in October 2004. These
should be available from the UWE website below. The aim of the guidance is to guide
judgements within local authorities in a more consistent way. The guidance is expected to deal with:
planning application procedures; air quality assessments; evaluation of
‘significance’ in terms of impacts; ‘particular concerns’ such as cumulative
impacts, low polluting developments etc.; and mitigation measures
Recommendation
It is strongly recommended that, in the absence of
satisfactory guidelines for dealing with air quality issues within planning
decisions, that air quality officers within an authority work with their colleagues
from the planning department to establish, at the very least, a basic framework
and protocol from which to work from.
Further Reading
PPG23 (1997) http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_planning/documents/page/odpm_plan_606911.pdf
PPG23
(2003) Draft Consultation version
http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_planning/documents/pdf/odpm_plan_pdf_605905.pdf
Local Air Quality Management Policy Guidance, LAQM.PG(03)
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/laqm/guidance/pdf/laqm-pg03.pdf
Examples of
Supplementary Planning Guidance and Planning Protocols and other information
related to Air Quality and Planning
http://www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm/review/planning.html
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