Title of Example

Example

Introduction

Over a quarter of Bristol is predicted to fail to meet the government’s health-based air quality targets for 2005. These areas have been declared Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs). Over 100,000 people live in the AQMAs (including 13,000 children) and tens of thousands more work or go to school in the AQMA. The majority of pollution in Bristol comes from road traffic.

This Draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) sets out a package of measures that aim to improve air quality in Bristol and meet the government’s pollution targets for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particles (PM₁₀). They will not be sufficient to meet the target for 2005 but will aim to meet it as soon as possible after this date.

The AQAP has been drawn up following government guidance and the results of consultation and will be led by the Council, but will also require active support from the public, stakeholders and businesses if it is to be effective. There are many simple steps that people and businesses can take to reduce pollution. Collectively these could make a significant difference to pollution levels in Bristol.

The vast majority of pollution comes from road traffic, therefore the AQAP focuses predominantly on transport measures . Steps are also being taken to reduce pollution from industrial and domestic sources .

Many of the actions in the Bristol Local Transport Plan (LTP) will contribute towards improved air quality, but not quickly enough to meet the government’s targets. The AQAP measures will add to the LTP to ensure a more rapid improvement in air quality.

The AQAP identifies 27 additional measures, some of which are new, others are enhancements of LTP measures or the acceleration of LTP measures within the AQMA. The measures are listed under four main headings; Information and Promotion, Promotion and Provision of Alternatives, Managing the Road Network, and Emissions Management.

The AQAP also identifies actions for national consideration which would help to bring about local air quality improvements.

Additional AQAP measures:

These measures will also deliver wider benefits and contribute to the core objectives of the LTP and national transport and environmental objectives, in particular the Road Safety and Climate Change targets.

The measures will be implemented over 8 years with many of the simple, low cost encouragement measures being rapidly implemented and sustained throughout the life of the plan. Work can also commence quickly on some of the more technical and comprehensive measures such as reducing emissions from buses thanks to a number of pilot projects that are underway as part of the EU-supported VIVALDI programme. Other measures will require longer lead in times and feasibility studies, and will be implemented in the medium-long term.

The package of measures in the AQAP is estimated to cost £1.2m in year 1 and at least £8.3m over 8 years (less than one pence per day per Bristol resident). This figure does not include the cost of some of the more comprehensive measures that require feasibility work before an accurate cost can be determined.

The ability to implement the AQAP primarily depends on securing adequate and consistent levels of funding. If adequate funding cannot be secured then the AQAP measures will have to be scaled down to reflect available funding and consequently the effectiveness of the plan in tackling emissions will be reduced.

How much do pollution levels have to be reduced by to meet the targets?

Levels of pollution within the AQMAs will have to be reduced by up to 40% (15 µgm³) if the government target for NO₂ is to be achieved. Particle emissions would have to be halved to meet the indicative particles target for 2010.

How can pollution be reduced?

No single measure is going to solve the air pollution problem. It will require a package of complementary measures and a contribution from everyone - the public, businesses, stakeholders and the Council. The government has issued guidance on the sorts of measures that should be considered for inclusion in AQAPs. These include measures to reduce traffic levels, manage the road network and clean up vehicles as well as the regulation of industry, and domestic energy efficiency programmes.

The vast majority of NO₂ within the AQMA arises from emissions from traffic, therefore, the Bristol AQAP focuses primarily on reducing emissions from road transport. There are two main ways of achieving this:

• Reducing levels of traffic and congestion,

This can be achieved by :

· Providing and promoting alternatives to the car,

· Measures to manage the road network.

These will mainly be delivered through the broad package of measures in the Bristol Local Transport Plan (LTP) with some additional measures set out in this plan.

• Reducing emissions from individual vehicles:

The amount of pollution a vehicle produces depends on its age, size, fuel type, how well it is maintained and how well it is driven. Older vehicles and harsh driving are the largest causes of additional pollution. Emissions reductions will be achieved by:

· Measures to encourage smooth driving and reduce harsh driving and speeding (aggressive and fast driving substantially increases emissions).

· Improving vehicle maintenance (poorly maintained vehicles produce high levels of emissions).

· Encouraging the use of smaller, more efficient vehicles and less-polluting fuels.

· Measures to encourage the replacement or ‘cleaning up’ of older vehicles (older vehicles produce more pollution).

These will mainly be based on new measures or enhancements of measures in the LTP.

A combination of traffic reduction and reduced vehicle emissions is likely to be needed to meet the government’s air quality targets.

Other pollution sources include domestic heating and cooking and industry. These only produce a small proportion of pollution in the AQMA and are largely being tackled by existing energy efficiency programmes and ‘clean air’ legislation so no additional measures are being proposed in this plan.

Bristol Local Transport Plan (LTP)

Road transport is the major source of pollution in Bristol and consequently the main focus of this AQAP is on transport emissions. The LTP outlines an extensive £60 million package of transport measures for Bristol over 5 years, including improvements to the road network, public transport and cycling and walking. These measures should help improve air quality in the longer-term but there is no quick and easy solution to Bristol’s transport problems and, on their own, they will not be enough to reduce pollution to the required levels by the government’s target dates.

Air Quality Action Plan

This AQAP will add to the LTP with additional transport measures targeted specifically at improving air quality, as well as enhancing and accelerating the implementation of some areas of LTP work which have the potential to significantly reduce emissions. 27 measures are identified in this AQAP, 10 of which are new measures and 17 are enhancements of existing LTP measures.

Many of the specific measures will be targeted within the AQMA, however the AQAP will cover the whole of the city not just the AQMAs. This is because many of the journeys that cause pollution in Bristol start or finish outside the AQMAs. Many of these trips will originate beyond the city boundary, therefore it is important that the Action Plan should be linked to measures being taken by neighbouring Local Authorities. Of these only one, Bath & North East Somerset, has an AQMA but both North Somerset and South Gloucestershire intend to produce Local Air Quality Strategies to maintain concentrations of air pollution below the target levels.

Air Quality Action Plan Measures

How were the measures chosen?

A broad list of potential measures to improve air quantity was compiled, based on government guidance and examples of best practice in air quality management from the UK and abroad. Consideration was also given to feedback from earlier air quality consultations which sought to gauge initial public support for potential AQAP measures and generated nearly 5000 comments and suggestions on transport and air quality.

These potential measures were then assessed against the following criteria, based on government guidelines, and those measures which were considered to be inappropriate or not cost-effective were discarded.

· Air quality improvement;

· Cost effectiveness;

· Non air quality effects (wider environmental, economic and social consequences).

Air Quality Assessment and AQAP Assessment Methodolgy.

The Environment Act 1995 introduced a requirement for local authorities to review and assess air quality in their areas. The main aims of the review and assessment reports are:

· To determine whether the statutory objectives contained in the National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS) and Air Quality Regulations will be breached in the relevant year.

· And, if the standard is likely to be breached, to predict future pollutant levels in more detail and identify areas where the public is likely to be exposed for a significant period of time.

This process began in with the identification of the main sources of relevant pollutants in Bristol with the Stage One Review and Assessment of air quality in 1999.

This was followed by the Stage Three Review and Assessment in 2000/01 which identified areas of concern for two of the pollutants regulated under the NAQS – NO₂ (exceedences of the annual mean Objective) and to a lesser extent NO₂ (exceedences of the hourly mean Objective) and PM₁₀.

Based on this assessment two AQMAs were declared in May 2001 covering around 25% of the city. The Stage Three Assessment, in identifying the extent of the pollution problem and scale of the emissions reduction required, also provided the basis on which to begin formulating options for the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP).

A Stage Four Review and Assessment was then undertaken in 2002/03 to more accurately assess the nature and extent of pollution by particulate matter (PM₁₀) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in Bristol. The results of this broadly confirmed that the findings of the Stage Three report were valid and the decision to declare an AQMA in Bristol was correct and the area declared was substantially correct. The Stage 4 work led to some modifications to the (AQMA) with some minor boundary amendments and the extensions. The Stage Four Review and Assessment also provided essential information from which to develop and focus the Air Quality Action Plan.

In carrying out the Review and Assessment work and predicting future concentrations of pollutants, the modelling process is dependent on many variables, such as the weather, traffic volumes, vehicle composition, vehicle speeds and levels of traffic congestion, the degree to which buildings enclose the road, thereby inhibiting the dispersion of pollutants, as well as wider economic and social trends. For many of these variables it is necessary to include some level of assumption, interpretation or margin of error. In determining these Council followed Government guidance and adopted a precautionary approach.

The Air Quality Reviews will be updated every three years to ensure that the information on local air quality is up to date, and annual progress reports will be produced in the intervening years.

Assessment of AQAP measures

Following the Stage 3 Air Quality Review and Assessment work commenced on developing the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP).Potential AQAP measures were considered. A list of potential measures was compiled, based on government guidance and examples of best practice in air quality management from the UK and abroad. Consideration was also given to feedback from earlier air quality consultations.

The relative cost-effectiveness of these measures was estimated in order to identify which measures were most likely to be able to deliver the most cost-effective improvement in air quality and which should form part of the AQAP. The measures were assessed according to government guidance.

A number of measures were identified as being inappropriate for the Bristol AQAP or not cost effective. Many others were judged to be adequately covered by the Bristol Local Transport Plan. A number of new measures or enhancements of LTP measures were identified and assessed in more detail.

To simplify the air quality modelling process and consultation, the measures were grouped into three scenarios or levels of action.

Level 1 - Encourage & Inform, Incentives & Alternatives

Level 2 - Level 1 + Road Management Measures and Regulation

Level 3 - Level 1& 2 + Comprehensive Emissions Management

For each of these scenarios the potential traffic reductions were estimated for the 9 main traffic corridors in Bristol and three zones for 2005 and 2008. These estimates were adjusted to take into account predicted levels of traffic growth which currently averages around 1.5% pa across the city. N.B these estimates also include the predicted impacts of the transport measures in the LTP.

The emissions impacts were also estimated based on predicted changes in traffic volumes, fleet composition and traffic speeds. These are summarised in the graphs below.

The scenarios were then modelled in more detail using the Council’s air quality models (ADMS – Urban.

These clearly show that of all the scenarios, Level 3 is the only one predicted to widely meet the NAQS objective for NO₂. This would largely be achieved through emissions management, in particular an LEZ, rather than large-scale reductions in levels of traffic.

Progress towards the objectives will be monitored through the AQAP and further air quality assessments undertaken every three years through the Air Quality Review and Assessment process. These will be refined through updated traffic and fleet data as this become available and will allow the AQAP to be re-focused if necessary to reflect both the scale of the pollution problem and the main sources of emissions. For example, once the bus fleet has been fully retrofitted the relative proportion of emissions from other transport modes will increase and the focus of emissions reductions measures will shift to these vehicles.

The modelling and assessment process will also incorporate other changes such as the predicted impacts of the next full LTP, and new technologies such as zero-emissions vehicles when they become available.

Consultation Process

Consultation is an ongoing process of public and stakeholder involvement including updates, feedback on process and further consultation on major AQAP proposals. This process aims to inform and improve the public’s understanding of air quality and transport issues and provide an opportunity for people to comment and inform the development of Bristol’s air pollution management strategies.

The Environment Act 1995 and subsequent detailed guidance on air quality management, makes clear the need for a strong, coherent approach to consultation. This reflects a widespread change within central and local government towards more effective local democracy and fuller more regular public participation. The Local Transport Plan guidance states that a genuinely inclusive approach will be vital if authorities are going to achieve the widespread support necessary.

Care has been taken to ensure that the methods of involving the public follow the approach set out in the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection’s ‘Consultation: How to Guide’ in line with the following principles:

n Overall, agreed process,

n Flexibility,

n Clear scope,

n Openness, honesty, trust, transparency,

n Inclusiveness,

n Common information base,

n Diverse methods to help build common ground,

n Shared responsibility for outcomes and implementation,

n Attention to detail,

and the former Department of Environment Transport and the Regions (DETR) guidance on enhancing public participation in Local Transport Plans:

n Early involvement,

n Interactiveness,

n Openness,

n Continuity and,

n Provision of feedback.

The Council has adopted a consensus building. The process has initially involved identifying the parts of Bristol where exceedances are likely to occur, consultation with the public who live in or near those areas and the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).

The next stage is the production of an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) . The purpose of the AQAP consultation was to establish what level of action the Council should take to tackle the problem of air pollution in Bristol and gauge the support for potential individual elements of the AQAP. This was done by holding focus group sessions, and by means of a questionnaire, in long and short forms (with the short form available on the Internet). The Council wanted to gauge the support for potential individual measures and also on the level of action that needs to be taken. The focus group sessions gave an insight as to which measures needed refinement or further clarification for inclusion into the questionnaire which formed the main public consultation.

A summary of the 3 scenarios used for the consultation is listed below. N.B. the three levels of action are cumulative.

In terms of three broad prompted Options for a combination of measures (with an indication of their potential cost/effectiveness), the respondents overall supported,

Option 2 (Option 1 + road management measures and regulation)

or

Option 3 (Option 2 + comprehensive emission management)

Last Updated

13th January 2005