1. Topic

2. Introduction

It is important to establish the public health principle that clean air is healthy and that polluted air is unhealthy. Following on from this we need to ensure that clean air is provided and maintained for the population especially in residential and leisure areas.

Local plans need to include air pollution aspects and provide barriers and technology to reduce the risk of pollution causing harm.

Where pollution is high, i.e. close to industry or traffic, we need to impose controls to reduce pollution to acceptable limits. (for our purposes, the EU sets minimum standards but national governments may improve on these.) Basically we have two types of land use case studies to consider. The first where a polluting source is introduced, e.g. a chemical factory. The second where a pollution sensitive use is introduced, i.e. a nursery school. In each case, depending on the prevailing pollution environment, the use might be acceptable, unacceptable or acceptable providing certain conditions are met.

AQ professionals need to establish firm protocols with their land use planning colleagues for the first two cases and establish a consultative decision making process to agree firm conditions for the third.

These protocols should affect new economic activity as well as other developments such as houses, airports etc.

3. Discussion

Without firm guidance it is not easy to see what effect minor development is likely to have on the air we breathe. Air knows neither frontiers nor barriers and flows with the wind and weather as ‘fronts’ of broadly similar composition. For many generations man has relied on wind and tall chimneys to disperse pollution through dilution so that air at ground level remains clean enough and healthy enough to sustain us through everyday life. We now live longer, enjoy more leisure time and understand the respiratory illnesses caused by polluted air from asthma to bronchitis via leukaemia and rhinitis. The importance of clean air has long been recognised in establishing sanatoriums and clinics in clean mountain air.

Local air quality management enables us to set local rules to reduce pollution in industrial areas and in our choked and congested cities whilst at the same time by setting tighter standards safeguarding good air quality in residential and leisure areas. The EU standards set a pollution ceiling through which we should not break. Unfortunately for a number of industrial pollutants these limits have already been exceeded. In these cases no further development can be permitted until the existing emissions have been reduced. In the UK, companies in zones with high pollution (called Air Quality Management Areas) must come forward with annual upgrade plans (controlling emissions due to economic activity) showing how they will reach government objectives by the due dates. These plans must be agreed with the national Environment Agency and are then included in the Local Authority action plan.

Following assessment of the whole of the UK, most problems in Air Quality Management Areas are due to traffic generated particles and nitrogen dioxide. In these cases developments that generate more traffic are discouraged and traffic reducing development encouraged within and adjacent to the management area. Action plans to control and reduce pollution must be put into effect along with development that reduces the need to travel. Upswings in economic activity generally encourage greater car use, but cars are replaced more frequently with higher technological controls creating a cleaner ‘park’. More fuel is consumed increasing greenhouse emissions. Conversely, less fuel is consumed in an older ‘park’ when in an economic downturn giving high polluting emissions.

It is usually fairly simple to agree on a list of developments that would be permitted as having little impact, together with a list with developments with adverse impact. Unfortunately there is a large grey area between where some development might be permitted given certain conditions i.e. of tight emission abatement; or for residential of providing clean air away from sources of pollution and provided pressurised air. This grey list will depend on the local weather, topography and traffic measures and the levels of background concentrations.

We must also consider those land uses that may require very clean air. These include the micro-electronics industry, some types of food production, schools, nurseries and hospitals. In general these should not be established in areas of high pollution without mitigation measures that would guarantee clean air, such as air conditioning with intakes sited to take in clean air e.g. from roof tops or facades away from the pollution source.

Several alternatives or complementary measures based on changes in land use for reducing air pollution are described in the Land Use Measures: Land Use Change section of the database. They deal with residential areas, regeneration, pedestrianised areas, activity relocation, energy efficient buildings, renewable energy applications, district heating and industrial plants.

4. Recommendation / Conclusion

Recommendations

· Cities could adopt a procedure similar to City Plan in the UK, in which the local plan must contain references to good air quality and establish minimum standards if not already codified in national or EU law. The strategy must also protect good air quality and set up procedures to prevent bad air quality from getting worse. Where objectives are already exceeded it is essential to prepare an action plan of measures that will reduce pollution over the short, medium and longer terms.

· The land use policy must collaborate with pollution control permitting authorities to protect air quality by setting suitable emission rates and ceilings within the operating capacity of the local environment; this effectively prevents increases in economic activity producing ever higher polluting emissions.

· These procedures must be open and transparent and allow public participation in the decision-making processes. These processes promote ‘clean’ economic activity and a reducing cap on total emissions requiring all industrial emitters to reduce pollution over the economic cycle.

Conclusion

· Local plans must recognise the importance of air quality.

· Air quality considerations must be a relevant matter in considering planning applications.

· A joint memorandum of understanding or decision making rules must be agreed with ‘grey’ areas being referred to for more detailed advice.

· The pollution permitting authorities must work together with planning authorities to ensure adequate protection of local air quality.

5. Examples / Further Reading

Bristol works with EA over Avonmouth.

Planners and EQ have memo of understanding to control development.

Further Examples:

6. Additional Documents / Web Links

· Information on Land-use planning issues and how they relate to AQM in the UK: http://www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm/review/planning.html

· Commission webpage on land use: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/land_use/index_en.htm

· California Air Resources Board, 10th May 2004 "Draft Air Quality and Land Use Handbook: A Community Health Perspective", downloadable from: http://www.arb.ca.gov/ch/aqhandbook.htm

· California Air Resources Board CARB: http://www.arb.ca.gov/ch/aqhandbook.htm

Last Updated

21st January 2005