Air Quality

The National Air Quality Strategy

We are all affected by the quality of the air that we breathe. The Government set air quality objectives, in the National Air Quality Strategy, for the seven principal pollutants that are most likely to cause harm to human health.

Having defined air quality objectives, the government, through the Environment Act 1995, placed a duty on local authorities to periodically review and assess the air quality within their areas. The law also gives new powers for action, enabling local authorities to declare Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) to control emissions to so that air quality objectives can be complied with, within the time table set out in the Strategy.

There are over 25 potentially polluting industries in the district that are controlled by Environmental Permits under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. For these industries (which include concrete batching processes, animal feed manufacturers, quarries and petrol filling stations) emissions are controlled by a range of legally enforceable conditions. These processes are subject to regular routine inspection.

We also respond to complaints regarding air pollution issues, such as smoke nuisance from bonfires, emissions of dark smoke and offensive odours.