N. Leksmono

A longitudinal study of the links between Local Air Quality Management and Local Transport Planning policy processes in England

The second round of the Local Transport Plan (LTP2) process in England presents unique challenges and opportunities for integrating Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) within current transport planning policy. Using content analysis of LTP2 documents from nine English authorities, and results from a questionnaire survey of local government officers undertaken in late 2007, this paper charts the changes in the integration of air quality management within the transport planning process since 1997. While substantial improvements in policy integration were observed within the selected case studies, the paper demonstrates that such improvements are often constrained by institutional complexities that create implementation gaps between national objectives and local decision-making outcomes.

Enhancing consultation practices on Air Quality Management in local authorities

Schedule 11 of the Environment Act 1995 underpins the requirement for consultation on air quality issues. The ongoing air quality review and assessment process represents one of the largest locally based science policy and communication initiatives ever undertaken in the UK. This paper outlines the practice of consultation and communication for Air Quality Management (AQM) and reviews the interaction between Environmental Health professionals, as the leading actor in the AQM process and other stakeholders involved in air quality consultation, including the public. Results are presented from a widespread questionnaire survey of English local authorities. Data indicate that the majority of air quality consultation has been carried out with statutory consultees (by sending the review and assessment reports) and the public (via websites and leaflets) in the form of information dissemination.

Air quality action plans in the UK: An overview and evaluation of process and practice

Local Air Quality Management is an effects-based process by which local authorities are required to review and assess their local air quality in relation to health-based air quality objectives. Where it is predicted that objectives will not be met and members of the public are exposed to elevated levels of pollutants, authorities are required to declare Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) and subsequently develop and implement Air Quality Action Plans (AQAPs) to improve air quality to acceptable levels. The majority of AQMAs (>90%) are predominantly transport related, and as such Local Transport Plans (LTPs) will be critical to the successful implementation of measures to improve air quality. LTPs are currently moving into the second round of a 5-year cycle of planning, with Plans being submitted to Government in July 2005 to cover the 2006-2011 period. In order to align AQAP and LTP more closely, and to reduce the number of policies and plans required of councils, local authorities with air quality problems arising from transport emissions have the freedom to include AQAPs within their LTP. LTP’s now include air quality as one of the four priorities. This move to integrate the two processes is seen largely as positive, but it is still unknown how the two processes (which still work to different timescales and report to different government departments) will be implemented in practice. This paper will provide an overview of the air quality action planning and local transport planning processes and then review three case study local authorities to examine the practice of air quality action planning in the context of air quality, organisational and political challenges.

Exploring the context of consultation: the case of local air quality management

The Environment Act of 1995 (Part IV) requires local authorities to review and assess air quality in their area of jurisdiction and to determine locations where concentrations of defined pollutants exceed. The ongoing review and assessment process is one of the largest locally based science policy and science consultation initiatives undertaken in the UK. Combining a questionnaire-based survey with in depth case studies has allowed an exploration of the process and the development of better practice guidance for such consultation initiatives. The research suggests that while there are no simple solutions to the dilemma of how best to engage the public in such consultations, there are steps that can be taken to improve consultation. Key factors that facilitate local community participation in such processes include a well-informed and adequately resourced local community and an explicit connection between participatory and decision-making processes. Although the research focused on local air quality management as a case study of consultation mechanisms, the outcomes will be relevant to other locally based environmental management issues.

Air quality management in Auckland, New Zealand

Air quality in New Zealand is perceived by many to be very good. This is facilitated by low population density, geographical isolation and a maritime climate. The climate and weather of New Zealand is also affected by large scale wind systems which promote westerly winds and aid dispersion. Despite favourable conditions, air pollution is a problem in many urban centres in New Zealand. Although industrial emissions contribute to pollution, emissions from domestic and traffic sources are significant. Outdoor burning and domestic fires are common, and are a major source of air pollutants and complaints. National Environmental Standards for Ambient Air Quality were introduced in 2004 but these are unlikely to be achieved in a number of locations including Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, where traffic emissions are the major source of air pollution. Auckland’s population is 1.3 million people (almost one third of the national total). The city covers an area approximately equal in size to London. Poorly developed public transport services and urban sprawl have resulted in reliance on private vehicles, and ownership rates in New Zealand are among the highest in the world. In conjunction with an aged vehicle fleet and severe traffic congestion, the resulting air pollution has become a significant issue in Auckland. This paper considers the process of air quality management in New Zealand, illustrated by the particular problems systemic to Auckland. Policy responses include a Regional Land Transport Strategy with health protection as a key objective. However, it is far from certain whether these will successfully deliver cleaner air, and further national guidance and additional transport focussed regulations may be needed to achieve the air quality improvements in Auckland necessary to meet the national Standards.

A Preliminary Assessment Of The Contribution Of Industrial Emission Sources To Exceedences Of Air Quality Objectives In England And Wales

The Environment Act 1995 introduced the concept of Local Air Quality Management in Great Britain. Local authorities are under a statutory duty to undertake a scientific review and assessment of local air quality, Where any of the air quality objectives (AQOS) specified in Regulations are predicted to be exceeded by relevant target dates, a local authority must designate certain locations as Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) and develop an air quality action plan setting out their plans to achieve the national AQOS. This paper examines a set of local authorities declaring and proposing AQMAs (n=l21 authorities) to identify which exceedences of objectives are due to industial emissions in England and Wales. The methodology employed is an examination of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Review and Assessment Archive and Progress Database. The database is used to identify the location, pollutants and AQO exceedences that require AQMAs. Data from the database and archive is then used to identify the extent to which an industial source(s) is a cause of exceedence in a local authority area. Relationship between such cases and Zones of Industrial Pollution Sources (ZIPS), defined by the Environment Agency (England and Wales), are investigated,

Are environmental health officers and transport planners in English local authorities working together to achieve air quality objectives

Since 1997, Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) has been used as a process through which local authorities in England identify and manage specific air quality problems within their jurisdictions in order to achieve the air quality objectives (AQO). However, the limitation of this process is that of policy disconnect between diagnosis and solutions proffered within it. Over 90% of air quality ‘hot-spots’ identified through the LAQM are due to traffic-related sources. Hence, the air quality action plans prepared by the environmental health officers (EHO) are improperly calibrated as a policy instrument for tackling most of the problems discovered through the LAQM. The inclusion of air quality as one of the four shared priorities in the second round of the Local Transport Plan (LTP2) therefore implies that the EHO need to engage with the transport planners (TP) at the local level in order to address most of these problems i.e. traffic-related air pollution. Since LAQM and LTP operate as two parallel frameworks with a separate agenda and timetable, adequate connectivity between both policy packages is thereby dependent on the type and level of inter-professional engagement between the departments and officials responsible for both policies at every level of government involved. This paper presents emerging issues from the questionnaire survey of EHO and TP in over 200 local authorities in 2007 as part of a three-year investigation into the effectiveness of achieving the AQO through the LTP in English local authorities. While there is wide support for the achievement of AQO through the LTP, the two groups identified differences in time-scale for delivering both policies, prioritisation of air quality within LTP, and unequal expectations as major factors affecting the integration. These factors indicate the existence of institutional complexities between parallel policy communities in ensuring integration.

Barriers and opportunities to successful local air quality management consultation in England

England now has some 10 years experience of the Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) process where local authorities are required to consult on their air quality findings with stakeholders and the public. The statutory basis for consultation is provided by the Environment Act 1995, part IV; the Act and subsequence Policy Guidance identify a range of statutory and non statutory consultees, including the public where it is appropriate that their views are taken into account in the local authority’s decisions about LAQM. This paper will present the outcomes of a 2 year Economic and Social Research Council funded programme addressing how local authorities in England have discharged their air quality duties and responsibilities. Evidence from a questionnaire survey and case studies is presented. Data suggest that although local authorities genuinely attempt to engage with all stakeholders, current consultation processes are not working as well as they could. This suggests a re-think on the form and function of LAQM consultation processes is required. Barriers for and opportunities to effective consultation will be considered and the paper will conclude with a set of parameters that define an integrated LAQM consultation process.

A preliminary review of local air quality management consultation practices in England

Stakeholder participation in environmental risk decision-making processes is on the increase in the UK and EU member states. An example of this enhanced consultation requirement concerns the statutory requirement involving local authority declaration of Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs). This local air quality management (LAQM) consultation process represents one of the largest locally based environmental risk consultation exercises carried out in the UK. This paper rehearses and provides evidence from an intensive 2-year ESRC research project that has investigated the nature, scope and effectiveness of LAQM consultation approaches. In order to interrogate this environmental risk distribution, all 353 local authorities in England were surveyed, and 11 in-depth case studies were identified and executed. Our findings suggest that there are no simple solutions to the consultation dilemma. Local authorities are faced with a series of substantive challenges in contacting, engaging with, and incorporating the views of their diverse constituencies within the LAQM decision-making process. However, in order to assist local authorities in this process we have evolved a range of emergent ‘better practice’ parameters that build upon and operationalise our research findings.

Sustainable, proportionate, and cost-effective action plans to deliver air quality objectives

This paper examines the application of three principles: sustainability, proportionality and cost-effectiveness within the development of air quality action plans. A focus is given to air quality problems in English and Welsh local authorities arising from industrial emissions. It also explores the relationship of the Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) regime introduced by the Environment Act 1995 and the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) regime regulated by the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999. Evidence from a questionnaire survey and case study research guided the development of a conceptual framework for the preparation of an air quality action plan that incorporates such principles in local authorities affected by industrial sources. An action plan can be deemed as sustainable, proportionate and cost-effective if local authorities demonstrate a balance between the scientific assessment of air quality and the social, economic, and political factors in determining and prioritising the proposed management solutions within the plan.