Issue - meetings

Air Quality Management Action Plan (Outcome of Consultation)

Meeting: 29/06/2010 - Cabinet (Item 51)

51 Local Air Quality Management pdf icon PDF 969 KB

Minutes:

This report provided details of the outcome of the detailed assessment of air quality in Medway produced in August 2009 and the outcome of the 12-week statutory consultation which ended on 26 March 2010 on the declaration of three Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) (including the revocation of the existing six AQMAs).

 

The report set out the background to the assessment and included the responses to the consultation in paragraph 4 of the report. The report had been discussed by the Regeneration, Community and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 1 June 2010 and its comments and recommendations were set out in paragraph 4 of the report.

 

A Diversity Impact Assessment (DIA) screening exercise had been completed and it was noted that no adverse impact had been identified.

 

Decision number:

Decision:

82/2010

The Cabinet agreed that the current Air Quality Management Areas be revoked and the three new Air Quality Management Areas be declared as follows:

  • Central Medway
  • High Street, Rainham
  • Pier Road, Gillingham.

Reasons:

 

The Council has a duty to designate Air Quality Management Areas where the Air Quality Objectives are unlikely to be met.

 


Meeting: 01/06/2010 - Regeneration, Community and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 41)

41 Local Air Quality Management pdf icon PDF 755 KB

This report informs the committee of the outcome of the detailed assessment of air quality in Medway produced in August 2009 and the outcome of the 12-week statutory consultation which ended on 26 March 2010 on the declaration of three Air Quality Management Areas (including the revocation of the existing six AQMAs). 

Minutes:

Discussion:

 

The Environmental Health Manager advised that the report gave the latest position on air quality, showing that the principal source of pollutant in Medway was nitrogen dioxide, identified as arising from vehicle exhausts, and the majority of Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) declarations across the country were for this pollutant.

The committee was advised that as the findings from the latest detailed assessment showed further exceedence of this pollutant affecting residential property, it was proposed to revoke the current six AQMAs and declare three new areas including a large central AQMA, as shown on the maps accompanying the report.

 

Members asked what work could be carried out to reduce the pollutant. Officers responded that they would continue to work with the integrated transport team and added that the Local Transport Plan 3 (LTP3) also sought to address local air quality. It was noted that several areas of Kent had declarations of air quality for traffic emissions.

 

The committee asked about areas of Medway not included in the AQMAs and asked that other locations highlighted by Members were looked into over the next 12 months. Members asked that if officers looked into re-designing traffic management schemes to improve the flow of traffic, to consider any knock-on effects elsewhere in respect to traffic flow and air quality.

 

Decision:

 

The committee agreed to recommend that the current Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) are revoked and the three new AQMAs including a large central AQMA, as set out in the report, are declared.