Agenda item

To consider the head of housing and environment’s report. 

A correction to the table, set out in paragraph 18 of the report, was circulated at the meeting and is attached to these minutes.

Gill Bindoff addressed the committee. She referred to a letter from Watlington Parish Council, circulated to all committee members, which drew attention to aspects of air quality which the parish council considered were not covered in the report before committee and raised concerns about how the district council managed air quality.  Her viewpoints were as follows:

·         The update provides an optimistic picture of air quality in South Oxfordshire not justified by the facts.

·         Evidence suggests there remains a problem with air quality in the designated Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) and that the health of those communities is still under threat.

·         There is no pattern of falling levels of pollution in the AQMAs to indicate that nitrogen dioxide levels are reducing over time or that the AQMAs could be revoked.

·         The reliability of the 2018 data, which show a dramatic decline in pollution levels since 2017, with no explanation for this.

·         Insufficient care is being taken in respect of the Watlington AQMA – the district council should be taking a precautionary approach to the identified risk to ensure decisions are not taken which could increase harm to residents.

·         There is a mismatch between the responsibility to reduce air pollution and the demands of housing growth.

·         Greater collaboration required between the district council and Oxfordshire County Council.

·         A standalone committee/working party should take on responsibility for air quality.

·         Would welcome an opportunity for the parish council to meet with officers to address air quality issues. 

Councillor David Rouane, Cabinet member for housing and environment, addressed the committee. He stated that the committee had requested an update report on air quality in South Oxfordshire and in particular the progress made at delivering the actions identified in the Air Quality Action Plan adopted in 2014.

He reported that as a largely rural district, with several market towns and villages, the air quality throughout the district is generally very good.  However, there are air pollution hotspots where NO₂ associated with traffic emissions is higher and where it has been necessary to declare Air Quality Management Areas. 

Under the Environment Act the council is required to periodically review and assess air quality within the district area under the system of Local Air Quality Management (LAQM). This review and assessment of air quality involves considering present and future air quality levels against the national Air Quality Objectives defined by the department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

If it is predicted that levels at sensitive locations, where members of the public are regularly present for the relevant averaging period, are likely to be exceeded, the Local Authority is required to declare an Air Quality Management Area. Three such areas exist in South Oxfordshire, in Henley on Thames, Wallingford and Watlington, all declared because NO2 levels were either predicted to or were exceeding national objectives. There were no plans to declassify their status.

Following the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area the Local Authority is required to produce an Air Quality Action Plan. South Oxfordshire District Council’s Plan, adopted in 2014, is the document that sets out the actions proposed or taken to combat and mitigate air quality issues within the district.  The report sets out progress to date against the actions within the Air Quality Action Plan.

In response to questions the following points were made by the Cabinet member and officers:

·         Actions taken forward included the installation of four electric vehicle charging points, a ‘Turn it Off’ anti-idling campaign, scoping work to improve the use of enforcement and traffic regulation orders via for civil parking enforcement and reduced taxi licensing fees for low emission vehicles.

·         The improvement in air quality reflected a long term trend of cleaner cars and vehicle fleets meeting the latest Euro VI emission standard and not a reduction in traffic levels. 

·         It is difficult to assess how specific measures by the district council had improved air quality. It is a combination of all the measures that leads to local air quality improvements.

·         Third parties working in partnership with the council include Oxfordshire County Council, which had responsibility for traffic management, bus companies, taxi drivers and contractors, for example the council’s waste contractor Biffa.

·         The council’s Air Quality Action Plan and Low Emission Strategy feed into the Planning Policy teams work and informs their strategic planning decisions.

·         The air quality action plan would be refreshed having regard to the new corporate plan and the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee’s plans. This was likely to commence in the autumn 2020.

·         Addressing air quality in old towns was difficult due to the historic layout of buildings and narrow streets (‘canyon effect’ trapping pollution).

·         Oxfordshire County Council was, via its innovation hub, seeking new ways to manage the flow of traffic.

·         Once received, the report setting out Oxfordshire County Council’s view on the Low Emission Strategy proposed measures to address air quality in Wallingford (peak times Bridge closure) will be circulated to committee members.

·         Officers would circulate details of Oxfordshire County Council’s online reporting tool for members of the public to report HGVs exceeding the weight limit on roads. 

The view was expressed that the current actions did not include Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), a benchmark of success or a timeline for delivery. It was currently difficult to ascertain the impact of the actions implemented and any improvement on people’s lives. Tough decisions were required to make improvements.

The committee noted the work being undertaken in Henley to monitor Particulate Matter and address air quality issues. Officers confirmed that they would welcome the opportunity to work with interested groups in the other AQMAs to address air quality issues.

RESOLVED: to ask

1.    officers to circulate (when received) the report setting out Oxfordshire County Council’s views on the Low Emission Strategy proposed measures to address air quality in Wallingford to committee members;

2.    the Cabinet member for housing and environment to establish an air quality review group to consider action plan items, key performance indicators and a timeline for implementation of actions;

3.    officers to circulate details of Oxfordshire County Council’s HGV reporting tool to councillors;

4.    officers to provide an update in 18 months.