Issue - meetings

The purpose of this report is to update the Cabinet Member on the results of a public consultation exercise undertaken in relation to the declaration of a new Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in the Leeman Road area.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet Member for City Strategy:

Approved option (a) and declared a new Air Quality Management Area, for the Leeman Road area based on the results of the public consultation exercise (option 3, shown in an Appendix 1). 

REASON: 

The declaration on an AQMA, and preparation of a Further Assessment and Air Quality Action Plan will ensure that the council carries out its legal duties under the Environment Act 1995.  LAQM is a statutory undertaking that contributes towards the corporate priorities on protecting the environment and protecting vulnerable people.

The Cabinet Member considered a report which updated on the results of a public consultation exercise undertaken in relation to the declaration of a new Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in the Leeman Road area.  A new AQMA is required due to exceedences of the health based annual average nitrogen dioxide objective along Salisbury Terrace.

City of York Council’s Air Quality Progress Reports, submitted to the DepartmentEFRA in April 2010 and April 2011, identified a number of air quality monitoring sites outside the existing Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) where elevated concentrations of nitrogen dioxide had been monitored in recent years.  One of these sites, Salisbury Terrace, had exhibited consistently elevated concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, and thus a ‘Detailed Assessment’ of nitrogen dioxide concentrations in this area was required by DEFRA.

A Detailed Assessment has now been carried out for the area of Leeman Road near Salisbury Terrace. Diffusion tube monitoring work has indicated that concentrations of nitrogen dioxide are above health based air quality objective values along a short stretch of Salisbury Terrace.  Based on this Detailed Assessment, the declaration of a further AQMA is proposed in the Leeman Road area.

The Cabinet Member commented that the declaration of the further AQMA was a sensible approach and was happy to approve the recommendations.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet Member for City Strategy:

Approved option (a) and declared a new Air Quality Management Area, for the Leeman Road area based on the results of the public consultation exercise (option 3, shown in an Appendix 1). 

REASON: 

The declaration on an AQMA, and preparation of a Further Assessment and Air Quality Action Plan will ensure that the council carries out its legal duties under the Environment Act 1995.  LAQM is a statutory undertaking that contributes towards the corporate priorities on protecting the environment and protecting vulnerable people.