Decision details

Under the Environment Act 1995 Part IV (section 83), a Local Authority is required to review and assess the air quality within its area against national objectives.  Where the pollutant levels are above or are likely to be above the national targets declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).

In July 2010, Bath & North East Somerset Council declared an AQMA in Keynsham.

An AQMA can be revoked if following a subsequent air quality review, it is shown that the air quality objectives are being achieved and are likely to remain so.

Since 2018 the air quality objective has been achieved and therefore the Environmental Monitoring team are recommending to the Council that the AQMA is revoked.

Following the revocation of the AQMA the Council will continue to monitor air quality in the area.  The Council will be developing an air quality strategy to provide a framework in delivering local air quality improvements within Bath and North East Somerset district, as well as detailing the ambition the authority has with developing appropriate policies and applying appropriate regulatory control. 

To agree the revocation of the Keynsham Air Quality Management Area Order (AQMA) (Dated July 2010).

Officers monitor the concentration of nitrogen dioxide throughout the district. Where concentrations are found to be exceeding the objective limit of an annual average in excess of 40 micrograms per cubic metre, the local authority is required to declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). The AQMA for Keynsham was declared in 2010 (Figure 1 in Appendix 1). Following declaration of the Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs), the Council is obliged to develop Air Quality Action Plans which seek to reduce air pollution to below the objective limit. An Air Quality Action Plan was adopted for the Keynsham AQMA in 2016.

Under the Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 an AQMA can be revoked if a subsequent review shows that air quality objectives have been met. The technical guidance (Local Air Quality Management Technical Guidance (LAQM.TG(22)), recommends that an AQMA is revoked when monitoring has been below the objective for a minimum of 3 consecutive years and that an AQMA should not remain in place where the relevant objective has been met for 5 years. An assessment in 2022 and ongoing monitoring shows that nitrogen dioxide concentrations have been below the government’s objectives since 2018.

None.