Air quality
We have a statutory duty under Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) Legislation to review air quality within its area, and where concentrations exceed national objectives, put in place measures within an Air Quality Action Plan to reduce emissions.
These statutory duties are very much directed at preventing risks to health and amenity from a variety of pollutants, but those pollutants are not necessarily the same as those associated with climate change. However, there is a synergy between our statutory duties for the betterment of public health and the aims of this Climate Change Strategy; improvements to one will lead to improvements in the other. Our statutory work can therefore lead to a reduction in pollutants that contribute to climate change.
Ongoing assessments of air quality within the borough of Tonbridge and Malling have identified six areas where levels of nitrogen dioxide have at some point exceeded the annual objective limit of 40µg/m-3 and have been declared Air Quality Management Areas. These are:
- M20, between New Hythe Lane and Hall Road,
- Tonbridge High Street between Vale Road and The Botany, A26, Wateringbury Crossroads
- A20 Aylesford A20 Larkfield
- A25 SevenoaksRd/Western Rd Borough Green
We will continually monitor and update its Air Quality Action Plan for these areas, and as part of this work will review the change in levels over the years.
All monitoring sites within Tonbridge and Malling have shown a slow trend in the improvement in nitrogen dioxide levels. In 2018, (the last full year results available at the time of writing), Tonbridge High Street, Borough Green and M20 monitoring sites within those AQMA’s all achieved levels below the 40µg/m-3 annual objective for nitrogen dioxide. However, our AQMA in Wateringbury still recorded the second highest level of nitrogen dioxide in Kent.
Recognising the links between local air quality, planning, transportation, and climate change pollutants, we will continue our work with the Kent and Medway Air Quality Partnership to secure a co-ordinated approach to the monitoring and improvement of air quality in Kent. We will update as necessary our Air Quality Action Plan to continue to seek improvements in air quality within our Air Quality Management Areas and across the borough in general, we will work with Kent County Council (KCC) and other partners to promote and encourage the use of sustainable travel options and be early adopters of strategy documents aimed at improving air quality, including the KCC Energy and Low Emission Strategy.