Air Quality Assessments in London

Development in London

London is a global powerhouse for all things commercial. From finance and investment to property and law, London is a bustling economic centre for the UK. Being the largest city in western Europe, London has become an attractive destination for workers both UK-wide and across the globe.

This has led to a constantly increasing demand for more homes and office space. There are thousands of projects in the works across London, with the city skyline set to change dramatically in the next few years. One such project is the Trellis Tower, which has been designed to stand at 73 storeys and become the city’s third tallest building. This will be located in the heart of the Square Mile, and provide space for 1,200 workers, alongside a public viewing gallery and London’s highest restaurant. Other exciting developments include the £430 million reconstruction of existing Victorian structures in Smithfield to house the New London Museum. Over 2 million tourists are expected to attend the new site annually. Additionally, plans costing £8 billion to extend the Bakerloo Line from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham have been proposed. This will involve the construction of two new tube stations, which will provide the essential transport capacity to accommodate the urban regeneration occurring throughout the Old Kent Road area.

With such growth, comes more people, buildings, vehicles and consequently, an environmental impact, of which air pollution is a main player. Given that poor air quality is now the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK, it is essential that the effect from such soaring growth is managed effectively. Air Quality Assessments in London are a crucial part of the development process to enable a sustainable and clean air future for local residents.

Air Quality in London

London is infamous for its struggles with air quality over the last few centuries. Most notably, the Great Smog of 1952, which resulted from emissions of sulphur dioxide, was estimated to have caused up to 10,000 deaths in the weeks following the event.  Due to advancements in energy technology, sulphur dioxide is no longer a significant cause for concern. However, emissions arising from road vehicle usage still earn London a reputation for having illegal levels of pollution throughout the city.

The Greater London Authority has put into place an abundance of measures to tackle these issues. In 2019, the world’s first Ultra-Low Emission Zone was implemented throughout inner London, which has since been expanded to include all London boroughs. Major investment has also been pushed into cleaner buses and electric vehicle infrastructure. Additionally, all new developments in London are now required to be Air Quality Neutral, which ensures that emissions from the buildings and associated vehicles are either within reasonable levels or offset accordingly.

It is essential that developments continue to support an improvement in air quality. This should be managed through sound determination and effective mitigation of air quality impacts associated with proposals. This is why Air Quality Assessments in London are needed.

Air Quality Assessments for Planning

Air Quality Assessments in London are now required in support of nearly all planning applications for new developments. Typically, these comprise assessment of four main elements. These are:

• Potential exposure of future occupiers to harmful pollution levels.
• The impact of emissions from vehicles travelling to and from the scheme.
• The impact of dust emissions generated during construction.
• An Air Quality Neutral assessment.

Addressing these as part of your application could be the deciding factor for its success or refusal.

Air Quality Assessments in London

The success of your planning application could be aided by Redmore Environmental’s experience undertaking Air Quality Assessments in London. You will gain advice on planning applications and discharging conditions to addressing consultation responses and public comments. We have produced Air Quality Assessments in London for residential and educational schemes, as well as industrial and commercial facilities. Last year alone, over 500 assessments were completed in support of developments similar to yours.

Across London, we have been involved in a number of exciting projects in recent years. These include:

• York Way, London – Demolition of existing buildings and erection of a mixed-use development, including laboratory enabled office floor space, highways and associated works. This will become a major life sciences facility and provide space for essential research to be undertaken.
• Heathrow Marriott Hotel, London – Construction of a part five part six storey building to provide 259 bedrooms for an extension of the prior existing Hotel at Heathrow Airport.
• Emlyn Gardens Estate, White City, London – Demolition of existing buildings and construction of a mixed-use development including 14 residential dwellings, office space, a replacement community hall and function room, as well as a new external playground.
• Baker Street, Westminster – Installation of two 484kW diesel-fired generators at the site to provide power to the building in the event of a power outage.

Air Quality Assessment Services

Our air quality experts specialise in all aspects of air quality consultancy. Those relating to planning include:

• Air Quality Assessments in support of planning applications.
• Air Quality Assessments in support of Environmental Permit applications.
• Environmental Impact Assessments.
• Dispersion Modelling Assessments.
• Odour Assessments.
• Construction Dust Risk Assessments and Management Plans.
• Low Emissions Strategies.

Additional Services

We also have expertise in the following areas:

• Bioaerosol Risk Assessments.
• Ambient Air Quality Monitoring.
• BREEAM Indoor Air Quality Assessments.
• Indoor air quality testing.
• Kitchen Odour Assessments.
• Ecological and Ammonia Assessments.
• Local Air Quality Management reports.
• Air Quality Constraints and Screening Opinions.
• Dust and Odour Management Plans.
• Expert Witness.

Get in Touch

If you are concerned about air quality or require an Air Quality Assessment in London undertaking to support a planning application for your development, then please get in touch today to discuss how we can help you ensure permission is granted.