Agenda item

Report of the Assistant Director of Place (Highways and Public Protection)

The Committee considered the report of the Assistant Director of Place (Highways and Public Protection) that updated on local air quality management activities/actions in Sefton during 2022.

The report indicated that Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) was introduced under the Environment Act 1995 and that evidence had shown that certain atmospheric pollutants were linked to poor health; that the Act placed a statutory duty on all Local Authorities to regularly review and assess air quality in their areas and produce a yearly Air Quality Annual Status Report (ASR) which provided a detailed account of air quality in its area; and that as a result of ongoing monitoring and assessment, air quality in the majority of Sefton had been shown to be of a good standard and levels were well within the National Air Quality Standard Objectives; but that there were however areas in the South of the Borough, where due to high levels of traffic, and other localised sources, levels of NO2 were above or close to the national standard. Accordingly, Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) had been declared in the four locations at:

• Princess Way, Seaforth
• Millers Bridge, Bootle
• Crosby Road North and South Road Junction, Waterloo
• Hawthorne Road and Church Road Junction, Litherland

The report also provided information on:

·       real time automatic monitoring stations; and the use of diffusion tubes to measure monthly NO₂ levels at 80 sites across the Borough

·       particulate matter

·       PM2.5 monitoring

·       A summary of monitoring results in 2021

·       Actions to improve air quality which included Sefton Clean Air Plan Outline Business Case, Joint Sefton/ Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Emissions Enforcement Project, Low-Cost Sensor co-location project Sefton /JMU and the DEFRA grant funded behaviour change project

·       Low cost AQ sensor Trial

·       Traffic signal upgrade/incorporation of AQ sensors

The report concluded that air quality in the majority of Sefton was within NAQS, but that the main on-going priority in Sefton for the coming years was to fully understand the effects that the predicted increase in HGVs due to port expansion would have on air quality and how this could be mitigated; that the development of the Outline Business Case for a Sefton based CAZ under the overarching Clean Air Plan was complete and had demonstrated that a corridor HGV charging CAZ covering the A5036 and A565 could achieve significant air quality improvements within the CAZ boundary and wider borough; and the progression of the CAP scheme to the next stage, i.e. Full Business Case, would depend on a number of factors, which included key risks and constraints identified in the OBC work along with identification of a funding source.

Peter Moore, Assistant Director of Place (Highways and Public Protection) and Helen Cumiskey, Strategic Infrastructure Planner gave a presentation that outlined:

·       What the Air Quality Update Report Provided;

·       Local Air Quality Management;

·       Air Quality Management (AQMA);

·       Location of AQMAs;

·       AQ Monitoring Results – Automatic Sites;

·       AQ Monitoring – Automatic Sites – Locations and Pollutants Monitored;

·       Automatic Monitoring – NO2 – Results and Trends;

·       NO2 2021 Automatic Monitoring Results;

·       NO2 Diffusion Tube Monitoring;

·       NO2 Diffusion Tube Results 2021;

·       PM10 Results – Automatic Monitoring;

·       PM 2.5 Results – Automatic Monitoring;

·       New National Standards Limit Value for PM 2.5;

·       Summary of AQ Monitoring Results;

·       Actions to Improve AQ;

·       Clean Air Plan (CAP) Outline Business Case (OBC) – Background/Rationale;

·       OBC Considered Four HGV – Clean Air Zones (CAZ) Boundary Options – Focus on key port traffic routes & AQMA Locations;

·       CAP OBC Overview;

·       CAP OBC Strategic Objectives;

·       CAP OBC – Case for Change/Key Outputs;

·       CAP OBC – Defining the Preferred Option;

·       CAP OBC – Financial Considerations;

·       CAP OBC – Summary & Conclusions;

·       CAP OBC – Aligned Communication & Engagement Strategy;

·       CAP OBC – Recommendations & Considerations;

·       CAP OBC – Next Steps;

·       Joint Sefton/Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Emissions Enforcement Project;

·       Sefton/Liverpool John Moores Co-Location Study;

·       DEFRA Grant Funded Educational Behaviour Change Project;

·       Low-Cost Sensors School Streets/Traffic Light AQ Monitoring; and

·       Conclusions.

Members of the Committee asked questions/commented on the following issues:

·       Outcomes from the 2012 Port Access Steering Group, anticipations of increased traffic associated with the port, and how this would align with aspirations towards net carbon zero.

·       Concerns regarding increasing numbers of HGVs on major routes accessing the port.

·       Any developments with rail access to the port.

·       A lack of a national strategy in the development of public transport.

·       The contribution of older HGVs to pollution i.e. in terms of the number/proportion of HGVs that would be impacted by the charge.

·       The charge to HGVs using the proposed Clean Air Zone.

·       The need for a national strategy in encouraging the use of public transport, modernising HGVs, switching to cleaner fuels, and the requirement for technology to catch-up with aspirations.

RESOLVED: That

(1)      the report updating on local air quality management activities/actions in Sefton during 2022 be noted; and

(2)      Peter Moore and Helen Cumiskey be thanked for their informative presentation.