Journal of Environmental Management (2001) 61, 137–147

doi:10.1006/jema.2000.0391, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on

Progress with implementing local

air-quality management in rural areas of
England
C. Ing, C. Beattie and J. Longhurst*

Air quality in the UK, although vastly improved from the smogs of the 1950s, now faces a new set of
challenges from a variety of sources and pollutants. Poor air quality has long been associated with urban
areas, but it is becoming clear that many rural locations also have locations likely to exceed the UK Air
Quality Strategy-objectives. This paper will examine the extent to which rural authorities have been engaged
in the local air-quality management (LAQM) process, a new regime by which air quality control is being
accomplished in the UK. Results are presented from a questionnaire survey of environmental health officers
of 100 rural authorities undertaken in January 1999. The paper investigates both the technical aspects
of the LAQM process as well as the management approaches. The current progress of rural authorities,
and some of the problems they face, are discussed particularly in comparison with urban areas. It is
concluded that some rural authorities with air pollution problems stemming either from within or outwith
their borough, may face significant challenges from the LAQM review and assessment process, particularly
where air pollution responsibilities have only relatively recently been addressed. Rural authorities seem to
be embracing these new responsibilities enthusiastically, but it is almost inevitable that they will be trailing
behind urban authorities who have several decades of experience and joint working to draw upon.
 2001 Academic Press

Keywords: local air-quality management, rural, local authority, review and assessment of
air-quality process.

Introduction being accomplished in the UK. LAQM is

an attempt to address local air-pollution
issues in a holistic manner (Longhurst et al.,
Air quality in the UK, although vastly
1996).
improved from the smogs of the 1950s, now
faces a new set of challenges from a variety of
sources and pollutants. In many areas traffic
growth is causing the majority of air-quality Current legislative framework
problems. Although in rural areas traffic
density is not as great as in urban areas, The local air quality management framework
there has been a higher rate of traffic growth. in the UK stems from the Environment Act
A higher proportion of the rural population 1995, Part IV (HM Government, 1995) which Ł Corresponding author
use cars with greater average journey lengths required the Secretary of State to prepare
(DETR, 1999). In some areas this is causing and publish a statement containing policies Air Quality Research
deteriorating air quality in districts generally Group, Department of
with respect to the assessment and manage- Environmental Sciences,
perceived as having ‘clean’ air. This paper ment of air quality ‘as soon as possible’. This University of the West of
will examine the extent to which rural was duly published as the National Air Qual- England, Frenchay
authorities have been engaged in the local Campus, Coldharbour
ity Strategy (NAQS) (DoE, 1997). The core of Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QY,
air quality management (LAQM) process, a NAQS was the setting of health based stan- UK
new regime by which air quality control is dards for a series of eight pollutants. These
Received 19 February
Email of corresponding author: james.longhurst@uwe. were set following a review by a government 2000; accepted 26
ac.uk commissioned Expert Panel on Air Quality September 2000

0301–4797/00/020137C11 $35.00/0  2001 Academic Press

138 C. Ing et al.

Standards. The Air Quality Regulations 1997 The emphasis of the NAQS (DoE, 1997)
(HM Government, 1998) subsequently gave and the AQS (DETR, 2000) was two-fold,
legal weight to standards and objectives for first, action by central government to secure
seven pollutants, which were to be achieved emissions reductions by national action and
by 2005. The pollutants for which local second, action at a local level, by giving
authorities are responsible are benzene, 1,3- local authorities new powers, and obliga-
butadiene, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen tions, to reach the air-quality objectives.
dioxide, particulate matter (PM10 ) and sul- The control of air pollution is not an
phur dioxide. The position of air quality on entirely new responsibility for local authori-
the political agenda was reflected in the rapid ties. Since the Environmental Protection Act
updating of the National Air Quality Strategy 1990 (HM Government, 1990) local author-
in 1999 to the Air Quality Strategy for Eng- ities have been responsible for emissions
land, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to air from Part ‘B’ processes, which are
(AQS; DETR, 2000). The review was intended those less complex industrial processes iden-
to reflect developments in European legisla- tified by the Act as significant in terms
tion, technological and scientific advances, of emissions to air, land or water. This
improved air pollution modelling techniques is in contrast to the situation in Scotland
and an increasingly better understanding of where the Scottish Environmental Protec-
the economic and social issues involved. The tion Agency is responsible for all prescribed
main changes were to the objectives, both processes within Scotland. However, this is
in concentration and the time scales in which the first time that English local authori-
they must be achieved, which now range from ties have been required to take a holistic
2003 to 2008. The new objectives were pub- overview of air pollution from a variety of
lished in the Air Quality Regulations, 2000 sources, over differing spatial and tempo-
(HM Government, 2000) for England and cor- ral scales and attempt to integrate solutions
responding legislation in Scotland and Wales. into existing policy requirements, particu-
Air quality objectives as set out in the UK larly through the use of transport plans, land-
National Air Quality Strategy (DoE, 1997) use plans and economic development plans.
and Air Quality Strategy (DETR, 2000) are This represents a significant management
presented in Table 1. challenge.

Table 1. Air-quality objectives as set out in the UK National Air Quality Strategy and Air Quality Strategy

Pollutant 1997 objective Measured as 2000 objective

(for end of 2005)

Benzene 5 ppb Annual mean 16Ð25µg/m3 (5 ppb) by 2003

1,3-butadiene 1 ppb Annual mean 2Ð25µg/m3 (1 ppb) by 2003
Carbon monoxide 10 ppm 8-h mean 11Ð6 mg/m3 (10 ppm) by 2003
Lead 0Ð5 µg/m3 Annual mean 0Ð5 µg/m3 by 2004,
0Ð25 µg/m3 by 2008
Nitrogen dioxide 150 ppb Hourly mean 200 µg/m3 (105 ppb) by
2005 (18 exceedances allowed)b
21 ppb Annual mean Unchangedb
Ozone 50 ppb 8-h mean (eight Unchangeda
exceedances allowed)
Particulates (PM10 ) 50 µg/m3 24-h mean (four 50 µg/m3 (35 exceedances allowed)
exceedances allowed) by 2004
— Annual mean 40 µg/m3 by 2004
Sulphur dioxide 100 ppb 15-min mean Unchanged
(35 exceedances allowed)
— 24-h mean 125 µg/m3 (47 ppb) (three exceedances
allowed) by 2004
— 1-h mean 350 µg/m3 (132 ppb) (24 exceedances
allowed) by 2004
UK deadlines refer to the end of the year in question.
a Indicative level.
b Provisional objective only.
 Local air-quality management in rural areas of England 139

The first and key step in the LAQM regime and air pollution dispersion modelling infor-
is a review and assessment of air quality in mation and predictions for the target year
the local authority’s area. The Government (DETR, 1997). However, even at this stage
has recommended a three-stage approach, less sophisticated monitoring and assessment
whereby each stage increases in detail and techniques have an important role to play.
complexity. The complexity and detail of the Local authorities will need to predict whether
review should be consistent with the risk a failure to achieve an air-quality objective by
of failing to achieve the air quality objec- the end of the target year is ‘likely’. This
tives by the end of the target year (DoE, may entail the construction of a detailed
1997). The first stage of the process is a emissions inventory, the utilisation of appro-
compilation of data of emissions from trans- priate, validated dispersion models and the
port sources, industrial sources, other sig- use of quality assured and controlled contin-
nificant sources and background concentra- uous monitoring data (Longhurst & Elsom,
tions of the seven relevant pollutants. Each 1997). This represents a significant financial
authority must identify sources in both their outlay for local authorities, both in equipment
authority area and those of their neighbour- and human resources.
ing authorities. The first stage review and At each stage, current and future air pollu-
assessment does not expect local authorities tion concentrations are evaluated in the con-
to undertake monitoring (automatic or non- text of the risk of public exposure (Longhurst
automatic), construct an emission inventory, et al., 1994). The Air Quality Regulations
or undertake air quality dispersion mod- (HM Government, 1998) state that compli-
elling. The first stage review and assessment ance with the air-quality objectives is to be
does, however, need to be sufficiently com- determined by reference to the quality of air
prehensive to demonstrate that the authority at outdoor locations where members of the
has considered all sources of pollutants of
public are regularly present. For the purposes
concern which may have an impact within its
of the review and assessment, local author-
locality, conducted a thorough search of infor-
ities should have regard to locations where
mation and used that information as the basis
individuals are likely to be exposed over the
of the decision on whether to proceed to a sec-
averaging time of the objective (DETR, 1997).
ond or third stage review and assessment or
This may require some subjective interpreta-
not. On completion of this stage, pollutants
tion in relation to local circumstances.
can be omitted from the process where there
On completion of a third stage, in areas
is little likelihood of the air-quality objectives
being breached. where it appears that objectives are not likely
The second stage is a more sophisticated to be reached, an Air Quality Management
screening phase, using simple screening mod- Area (AQMA) must be designated (HM Gov-
els and any available monitoring data of the ernment, 1995). Where AQMAs have been
locality. It is not intended that it should designated, local authorities are required to
provide an accurate prediction of levels of prepare a written action plan setting out how
current or future air quality across the whole they will attempt to achieve air-quality stan-
of the authorities area, but should select a dards and objectives in the designated area
number of areas where the highest concen- (DETR, 1997).
trations are likely to occur. For these areas, Following publication of the NAQS, local
the local authority should estimate ground authorities expressed concern about the lack
level concentrations both now and by the of necessary tools or indeed expertise to
end of the target year in question (DETR, undertake their AQM responsibilities effec-
1997). The approach to the selection of areas tively. Central government responded by
should be precautionary at the second stage. making available national resources which
Again, of those pollutants taken to the sec- local authorities could draw upon. Resources
ond stage, any can be ‘written off’ where on included specific guidance documents (for
more detailed examination they are unlikely copies see http://www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm/rev-
to exceed the air-quality objectives. iew/), internet based information including
The third stage is a more complex study of monitored data, emissions inventories, and
the locations and pollutants identified by the telephone and email help desks (http://www.
first/second stages, necessitating monitoring aeat.co.uk/netcen/airqual/home.html).
140 C. Ing et al.

A variety of other documents have also (Part A) currently regulated under the Envi-
been provided for local authorities for exam- ronmental Protection Act 1990.
ple guidance on air quality management Consultation of those involved, and keep-
consultation (NSCA, 1999) and advice on ing the public informed are also important
the designation of Air Quality Management components of the process. As AQMAs begin
Areas (NSCA, 2000) and land use planning to be designated, controversial political steps
and air quality considerations (RTPI, 1999). may be required in order to lower concen-
There is forthcoming guidance on the imple- trations of pollutants to reach the objec-
mentation of Air Quality Action Plans, also tive levels. It is imperative that community
co-ordinated by the NSCA. groups, pressure groups and business rep-
In order to be successful, the AQM pro- resentatives are involved in the process as
cess must involve a variety of professions, early as possible, in order that they under-
agencies and authorities (Longhurst et al., stand the process, feel some sort of ownership
1996). Within local government, environmen- and are willing to take any action required
tal health officers have traditionally had the (Longhurst et al., 1999).
role of controlling pollution from a num- Poor air quality has long been associated
ber of sources and carrying out pollution with urban areas. However, as the review and
assessment process unfolds, it appears that
monitoring. Because of this, environmental
many rural areas also have locations where
health departments have in practical terms
Air Quality Strategy objectives may be at
had ‘ownership’ of the process. However,
risk. As these authorities have traditionally
with this new regime, a longer-term view
had less experience in air pollution matters
is required and solutions will be required
such as Part B authorisations or input to
from transport, land use and economic plan-
Integrated Pollution Control authorisations,
ning sectors of local Government in liai- it may be that some rural authorities face
son with various other agencies and out- a greater challenge in implementing air-
side bodies (Longhurst, 1996). The task is quality management within the time-scales
inherently multi-disciplinary and a collabo- required. The current work examines the
rative approach will be necessary, involving current progress of rural authorities and
the integration of transport policy, economic discusses some of the problems they may face.
development policy and development plans of
the region with the goals of AQM.
Within an authority, different professions Methods
will need to communicate in order to inte-
grate a range of policy measures that are
A self-completion postal questionnaire was
essential for the successful implementation
considered the most appropriate and efficient
of AQM (Longhurst & Elsom, 1997). For
means to obtain the necessary information
example in many areas, traffic is the dom-
from this size sample. The sample used
inant source of the pollutant(s) in question, was 100 authorities of the 153 in England
and as such it is crucial that any air-quality classed as rural (Brown, 1997), spatially
plans are integrated with transport plans, representative of England. This classification
which will have a direct effect on air pollu- reflects not only settlement size, but also
tant concentrations. In addition, the land use the social and economic characteristics of the
planning system can be used to improve local population. A sample size of 100 was chosen
air quality in the long-term by controlling as a 30% response rate can be expected in this
the location of new homes, shopping centres, sort of study, which would have represented
workplaces and leisure facilities such that a 20% sample of all rural authorities. The
dependency on the use of cars is reduced response rate was better than expected,
and more people choose to use public trans- allowing greater emphasis to be placed on
port, cycle or walk (Elsom, 1999). In addi- the results. A similar methodology was used
tion, health authorities may hold information to that of Beattie et al. (1998).
about the health of the local population, for The questionnaire was designed to assess
example, hotspots of respiratory disease, and both the current practice with regard to
the Environment Agency will have informa- the technical aspects of the AQM process
tion regarding the larger industrial processes (such as monitoring and modelling and use
 Local air-quality management in rural areas of England 141

of emissions inventories) and the manage- Monitoring

ment aspects (by investigating how they are
collaborating with other departments within Air-quality monitoring involves measuring
their authority, neighbouring authorities and the ambient concentrations of pollutants in
other outside bodies). The questionnaire was air at a given place and point in time. The
designed to be unambiguous, unbiased and measurements produced are always average
easily filled in. The questionnaire was sent to values over a defined period of time, which
environmental health departments, as they may range from a month to a few seconds.
have traditionally been responsible for pol- A variety of techniques, of varying sophisti-
lution matters, and are (in most cases) co- cation, exist for measuring concentrations of
ordinating the AQM process. pollutants in air (DETR, 1998a). These vary
Closed questions were used in an attempt from passive sampling methods, for exam-
to produce a less time consuming question- ple diffusion tubes, to automatic, real-time
naire. However in order to obtain the required analysers.
level of detail of information, open questions In January 1999 86% of the respondent
were also utilised, where the respondent can rural authorities were undertaking some
give any answer rather than a pre-defined form of air pollution monitoring. However,
response. A mixture of open ended and closed the type and quantity of the monitoring var-
questions is best suited to a structured ques- ied from authority to authority. The vast
tionnaire coded in a numerical way which majority of authorities (83%) are undertak-
can subsequently be used in spreadsheets ing nitrogen dioxide diffusion tube surveys.
and therefore assist analysis (Weisberg et al., 1,3-butadiene, carbon monoxide and lead
1996). In addition to closed and open ques- are the least monitored pollutants. This is
tions, rating scales were used where the broadly comparable with a survey of urban
strength of response is measured on a scale local authorities carried out in mid-1998.
of 1–5. 85% of urban authorities were undertaking
A copy of the initial questionnaire was nitrogen dioxide diffusion tube surveys. How-
piloted on a local authority not included in the ever, greater numbers of urban authorities
final study (Monmouthshire, South Wales). were utilising real-time monitoring equip-
The completed questionnaire was examined ment than are currently in rural areas.
on return so that problems in wording could Table 2 illustrates the percentages of rural
be identified and improved. In addition, authorities utilising passive and automatic
feedback on style, type of questions, layout, equipment for each of the pollutants regu-
usability etc. was also requested. Minor lated under the AQS.
adjustments were made to two questions. The length of time that rural authorities
have had monitoring programmes running
varies by pollutant. Benzene and PM10 have
Results only been monitored for a maximum of 2
years (1 year for automatic benzene monitors),

The results presented are from a question- Table 2. Percentages of rural authorities utilising
naire survey of environmental health officers passive and automatic equipment for each of the
undertaken in January 1999. Of the 100 ques- pollutants regulated under the AQS
tionnaires sent, a 70% response rate was
Pollutant Percentages of local
achieved. This represents 46% of all rural authorities undertaking
authorities in England and as such the data each type of monitoring
can be considered indicative of AQM prac- Automatic Passive
tices in rural authorities in England as a
whole. These data will be compared with Benzene 4 34
a survey of urban local authorities carried Nitrogen dioxide 29 83
1,3-butadiene 0 7
out in mid 1998 using similar methodology
Carbon monoxide 4 0
(Beattie et al., 1998). The progress of rural PM10 29 4
authorities in the review and assessment pro- Lead 1 6
cess will also be examined in comparison to Sulphur dioxide 24 19
urban areas. Ozone 14 10
142 C. Ing et al.

whereas pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and are uncertain about future use of them.
(using diffusion tubes) and sulphur dioxide The greatest numbers of authorities are
using the traditional volumetric device have using Design Manual for Roads and Bridges
been under investigation for much longer. (DMRB; Highways Agency, 1999) (with an
Where some authorities have had NO2 diffu- even greater number intending to use DMRB
sion tube surveys for 5–10 years, automatic in the next 12 months). This reflects that
devices for monitoring NO2 have only been authorities, currently proceeding to stage 2 of
in place for the last 2 years. Likewise for the review and assessment process, require
sulphur dioxide, eight port volumetric appa- a screening tool for traffic related pollutants
ratus (bubblers) have been used for the last such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide
20 years, but automatic devices and other and PM10 .
passive devices have only been added in the In comparison with urban authorities,
last 2–3 years. 42% were undertaking some form of mod-
The majority of rural authorities (69%) elling. 54% said that they were intending
were planning on increasing or changing to undertake some modelling activity in the
monitoring devices within the next year, and next 12 months, half of them for the first
5% were uncertain about their future moni- time. ADMS urban, DMRB and Airviro were
toring practices. As was found for the urban the three most popular packages for urban
authorities, the greatest increases planned authorities.
in monitoring strategies were for nitrogen
dioxide (real-time and passive) and PM10 Review and assessment process
(automatic monitors). For example, 30% of
rural authorities are planning on increas- The primary objectives of the review and
ing their NO2 diffusion tube network and assessment of air-quality process is to iden-
31% are planning on installing new PM10 tify areas ‘where national policies and instru-
automatic analysers. This reflects the gen- ments appear unlikely, of themselves, to
eral position of local authorities in the review deliver the national air-quality objectives by
and assessment process. NO2 and PM10 are the end of the relevant period’ and to ensure
the pollutants causing most concern nation- that air-quality considerations are integrated
ally and findings from this survey suggest into the local authorities’ decision-making
that rural authorities are no exception. Only process (DETR, 1997). As discussed above,
1% of authorities were planning on decom- the Government has proposed a three-stage
missioning monitoring devices, namely for approach.
benzene, 1,3-butadiene and ozone. Of the respondent authorities, 21% thought
they would be undertaking a stage 1 review
and assessment only, 39% thought that
Modelling a second stage would be necessary, 27%
envisaged going onto a third stage and 13%
Air-quality modelling is to provide a means of were uncertain.
calculating air-pollution concentrations from At the time of the survey, 3% already
information about the pollutant emissions thought that they would have to declare an
and the nature of the atmosphere. Air-quality AQMA, with 57% saying that they thought
standards and objectives are set in terms they wouldn’t require an AQMA and 40% of
of concentrations, not emission rates. In authorities uncertain. Although only a small
order to assess whether an emission is likely percentage of rural authorities are expecting
to have an adverse effect on ambient air- to declare an AQMA, a significant percentage
pollution concentrations (and consequently are uncertain, implying that the number
human health) it is necessary to know the of authorities declaring AQMAs could be
ground level concentrations that may arise at higher by the end of the initial review and
distances from the source. This is the purpose assessment process. This highlights the fact
of a dispersion model (DETR, 1998b). that some rural authorities have significant
Of the 70 respondent rural authorities, 33% air-quality problems as a result of localised
currently use air-pollution models of some emissions of some pollutants (industrial or
sort, 49% intend to use them in the next transport) or may be affected by the transport
12 months and 18% are not using any models of pollutants on a regional scale.
 Local air-quality management in rural areas of England 143

These findings are in stark contrast to the Of the respondent rural authorities 70%
urban authority survey. At an earlier stage have no group within the authority to deal
in the process (mid-1998), 4% of authorities with air pollution issues. Of the 30% that did,
thought that only a first stage would be the staff making up this group varied between
sufficient, 27% thought a second stage would authorities. All the groups consisted of at
be necessary and 63% envisaged reaching a least one environmental health officer, with
third stage review and assessment. At that technical environmental health staff, town
time, 38% of authorities thought that they planners, highways and Agenda 21 officers
would have to designate an AQMA, with only most regularly involved. The frequency of
18% thinking that this would be unnecessary. meetings also varied, with the majority
There was still a great deal of uncertainty, meeting quarterly.
with 44% unsure about the designation of Over twice as many urban environmental
AQMAs. health departments (65%) were involved in
Even by December 2000, the review and groups within their authority to deal with
assessment process is inconclusive with air pollution issues. It was noted however
regards to how many local authorities will that many of these groups were only begin-
have to declare AQMAs. A greater number ning to form at the time of the survey,
of local authorities have had to proceed to with some of the responding authorities com-
the latter stages of the process than was first menting that they had only held one or two
envisaged, but to date, only 13 authorities meetings.
have reached the stage of officially declaring
an AQMA. The review and assessment pro-
Dissemination of information
cess as a whole has taken much longer than
was originally thought, with rural author- For a successful air quality management
ities undertaking more work than they, or regime, the effective dissemination of infor-
central Government, had originally thought mation and education of the public regarding
necessary. air-quality issues is paramount. This can be
achieved in various ways and a combination
Involvement of other professions of methods will be required, dependant on
local needs and circumstances.
One of the major challenges of the AQM pro- There are two main forms of information
cess will be within and between authority which need to be conveyed. The first regards
co-operation (Beattie et al., 1998). Within an information about the real-time concentra-
authority, different professions will need to tions of air pollutants in the area at any
communicate in order to integrate a range of one time. This is particularly necessary for
policy measures such as traffic management the susceptible members of the population,
measures. It is also crucial that planning for example those suffering from respiratory
decisions involve air-quality considerations and cardio-vascular complaints. The second
as they may, for example (directly or indi- is information about policy measures and
rectly) affect traffic flows and hence pollutant behavioural choice. In many cases, the public
concentrations. Communication between pro- will need to be educated in order to become
fessions within authorities is an area recog- involved. In the future, as AQMAs begin to
nised to be deficient (Beattie et al., 1999b). be designated, it will be imperative that the
Of the urban authorities surveyed, only a public has some understanding of why pos-
very small proportion of authorities were sibly radical steps are required. The earlier
identified as using best practice with regard this process of education and consultation is
to internal communication and insularity of started, the more effective it will be (Beattie
departments was still in evidence. et al., 1999a).
When asked which other departments of When asked what the rural environmental
the local authority contributed to the first health departments did with air quality mon-
stage of the review and assessment, 11% itoring results, 10% file the results with no
of rural authorities have only involved the dissemination to other departments within
environmental health department. 64% have the authority or neighbouring authorities.
involved their highways department and 50% Some 44% produce departmental reports and
have involved planning departments. 80% produce committee reports as a means of
144 C. Ing et al.

interdepartmental communication. However,

Percentage of local authorities

the majority of rural authorities do provide 35
some sort of information about air quality 30
to the public through a variety of media. 25
The most popular method of providing air 20
quality information to the public is via local 15
newspapers with 31% of authorities using 10
this method. Methods such as public infor- 5
mation leaflets, public records, displays in 0
public places and an Agenda 21 report are 1 2 3 4 5
used by between 20–27% of authorities. A Perceived importance
total of 5% of authorities currently do not Figure 1. The perceived importance of air quality
provide any information to the public with within the department on a scale of 1–5 (1Dlow
3% commenting that they intend to address importance; 5Dhigh importance).
this issue in the near future.
The survey of urban authorities concluded

Percentage of local authorities

that public information strategies appear to
50
be one of the elements of the process most
lacking. Many were only just beginning to 40
address the issue of how to disseminate
30
air quality information, particularly as more
monitoring information becomes available. 20
Some 85% of authorities did utilise at least
10
one method of disseminating air quality
information. The most popular methods were 0
1 2 3 4 5
through an air quality report (61%), via local
Priority
newspapers (36%) and by public information
leaflets (34%). Figure 2. The workload priority of AQM in envi-
ronmental health departments of respondent local
authorities on a scale of 1–5 (1Dlow importance;
Time allocated to AQM 5Dhigh importance).

Eighty three percent of responding rural

environmental health officers spend only Discussion
0–25% of their time working on AQM, 14%
spend 26–50% with just 3% spending between
51 and 100% of their time on issues relating It is generally perceived that rural areas have
to AQM. There are clearly few rural authori- clean air, but clearly this is not the case
ties who employ someone solely to deal with universally. Rural authorities have had less
air pollution. An increase in the proportion experience in dealing with air pollution issues
of time allocated to AQM since the intro- which is illustrated by the lack of groups cur-
duction of the National Air Quality Strategy rently set up within rural local authorities
is generally perceived. Some 67% of respon- to deal with air pollution issues. This may
dents thought that the increase would be in put them at a disadvantage in the review
the range of 0–25%, 23% thought that their and assessment process as the working rela-
workload relating to AQM would increase tionships with other departments necessary
by 26–50%, 3% envisaged a 51–75% increase for the AQM process (especially transport
and 7% perceived a 76–100% increase. and land-use planners) may not be as well
This difference from urban authorities, developed for this purpose as in urban areas.
who often have at least one ‘specialist’ air It is clear that many authorities are
pollution officer employed, may seriously dis- only just getting to grips with their new
advantage rural authorities in an increas- air-pollution responsibilities under the Envi-
ingly specialised field. The smaller depart- ronment Act 1995 (Ing, 1999). Many have
ments in rural authorities will mean that only undertaken monitoring programmes
environmental health officers will be dealing (particularly for pollutants other than NO2
with many issues concurrently. and SO2 ) in the last 2 years or so. Long-term
 Local air-quality management in rural areas of England 145

data sets will therefore not be available. The A lack of funding may also be a problem as
majority of rural authorities surveyed were rural authorities are often smaller in popula-
planning to increase monitoring activities, tion, and consequently have smaller budgets.
indicating that they are in a period of rapid The equipment (both air pollution monitors
growth in relation to AQM practice. and modelling software) required for a stage 3
Few rural authorities are doing any form review and assessment represents a signifi-
of air pollution modelling. This is one of cant outlay for any authority. There will also
the more complex aspects of AQM requir- be extra staff resources required.
ing skilled technical staff, accurate emis- A further hindrance may be that with a
sions information and substantial resource smaller number of staff, there is less likely
input. An authority would not be expected to be specialisation of environmental health
to undertake detailed monitoring unless an personnel and hence the technical expertise
air-quality problem had been identified. This may not be present within the local authority
will only happen as more monitoring work is to deliver air-quality goals.
undertaken. There is a requirement under the Environ-
In the areas of cross-departmental collab- ment Act 1995 for local authorities to consult
oration, monitoring practices and modelling the public on any air-quality strategy as it is
activities, rural authorities appear to be sig- adopted. This requirement will become more
nificantly lagging in the AQM process in problematic as the AQM process develops and
comparison with urban authorities. more controversial measures may be required
Nevertheless, the high questionnaire res- (Longhurst & Elsom, 1997). The perception
ponse rate does indicate that air pollution that rural areas have clean air will make it
issues are on the agenda of the majority of harder for authorities to involve communities
rural local authorities (Ing, 1999). It must who don’t see air quality as an issue relat-
also be considered that there are not as many ing to their locality. As a consequence, for
air pollution problems in rural areas in that example, persuading people to change their
they generally have lower traffic flows and transport habits will be even harder than in
fewer Environmental Protection Act 1990 urban areas.
regulated industrial processes. AQM activity In addition, transport solutions for poor air
in rural areas is of course commensurate with quality may not be as easy to implement in
the air-pollution problems they face. rural areas in comparison with urban areas.
However, some rural areas clearly do have Journeys are on average longer, making it
air pollution problems. Some 27% of rural impractical for people to walk or use bicycles
authorities are envisaging having to under- and public transport is often infrequent.
take a stage 3 review and assessment. This Due to lower population densities it may
could mean that over England as a whole, be economically unfeasible to improve public
over 40 rural authorities may be required to transport to the extent that it will be a viable
undertake the detailed modelling and moni- alternative to the car.
toring exercises necessary for stage 3. This
has substantial implications for resources
within these smaller authorities many of Conclusion
which may have to set up monitoring and
modelling programmes from scratch. Many In conclusion, some rural authorities with
authorities, lacking the technical expertise air-pollution problems stemming either from
or staff may opt to employ consultants. within or outwith their borough, may face
One of the major problems facing rural significant challenges from the AQM review
authorities is likely to be the insularity of and assessment process, particularly where
departments. The involvement of professions air-pollution responsibilities have only rela-
other than environmental health is impor- tively recently been addressed. Rural author-
tant if the process of managing air quality ities seem to be embracing these new respon-
is effective and efficient (Longhurst, 1996). sibilities enthusiastically, but it is almost
Many of the solutions to poor air quality will inevitable that they will be trailing behind
be found in the domain of transport planning, urban authorities who have several decades
and in the longer term, within land-use and of experience and joint working to draw upon.
development planning. The results of the survey are encouraging
146 C. Ing et al.

in the sense that there is clear evidence of effect on the air quality management process.
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and H. Power, eds), pp. 175–186. Southampton
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and Boston: WIT Press.
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agement is being developed by rural local England: A List of Local Authority Areas Fol-
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In order to implement the continuing National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
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tish and Welsh Office (1997). The United King-
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