• Home
• Environment
• Environmental Health
• Pollution

• Pollution control - nuisances
• Pollution control - air quality
• Pollution control - contaminated land
• Insect Nuisance
• Noise
• Noise and Dust from Construction/Demolition Sites
• General Nuisance Legislation and Procedure
• Environmental Permits and Licences

The council monitors air quality within Bracknell Forest. The principal source of pollution in Bracknell Forest is exhaust emissions from road traffic.

The borough has a statutory duty under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to periodically review and assess the air quality within its area as part of the Government’s National Air Quality Strategy. National air quality objectives (AQOs) have been designated for:

• Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)
• Particulates
• Carbon monoxide
• Benzene
• 1,3-Butadiene
• Sulphur dioxide
• Lead
• Ozone

In Bracknell Forest all the national air quality objectives are being met except for nitrogen dioxide at two busy locations.

How we monitor pollution

Air pollution is being measured in and around Bracknell Forest using diffusion tubes. This is a type of non-automatic monitoring where samples are exposed over a period of days or weeks before being collected and analysed.

There are two air pollution stations installed in the Borough. They are automatic monitoring stations, which mean that measurements are made continuously. The data is sent through the telephone line to the Council at regular intervals. This is an ongoing process and the council is required to produce an annual progress report, and every three years an Updating, Screening and Assessment report (USA) is required to be reviewed. A USA report or a progress report may require a detailed assessment report.

The council is required to report the results of its air quality monitoring to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Current status of air quality in Bracknell

Following the conclusions of the detailed assessment of air quality, DEFRA has required the Council to declare two air quality management areas (AQMAs) within its area for nitrogen dioxide.  

The locations where the levels have been exceeded are concentrated in areas where traffic levels are high. This is neither unexpected, nor different from the problems experienced by many other towns in the UK, particularly in the south east region. Over 60% of local authorities have declared AQMAs, the vast majority due to nitrogen dioxide levels. All of the borough’s neighbouring authorities have already declared AQMAs.

The areas of concern account for a very small amount of the borough’s land. Below you will find details of the designated areas.

• Area 1, Bagshot  Road (A322), Horse and Groom Roundabout, Downshire Way (A322) and
• Area 2, Bracknell Road (B3348) and Crowthorne High Street, Crowthorne

What is an AQMA?

An AQMA is an area where air pollution is above the national air quality standards. Necessary steps will be identified to reduce the pollution in these areas wherever possible. As air quality improves the AQMA may be reduced in size or removed completely. For information on AQMAs please refer to our question and answer page.

Consultation

We would welcome your comments on how to improve air quality in Bracknell Forest. If you wish to make comments or alternatively you would like to discuss air quality, please use the contact details on the right-hand side of this page.

The next stage

We have expanded our monitoring programme, following the conclusions of the detailed assessment. During the next 18 months a further assessment of the air quality within the two AQMAs will be commissioned to inform the development of an air quality action plan. The plan will be developed in conjunction with the Local Transport Plan (LPT3) and the Local Development Framework (LDF). The purpose of the action plan is to determine clear timescales for implementation of the measures identified to improve air quality within the two air quality management areas.

--

Print