26/09/2024: World Environmental Health Day highlights role of councils in air quality

This World Environmental Health Day (26 September), Breckland Council has highlighted the important role of councils in managing and improving air quality in our towns.   

Breckland Council monitors air quality across the district. In 2017, after finding a rise in nitrogen dioxide levels in part of central Swaffham that brought it above national air quality standard limits, the council put an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in place to try to bring the levels down again.  

Nitrogen dioxide is often released into the air when fossil fuels like coal and oil are burned and can commonly be found in vehicle exhaust fumes.  

Working with its partners, such as the town council, Norfolk County Council, and businesses, through the council's extensive monitoring programme and shared Air Quality Action Plan, efforts were made to improve the air quality in central Swaffham by encouraging people to walk or use public transport and introducing more electric vehicle chargers in the town to help people make the switch from petrol to electric cars.  

Breckland Council has been monitoring the nitrogen dioxide levels in the area and they have not breached the maximum acceptable level of 40 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) in any year since the action plan was enacted.  

Some of the decrease in NO2 emissions has been attributed to newer, cleaner car engines, resulting in fewer polluting cars on the road. There was also some concern that the pandemic might have given a 'false' level of assurance due to a decline in traffic numbers, however, levels remain well under the limit even as traffic levels returned to pre-pandemic levels.   

As a result, Breckland Council decided that the AQMA status can be revoked but monitoring will continue to ensure that levels stay low, as is the case with monitoring across the district.  

Cllr Helen Crane, Breckland Council's Executive Member for Waste, Environmental Health, Licensing & Sustainability, commented: "We are delighted to see the hard work and dedication of the community and our partners pay off with the lifting of the Air Quality Management Area in Swaffham.

"This milestone demonstrates our commitment to improving environmental health and air quality. This creates a cleaner, healthier future for our residents. We will continue to monitor air quality closely and promote sustainable practices to ensure that Swaffham remains a great place to live, work, and visit."  

There are currently no other AQMA sites in Breckland.