Contributing Editor Kerry Reals is a UK-based freelance journalist who has spent more than a decade on the aviation beat, with an emphasis on how the industry is addressing its environmental impact. She is a regular contributor to a range of aviation publications, including Flight International, Aviation Week, Aircraft Cabin Management and Avionics magazine. Kerry previously worked as Deputy… Read More
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Air Quality
The UK has already breached EU NO2 limits in London for 2017. A new air quality strategy is urgently required to ensure that airport expansion is not granted at the expense of public health. The Committee is concerned that the Government has given no guarantees that air quality targets will be maintained after the UK leaves the EU.
The promise not to increase road traffic at Heathrow needs to be rigorously monitored, with clear accountability and consequences for failure. The MPs are concerned that the Government is relying on people switching to cleaner cars to reduce air pollution but have no confidence the Government will meet their targets for uptake. The report calls on the Government to implement an alert system for people who are especially vulnerable to short-term exposure to air pollution in London.
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Air Quality
1. [The EAC said] The Government must publish such an assessment [of air quality impacts using the revised air quality plan] alongside the final National Policy Statement, it must work towards a scenario in which all road links affected by expansion have predicted concentrations below the limit value. Whilst the health impact assessment is a step in the right direction, the Government must carry out work to reduce the significant health impacts identified, before construction of the third runway begins. (Paragraph 32)
Response: [By government] The Government continues to update its evidence base on airport capacity as appropriate to ensure that any final NPS is based on the most up to date information.
The Government is determined to meet its air quality obligations and to do so in the shortest time possible. We will publish the final UK Air Quality Plan by 31 July. The draft NPS stipulates that final development consent will only be granted if the Secretary of State is satisfied that, with mitigation, the scheme would be compliant with legal air quality requirements.
As far as health impacts are concerned, the draft NPS makes very clear that “in order to be compliant with the Airports NPS, a further project level Health Impact Assessment is required. The application should include and propose health mitigation, which seeks to maximise the health benefits of the scheme and mitigate any negative health impacts”.
2. [EAC said] We encourage the committee scrutinising the NPS to consider this report and its recommendations, and urge the Government to clarify its position [on post-Brexit air quality limits] in its response to this report. (Paragraph 33)
Response: [By government] The Government is aware of the desire for certainty around what exiting the EU means for our environmental policy and legislative framework. That is why the Prime Minister announced last year our plans for a Great Repeal Bill. The Bill will convert EU law into UK law as it stands at the moment before we leave the EU. On 30 March 2017 the Great Repeal Bill White Paper was published setting out the detail of our approach to the Bill and how the domestic legal system will work once we have left the EU.
The UK has a long commitment to improving the environment even before it joined the EU; for example the Clean Air Act was introduced in 1956. Our strong commitment to improving air quality will continue after the UK leaves the EU.
3.The Government should work with Defra on an air quality alert system for people who are especially vulnerable to the effects of short-term exposure to pollutants. (Paragraph 34)
Response: Through the Government-funded website UK-Air, Defra already makes available a five-day forecast from the Met Office on predicted air pollution levels. This allows members of the public, particularly those who are most likely to be affected by such pollution, to take action. This information is also available on the Met Office website, alongside the weather forecast.
UK-Air also provides the most up-to-date information on local air pollution levels using data from the national network of air pollution monitors. Importantly, the website provides Public Health England’s advice on practical actions and steps people can take to minimise the impact of these events.
Defra issues daily tweets from the UK-Air Twitter account, which provide information about current air pollution levels and accompanying health advice. These include details of affected regions and links to regionalised maps. These are routinely retweeted by Public Health England and are followed by journalists who use the information to inform their reporting, as well as health charities and campaign groups who regularly retweet information to vulnerable populations.
During episodes of high air pollution Defra alerts a network of health charities, providing full details of the nature of the episode, its geographical location and anticipated duration, along with links to further information including specific health advice relevant to the episode.
The Government will continue to ensure that members of the public have the information and advice they need to take appropriate action to minimise their exposure to high levels of pollution.
4.The Government must publish such an assessment [a comprehensive assessment of the infrastructure requirements of an expanded Heathrow] and consult on it before publishing a final National Policy Statement. (Paragraph 44)
Response: As part of the statutory planning process responsibility rests with the applicant to provide a detailed Transport Assessment as part of any development consent application and to set out its proposals to mitigate impacts on the surrounding transport network, whether through transport infrastructure or other transport measures.
In the draft NPS the Government has proposed the outcomes it wishes to see, including specific targets relating to public transport mode share and employee travel that the airport would be required to meet. It would be up to the applicant to demonstrate in detail how it would meet such outcomes. However, the work of the AC, and subsequent work, has illustrated a number of improvements to public transport which could support this. Some of these improvements, such as Crossrail, HS2 and improvements to the Great Western and Piccadilly Lines are happening regardless of airport expansion.
Other schemes, such as the planned Western Rail Link to Heathrow, are in development and could be in place before a new runway opens. This would provide a rail connection to the west of the airport. Other proposed schemes such as Southern Rail Access would provide direct access from the airport to the South West Trains network, with connections towards Waterloo and Clapham Junction, and potentially towards Woking and Basingstoke. Southern Rail Access is at an earlier stage of development and a range of options are being considered which would provide a range of benefits to both airport and non-airport users.
Details of any finalised proposals for the Northwest Runway scheme at Heathrow Airport and necessary changes to the transport system will rightly be considered as part of the statutory planning process.
5.There needs to be clarity over how this pledge [that there will be “no more cars on the road” as a result of expansion] will be delivered and monitored, the consequences if it is not met and the implications of that for local authorities’ responsibilities to deliver air quality compliance. (Paragraph 45)
Response: The Government has set out its expectation in the draft NPS that “Heathrow Airport should continue to strive to meet its public pledge to have landside airport-related traffic no greater than today.” The Government has also proposed specific targets on public transport mode share and employee travel. Heathrow Airport will need to set out, and provide evidence, as part of any development consent application as to exactly how it would achieve these. It is the Government’s expectation that, subject to the outcome of the NPS and planning processes, the mode share targets at paragraph 5.16 of the draft NPS would become binding upon the airport.
Lastly, we note that the EAC referred in its report to a Government target for 60% of all new cars to be Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles (ULEVs) by 2030. The EAC has since confirmed that this was an error as the Government currently has no such target. The Government is committed to almost all cars and vans being zero emission by 2050 and will publish an updated strategy on support for the transition to zero emission road transport by March 2018.
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