February 2012
Directorate of Neighbourhoods
Consultation on the future of the Victory Road Air Quality
Management Area
SUMMARY
1.1
A review of Particulate Matter (PM10) has been undertaken in the Sinfin area of the
City, around Victory Road. This location was declared an Air Quality Management
Area (AQMA) in August 2001, due to levels of PM10 exceeding national objectives.
1.2
The primary source of the high levels of PM10 was shown to be a local metal casting
foundry, QDF Components Ltd, however the site ceased operations in October 2005.
In light of the closure of QDF, the purpose of the review was to assess levels of PM10
around Victory Road, in order to decide whether the AQMA should be retained,
amended or revoked.
1.3
The study shows that in the six years since QDF’s closure, annual averages and 24hour levels of PM10 have fallen significantly.
1.4
Levels of PM10 around Victory Road now comply with national objectives.
RECOMMENDATION
2.1
Revocation of the Victory Road Air Quality Management Area for PM10 is
recommended.
REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION
3.2
The case for revocation of the Victory Road AQMA is based upon scientific evidence
which demonstrates that levels of Particulate Matter (PM10) around Victory Road,
Sinfin, no longer exceed the national air quality objectives and are unlikely to in the
future.
3.3
The confidence for this is provided by the fact that the primary source of historical
particulate matter in this area of the City (QDF Components Ltd), has been closed for
six years.
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
4.1
The Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) process is set out in Part IV of the
Environment Act 1995, the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland (2007) and the associated Policy and Technical Guidance
documents (LAQM.PG(09) and LAQM.TG(09)).
The LAQM process places an obligation on all Local Authorities to regularly review
and assess air quality in their areas, and to determine whether or not the national air
quality objectives are likely to be achieved. Where exceedances are considered
likely, the local authority must then declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA)
and prepare an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP), setting out the measures it intends to
put in place in pursuit of the objectives.
4.2
PM10 is a term used to describe air-borne particles (e.g. dust, smoke, soot etc) with a
diameter of less than 10 micrometers (or microns). It includes any particle of this size,
irrespective of the particle type.
Important sources of PM10 in the UK include road traffic emissions (primarily diesel
engines), domestic coal combustion, bonfires, construction/demolition works and
industrial processes such as mining/quarrying, cement batching, metal foundries and
timber processing.
4.3
The air quality objectives applicable to LAQM for PM10 in England are set out in the Air
Quality (England) Regulations 2000 and The Air Quality (England) (Amendment)
Regulations 2002. The objectives state a limit level of PM10 of 50µg/m3, not to be
exceeded more than 35 times a year. There is also an annual average limit of
40µg/m3.
4.4
Monitoring of PM10 in the Victory Road area of the City has been undertaken for more
than 10 years by Derby City Council’s Environment and Regulatory Services Division.
Due to expected exceedances of the national objectives, a PM10 Air Quality
Management Area was declared in August 2001 in the Victory Road area of Sinfn.
4.5
Exceedances of the 24-hour PM10 air quality objective were recorded in 2003, 2004
and 2005 at a monitoring station located within the Rolls Royce Sinfin D site.
A detailed investigation conducted by the Environment and Regulatory Services
Department of the Council concluded that the primary source of the exceedances was
the QDF foundry on Victory Road.
This conclusion was based upon a number of factors, including chemical analysis of airborne particles collected from the location, which contained significantly elevated levels
of the metal iron. This is the same metal used within the ‘ferrous’ foundry operated by
QDF. It was also shown that operational incidents at QDF coincided with elevated
levels of PM10 measured at the monitoring station.
4.6
Due to the evidence found, formal action was taken against QDF by the Environment
and Regulatory Services Division of Derby City Council in 2004/05.
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4.7
QDF went into receivership in August 2005, with the foundry subsequently ceasing its
operations in full in October 2005.
4.8
The Council has continued to monitor PM10 at the Rolls Royce Sinfin D monitoring
station since this time. Since 2004, PM10 has been measured at this location using
two different analysers.
4.9
In 2011, a Detailed Assessment of the monitoring data was conducted. The report of
this assessment presents and analyses the data collected between 2005 and 2010.
A copy of the Detailed Assessment can be obtained from The Council’s web pages at
derby.gov.uk
4.10
The results of the PM10 monitoring indicate that there have been no exceedences of
the annual average air quality objective for PM10 between 2005 and 2010. With
respect to the 24-hour PM10 objective, there have been no exceedences since 2005.
Other than an unusually high year in 2007 (but which was still below the objectives)
PM10 in Sinfin has decreased year on year since 2005.
In 2010, the annual average for PM10 measured in Sinfin was 17.2µg/m3, compared
with the air quality objective of 40µg/m3. In the same year, the 24-hour objective of
50µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 35 times per year, was exceeded on only 3
occasions.
4.11
Based on the collected and analysed data, it is evident that there is currently no issue
with excessive levels of PM10 near to Victory Road in Sinfin and therefore the AQMA
is now redundant.
4.12
The potential for future exceedances of the objectives is also considered in detail
within the Detailed Assessment. Currently, only one potentially significant local
source of PM10 has been identified, that being a new gasification plant operated by
Withion Power Ltd and located on the former site of QDF (now Trafalgar Park).
As part of the planning process for the plant, an air quality impact assessment was
commissioned. This assessment predicts a potential maximum increase in local PM10
of 0.7µg/m3 (annual average) or 1.7µg/m3 (24-hour average). These ‘worst-case
scenario’ increases in PM10 would still lead to the objectives being comfortably met.
4.13
As with the gasification plant mentioned above, all other future developments that
have the potential to impact significantly upon local PM10, will be considered in detail
via the Development Control process.
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OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED
5.1
The other options available to the Local Authority are as follows:
1. To maintain the declared Air Quality Management Area; or
2. To amend the declared Air Quality Management Area;
5.2
1. Maintaining the AQMA
The option of maintaining the AQMA has been considered in detail. Justification for
maintaining the AQMA would be based upon evidence that either:


exceedances of the national air quality objectives are occurring, or
exceedances of the national air quality objectives are expected to occur in the
future.
No evidence of either scenario exists. Current levels of PM10 are well below the
objectives and have continued to reduce since 2005, in conjunction with the closure of
the QDF metal foundry.
5.3
2. Amending the AQMA
An AQMA may be amended in one of three ways. Either by:



increasing its area;
reducing its area; or by
amending the AQMA boundary, but without affecting its overall area.
The justification for increasing the area of an AQMA, would be based upon evidence
of pollutant levels exceeding objectives (or expectance that levels will be exceeded) at
locations outside of the current extent of the AQMA. This criterion is not fulfilled
based on the evidence obtained through monitoring and assessment.
The justification for decreasing the area of an AQMA, would be based upon evidence
of pollutant levels in certain locations within the AQMA no longer exceeding objectives
(or expectance that levels will no longer be exceeded). This would be in conjunction
with certain other areas within the AQMA, which are still shown to exceed the
objective. Levels of PM10 have been shown to comply with the objectives. There is
no evidence that exceedances are still occurring anywhere within the AQMA (or that
there are likely to be exceedances in the future) and therefore there is no justification
for retaining any part of the AQMA.
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