Wiltshire Council want your views on key air quality documents

Wiltshire Council is asking for feedback on its action plan to ensure air quality in Wiltshire is safe.

They are running a consultation on their Air Quality Action Plan for the next 6 weeks – the closing date is 4 September.

The consultation is open to everyone and hard copies of the Air Quality Action Plan are available from the Bradford on Avon library – as the town is an Air Quality Management Area.

A link to all of consultation documents can be found on the Wiltshire Council website.

In a release, Wiltshire Council said:

As well as transport contributing over a third of all carbon emissions in Wiltshire, it also releases harmful gases that affect air quality.

Wiltshire Council monitors air quality across the county to assess the levels of harmful gases in the local environment.

This monitoring has shown that the air quality in Wiltshire is very good but in a few heavily trafficked areas they have identified levels of nitrogen dioxide that are too high.

Nitrogen dioxide is a product of combustion and in Wiltshire’s case the high levels is being caused by emissions from motor vehicles.

The biggest contributors are diesel cars and Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) have been declared around Wiltshire where the nitrogen dioxide levels are excessive.

The council is required by law to produce an action plan detailing the measures that will be used to reduce levels of nitrogen dioxide in these locations.

The council has produced a summary of its Air Quality Action Plan alongside a more detailed plan to help inform people how it plans to ensure the quality of the air the local population breathes is safe.

The plan contains a list of proposed actions and measures that the council will take to improve air quality, more specifically the reduction in levels of nitrogen dioxide in eight areas in the county where levels have been found to be excessive.

The Air Quality Action Plan is being consulted on at the same time as the draft Air Quality Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

This provides an important mechanism to help the council achieve the aims and objectives of the action plan.

Air Quality Action Plan consultation (web)

Air Quality Supplementary Planning Document consultation (web)