Which years count towards the full compliance needed for revocation?
The revocation of an AQMA should be considered following three consecutive years of compliance, 10% below the relevant objective at the point of exposure (i.e., following fall off with distance adjustment). Where there have been no exceedances for the past five years, local authorities must proceed with plans to revoke the AQMA. The LAQM Technical Guidance 2022 is clear in this respect:
“There should not be any declared AQMAs for which compliance with the relevant objective has been achieved for a consecutive five-year period.” (Point 3.57, page 50).
Unless a likely exceedance has been identified in the area, Defra does not appraise AQAPs for AQMAs that have been in compliance for five years. Local Authorities are instead advised to revoke the AQMA and develop a local Air Quality Strategy.
To avoid cycling between declaring, revoking and declaring again, local authorities should be confident that the years counted towards full compliance are representative of typical conditions and therefore, are in a position to assure local communities that achievement with objectives will be maintained after revocation as required through Environment Act 1995, as amended by Environment Act 2021.
The above guidance applies to all local authorities excluding London.
If you are unsure how to approach these years of data in plans for revocation, please contact LAQM Helpdesk who will liaise with Defra for specific advice as needed.
London Local Authorities
The WHO Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) reflect the best available health evidence, and their recommendations continue to be recognised globally as the targets that should be met to protect public health.
The Mayor of London is committed to protecting the health of Londoners and has committed to meeting the fourth interim target of PM2.5 of 10ug/m3 by 2030 and the WHO 2021 Guidelines as soon as possible.
Section 3.06 and 3.07 of the LLAQM Policy guidance 2019 (LLAQM. PG(19)) sets out the procedure for Local authorities in London to revoke or revise an AQMA. This policy was written prior to publication of the updated WHO 2021 guidelines.
Following publication of the WHO 2021 guidelines, and the subsequent commitment for London to meet these guidelines as soon as possible, the GLA does not support revoking or revising AQMA until the WHO 2021 guidelines are met. This means, except in exceptional circumstances, revocation or amendment Orders submitted to the GLA will not be approved.
London Boroughs are encouraged to contact the GLA ahead of submitting a revocation or amendment order to discuss in more detail.
Welsh Authorities
Revocation of an AQMA order should be considered where, as a result of a subsequent air quality review, it appears that the objectives of concern are being achieved for at least three consecutive years and where monitoring data demonstrates that further exceedances of the objectives are unlikely to occur. Monitoring data and information will be routinely collected through the review and assessment process and where required, additional monitoring and modelling studies. A detailed assessment for the AQMA is not specifically required to be conducted to proceed with AQMA order variation or revocation.
Where a Local Authority determines that, as a result of a subsequent air quality review, an AQMA order should be varied or revoked, the Welsh Government expects the Authority to notify members of the public, businesses and other interested parties in the vicinity of the AQMA. All available supporting information, including the response from communities and interested parties to justify the variation or revocation, should be provided to the Welsh Government outlining the compliance levels. A Local Authority may choose to share a proposal to vary or revoke an existing AQMA order with Welsh Government at any time.
Following a revocation, the Local Authority should put in place measures to ensure continuing compliance, for example a local or regional air quality strategy. Authorities should submit their revocation orders and associated information through the LAQM Portal to ensure the UK Air and Air Quality in Wales websites are updated accordingly. If required, contact the LAQM helpdesk for further advice on updating the database.
