Air Quality Strategy

The requirement for an Air Quality Strategy (AQS) is for local Councils, such as Mole Valley, who do not have any Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) within their respective boundaries. AQMAs are area specific and declared when there are pollution exceedances of certain pollutants. However, there is now a requirement for local authorities to monitor and take preventative action, through a local AQS, rather than waiting for a legal limit to be breached, triggering the implementation of an AQMA.

Summary

MVDC is committed to making the district a vibrant place to live, work and enjoy and appreciates that good air quality is an essential part of achieving this.

Our reporting provides an overview of air quality across the district and focuses on the elements of work specifically carried out by the Environmental Health service to improve air quality in the district. The strategy also sets out initiatives being implemented in the district, led by other departments in the Council as well as those covering the whole of Surrey, overseen by the County Council.

FAQs and Information

Vehicular pollutants, along with industry and agriculture, affect air quality. Air pollution consists of particles and gases from both natural and human sources. Key pollutants include particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), and ozone (O3). CO2 from burning fossil fuels negatively impacts local air quality by slowing the dissipation of other pollutants.

Particulate matter (PM) is composed of sulfates, nitrates, ammonia, sodium chloride, black carbon, mineral dust, and water. Although PM is not monitored in Mole Valley due to no NOx exceedances, a 2017 study showed PM levels below World Health Organization standards, except near the M25 motorway in the northern part of the district.

Environmental Health officers at MVDC oversee the air quality monitoring of NOx at 19 passive diffusion sites located throughout the district to identify any relevant areas where it is considered that the government’s air quality objectives could be exceeded. Local monitoring of NOx has not identified any breaks of UK air quality objectives. Monthly results can be viewed below:

Diffusion Test Results ›

There are a number of measures we can all take to improve air quality, such as:

Using public transport;
Walk and cycle instead of driving;
Car share where possible;
Do not allow your vehicle to idle when stationary;
Avoid burning waste materials;
Consider alternatives to fossil fuel vehicles;
Consider the environmental impact of energy consumption in the home and at work.

Am I allowed small bonfires?

Whilst it isn’t strictly against the law to burn rubbish in your own garden, there are laws around burning certain types of waste and to prevent bonfires causing a nuisance and because of the detrimental impact they have on localised air quality. If you must have a small bonfire, it is important to be considerate to those living nearby and to only burn dry non-noxious materials, such as untreated wood that creates very little smoke. Never leave bonfires to burn unsupervised; we recommend containing fires in a specialised garden incinerator.

What are the rules for domestic open fires and wood burning stoves?

Not burning is the simplest way of minimising the negative impacts on local air quality. However, if you must use a wood burning stove or an open fire, the following points should be adhered to:

Only burn properly seasoned wood with less than 20% moisture;
Never burn wood that has been treated or coated with paint or varnish;
Maintain stoves and sweep chimneys periodically to minimise dangerous build-up of harmful chemicals and the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning;
Install a carbon monoxide detector.

You can report air pollution caused from the burning of noxious materials or if you feel a neighbour is having frequent bonfires that are affecting you and local air quality, to the Environmental Health team.

If you feel a fire is out of control, you should report the matter to Surrey Fire & Rescue Service.

AirAlert (https://airalert.info/surrey/Default.aspx) is a free service for residents warning of pollution levels capable of affecting health, it is targeted at alerting residents when poor air quality is predicted in their area. This service will be replaced by airText (https://www.airtext.info/) in October 2024, which offers an increased range of information (air quality, UV, pollen and temperature forecasts) via, SMS text message, email and voicemail. Details will be provided on MVDC’s web pages when the launch date is confirmed.