Air quality case study

Manor Lane, Maidenhead

Background

This project was for a new residential area for 199 homes to be constructed in keeping the local character, at land off Manor Lane in Maidenhead. The site was not within an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). The nearest AQMA was Maidenhead AQMA which was approximately 0.75km from the site and had been declared for annual mean exceedances in NO2. The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) required an air quality impact to be submitted with the planning application to prevent deterioration of the local air quality as a result of the development. We were instructed to complete the Air Quality works by Berkeley. 

Challenge

The initial screening assessment showed that a detailed air quality assessment including dispersion modelling was necessary according to the Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) guidance. The main trigger for this was the likely exceedance of the IAQM/EPUK thresholds for construction heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) traffic and development-generated light-duty vehicles. Careful consideration was given to the impact of construction HDVs due to their high emission levels. The number of homes changed a couple of times to allow for site rearrangements. This meant the traffic consultant came back to us with revised traffic data for us to update our models. 

Solution

The results of both the initial and extra modelling showed that the proposed development complied with local and national policy and no air quality constraints were identified. Overall the development will have no significant impact on local air quality. 

The application for the scheme was successful in February 2023 and work on site is expected to commence as soon as possible.