c.i. beattie, j.w.s. longhurst, a. simmons & n.k. woodfield.€¦ · the 1997 tpp submission...

Progress with integrating air quality

management into the Transport Policies and

Programmes of English County Government

C.I. Beattie, J.W.S. Longhurst, A. Simmons & N.K. Woodfield.Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of the West of England,Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY.Clare.Beattie@ uwe.ac. uk or [email protected]

Abstract

The Environment Act 1995' and subsequent UK National Air Quality Strategy^impose new duties on local authorities with regard to air quality. As transport isthe main contributor to all but one of the pollutants under review, transportpolicy will be a key issue within the Air Quality Management (AQM) regime.The development and implementation of local authority transport plans ismanaged by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions(formerly the Department of Transport, DoT) through the annual TransportPolicies and Programme (TPP) bidding process.

A previous study (Beattie et a?} examined the integration of AQM issuesinto the TPP submissions of English county government (July 1997submission). It was concluded that the level of integration of AQM within theTPP process was immature except in selected areas where AQM practice hadbeen stimulated by government action. The AQM process has now maturedand this paper examines the integration of AQM within the TPPs of the July1998 submission. The paper identifies and evaluates improvements in policyand practice of the transport planning community with regards to AQM.

1. Introduction

Air Quality Management (AQM) is the process by which local air qualitycontrol is currently being addressed in the UK. The core aim is to reachspecified objectives for seven pollutants by the year 2005 as set out in theNational Air Quality Strategy^ (NAQS). The process by which this is being

Transactions on the Built Environment vol 41, © 1999 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509

62 Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century

undertaken is a three-stage review and assessment of air quality by all localauthorities in the UK. Where the objectives are not likely to be reached, AirQuality Management Areas must be designated and action plans written andimplemented outlining the actions to be undertaken in order to achieve thetargets. Local authorities have been given additional responsibilities andpowers to implement this holistic policy approach. As six of the sevenpollutants set out in NAQS are emitted predominantly from transport sources,transport policy and provisions are central to achieving the goals of NAQS. IfAQM is to succeed, air quality goals must be fully integrated into transportplans from an early stage as the time-scales required for transport policies to beimplemented may be out of phase with those available for the AQM legalprocess.

Transport Policies and Programmes (TPPs) are currently the means by whichlocal authorities in England obtain spending approval for all capital expenditureon transport in their area. Bids are made to the regional Government Office bythe end of July each year, and the settlement for each council is announced inDecember. Councils then use these allocations to deliver their programmes forthe following year.

Beattie et af investigated the integration of AQM into the TPPs of EnglishCounty Government for the July 1997 submission. During the intervening year,the UK Government published the long awaited White Paper 'A New Deal forTransport: Better for Everyone**. This aims to set UK transport policy in anentirely new direction, promising new opportunities for local authorities andinnovative approaches to service delivery.

The core theme of the proposals is the responsibility of local authorities toproduce Local Transport Plans, designed to respond to local needs andcircumstances. Local transport plans will replace the TPP system for allocatingresources for local transport capital expenditure. They will cover all forms oftransport, and will be designed to co-ordinate and improve local transportprovision. As for TPPs, local highways authorities will take the lead inproducing local plans.

In addition, the Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997̂ obliges local authoritiesto undertake a review of existing and forecasted levels of traffic on roads intheir area and to prepare a report. These reports should contain targets forreducing either existing levels of traffic on local roads, or their rate of growth.The draft guidance produced for the RTRA has now been overtaken by theIntegrated Transport White Paper. The consideration of road traffic reductiontargets should be an integral part of the process of drawing up local transportplans. The Government has therefore decided that the statutory reportsproduced under the provisions of the RTRA 1997 should be submitted in July2000 (instead of July 1999) as part of the full round of local transport plans.However, it is expected that authorities may submit non-statutory 'interim' roadtraffic reduction reports in July 1999 as part of provisional transport plans.

The TPP guidance in 1998 was little changed in advance of the TransportWhite Paper and the proposals therein on new arrangements for the localauthority transport funding. On the issue of air quality, the guidance sets out


Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century 63

that local authorities should pay close attention to air quality in preparing TPPsespecially through consideration of measures to reduce traffic levels and trafficemissions in sensitive areas'.

2. Method

Beattie el a? investigated the July 1997 TPP submissions with regard to thedegree of integration of air quality management within the Transport Policiesand Programmes of county authorities in England. In this paper, the authorswill not only evaluate the degree of integration, but also attempt to assessimprovements in policy and practice of the transport planning community withregards to air quality management. This is particularly timely as the UKGovernment is attempting to address both transport issues, through the WhitePaper*, and air quality, through the National Air Quality Strategy". Someattempts have been made to integrate these two processes, for example throughguidance suggesting that air quality action plans should be submitted with localtransport plans.

Beattie el a? clarifies how the sample was chosen. The counties includedhave been selected according to criteria relating to geography, population andurbanisation and represent a wide range of circumstances of county governance.In this paper, the 1998 TPP submission for the same County authorities will bereviewed in order that a direct comparison can be made. These reviews willthen be discussed in the context of the likely future direction of transport policyand its integration with air quality management.

3. Review of a sample of county level TPPs

3.1. The former county of Avon

The July 1997 TPP submission for the Avon area illustrated how air qualitydecision making criteria can be embedded within the core of a TPP. AQM wasexplicitly mentioned in the TPP and the goals of NAQS outlined. It would beexpected that the 1998 submission^ would also address air quality issues in asimilar manner.

As the air quality management process proceeds, the ex-Avon authoritieshave maintained this approach. The document states that although 'it is not yetpossible to predict forward to 2005 with any confidence, it is quite possible thatat least one AQM A may have to be declared*. The authorities correctly pointout that transport elements of a statutory Air Quality Action Plan can form partof a TPP package bid, though the mechanism for funding such measures isunclear. This is seen as an opportunity to strengthen positive action in responseto the air quality challenge.

Two of the authorities involved in the bid are currently participating in theClear Zone Initiative, which aims to create areas within cities which minimisediscomfort and danger to people from traffic movement and pollution, whilemaintaining maximum access, mobility and vitality. A feasibility study is



currently underway investigating a possible Clear Zone for Bristol City Centre,to encompass a variety of measures to reduce the adverse impact of privatetraffic whilst ensuring the access and mobility which is essential for economicvitality. In Bath, the Clear Zones concept is being taken forward as part of theaction plan for the City Centre. This is clearly an exceptional example of howair quality issues can be considered at the heart of transport policy decisionmaking.

This TPP̂ also addresses the promotion of alternative modes of transport.This will principally be through Green Commuter Plans and bus qualitypartnerships that have been set up by all four authorities involved.

The four unitary authorities succeeding Avon have included AQM as acentral issue within the TPP. Collaborative working, both between localauthorities, and between different professions, have produced an integratedtransport policy and programme for the area.

3.2. Norfolk

It was concluded that little effort had been made within the 1997 TPPsubmission to integrate AQM either within the transport policy itself or in theTPP. Strategies that would ultimately improve air quality were includedthroughout the TPP, but little was done to relate these strategies to possibleimprovements in air quality.

The 1998 submission considers the National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS)and states that the county council supports the district councils in their reviewand assessments of local air quality. Review and assessments are the initialresponsibility of district councils under the AQM regime. Following themonitoring, assessment and identification of areas requiring action, the countycouncil will develop and incorporate strategies for action into the relevanttransportation strategies. Another small section outlines that a working groupon air quality has been set up as a sub-group to the Districts' county wideEnvironmental Protection Group. This group includes representatives fromboth the county and district councils within Norfolk.

The main objectives of the package include an intention to 'minimisepollution and global warming by reducing emissions from transport sources',but this statement is not elaborated upon. There is however a small amount ofnitrogen dioxide monitoring data included within some targets, illustrating twoareas where the annual mean objective is likely to be breached. Air quality hasalso been highlighted later on in the document as one problem associated withtraffic in Kings Lynn.

Air quality issues are not fully integrated into this TPP, but improvementshave been made since the July 1997 submission. Transport planners are nowconsidering how air quality can be integrated in to transport plans. However,there was no mention of further monitoring or modelling of different transportscenarios, or details of the likely impacts of the measures outlined.



3.3.Cornwall

The 1997 TPP submission mentioned air quality only in a brief review andpresented a limited description of the work of the Cornwall Air Quality Forum.This has been slightly extended in the 1998 submission and concludes bystating that 'at present no empirical data relating to traffic pollution exists forCornwall. The Forum now wish to turn their attention to this area, withpotential monitoring sites where there may be a problem with traffic pollutionbeing identified'.

As in 1997, the county council stated that the county's transport policiesmust reflect the aspirations for a more sustainable future, and the vision forCornwall set out in the Structure Plan*. However, the opportunity is missed tolink this to air quality action of any sort. The TPP claims 'there is a need tointegrate the proposals of the [Structure] Plan with transport policies that giveincreasing emphasis to the management of traffic, and initiatives that will givegreater potential for public transport use and more encouragement for journeysto made by foot or bicycle' but the TPP provides limited evidence of integrationin practice.

As in the 1997 submission, any mention of air quality was omittedthroughout the rest of the document. This may reflect the lack of air qualitydata in Cornwall, which is a topic only now beginning to be addressed.

3.4. Merseyside

It was previously concluded that Merseyside's 1997 TPP submission had airquality issues as a central theme and as such represented an example of bestpractice in the sector. It was evident that air quality issues had been integratedinto the Merseyside TPP as a central component of the evaluatory andassessment processes operated by the joint authorities. In the 1998 submission,the Merseyside authorities have expanded on the air quality and environmentalmessage to encompass sustainability as an overriding theme^. The LocalAgenda 21 process is seen as the forum for the development of the debate aboutthe relationships between transport and sustainable development. Commitmentis shown to the Agenda 21 process as a whole. Links are made to land usepolicies, which can have an important role in reducing car dependency, and it isalso emphasised that air quality management action plans should converge withstrategies aimed at reducing traffic.

The multi-disciplinary Environment Sub-Group has continued to developPackage Strategy mechanisms to help secure air quality objectives and themitigation of environmental pollution. Significant progress has been made withrespect to the development of a management system for controlling air qualityimpacts from Package schemes. The adoption of a common system is seen as akey mechanism for local AQM, and its operation will be reported in futuretransport plans. The Merseyside Atmospheric Emissions Inventory has alsobeen completed in the intervening year between TPP submissions and this isdiscussed in the Impact Report'. Air quality monitoring results and



developments in the monitoring network are also discussed in the ImpactReport'. Another positive initiative is an innovative bus project currently beingintroduced into three area of Merseyside in order to test 3 alternative fuels,compressed natural gas, electric battery and low sulphur diesel.

As for the previous years TPP submission, this document^ is an example ofhow air quality can be embedded in the decision making system of transportpolicy.

3.5. Leicestershire

The 1997 TPP submission placed substantial emphasis on sustainability issuesincorporating air quality management and issues such as the integration of landuse policies with transport. However, when considering the development oflonger term strategies, crucial to the AQM process, the TPP stated the'implications of recent initiatives such as the Road Traffic Reduction Act andAir Quality Plans will need to be considered further when further guidance hasbeen issued'. The opportunity to assess changes in air quality was clearlyafforded, but not taken.

The 1998 submission'^ has made genuine improvements and within a yearhas moved towards full integration of their AQM and TPP processes. The 1997document laid down the building blocks to include air quality in the process, butLeicestershire has now produced a document representing best practice in thefield. The document professes its overarching strategic policy as the pursuit ofsustainable development and they have obviously embraced this principlethroughout the TPP. The Agenda 21 process is involved and the local planprocess is also linked in to this system.

Each measure included in the package is assessed by Government objectivesand County Local Plan objectives. The package^ also includes a chapter onEuropean and UK Research and Development, for which Leicestershire hasbeen involved in a number of schemes. These have included LERTS, theLeicestershire Environmental Road Tolling scheme, which aims to research theproblems of traffic congestion in urban areas and how pricing mechanismsaffects driver behaviour and EMMA, an integrated environmental monitoring,forecasting and warning system for metropolitan areas. Air dispersionmodelling has also been undertaken using the Airviro' system, which enhancesthe roadside monitoring data to provide 'real-time' and 'what if predictions. Acopy of the Leicester air quality bulletin has also been included.

Of all the TPPs examined in this paper, Leicestershire has made the mostsignificant advances in the integration of air quality issues into the TPP process.

3.6. Hampshire

Hampshire's 1997 TPP submission was deemed 'advanced' by Beattie et a?.Air quality considerations were central to the document and evidence ofintegration of AQM with transport policy was afforded by most sections of theTPP. It was concluded that this TPP differed from all the others reviewed in



that the emphasis is predominantly on environmental objectives, where mostTPPs put the majority of emphasis on road safety issues.

In the 1998 TPP an extra section about air quality has been included,providing details of Hampshire's Review and Assessment, the initial stage ofwhich was completed in November 1997''. Hampshire and the Isle of Wightwere one of the 14 pilot areas chosen to carry out a review of air quality for theDETR in advance of the bulk of authorities. This has clearly stood them ingood stead and it is encouraging that this has involved co-operative workingand the integration of air quality issues into other policy areas. It is stated that'the management of air quality is recognised as a very important element withinthe transport strategies as well as an indicator of the effectiveness of theinitiatives. Local air quality strategies will be developed where appropriatewhich will be closely linked with the integrated transport strategies'.

The air quality strategy involves informing and educating the public. Hourto hour information of air quality is provided via a public display in WinchesterCity Centre as well as informative messages on topics such as the effects onhealth of air quality and transport initiatives to overcome the traffic problemsevident in the city centre. The County Council is currently looking at thepossibility of extending the air quality service provided in Winchester toprovide forecasts for air quality through the development of an air qualitymodel for the whole of Hampshire. This, it is claimed, would enable people tomake more informed travel choices and possibly choose an alternative travelmode if the air quality is going to be poor the following day. This initiative isbeing developed with the Meteorological Office and will be the first model ofits kind developed on a regional basis.

This document" has clearly embraced the principles of sustainable transportpolicy and as such AQM is included at the heart of decision making.

3.7. Hertfordshire

With respect to the 1997 TPP submission for Hertfordshire, Beattie et a?concluded that although the infrastructure of AQM is present withinHertfordshire, it does not yet appear to be incorporated into transport planningand decision making within the County, except in a very superficial way.

Disappointingly, the opportunity to integrate the two policy areas has notbeen taken in the 1998 submission*" either. As in the 1997 document, thereremains an aim of achieving sustainable transport as evidenced by the openingstatement The TPP sets out the plan for transport in Hertfordshire, based on theprinciples of integration and sustainability'. In relation to air quality there islittle evidence of the integration of AQM within this aspiration to achievesustainability. Air quality is mentioned in two small sections, in which it ispointed out that measures to promote better air quality are largely under theremit of the district councils. The Review and Assessment process ismentioned in the context that any action plans are likely to require reductions intraffic, but no more details are included.



The document*" omits any monitoring or modelling data, or detail aboutpossible changes in air quality following implementation of the plans proposed.If anything there is less, not more, consideration of air quality issues within thedocument than in the previous submission. This TPP makes little attempt tointegrate AQM into the transport policy process.

3.8. Northamptonshire

The July 1997 TPP submission mentioned air quality issues in a limitedmanner, but failed to make any attempt to integrate these into the purpose of thedocument.

In the 1998 TPP^ a few paragraphs about air quality in Northamptonshirehave been included. It highlights the work of the Northamptonshire Air QualityGroup, a group of environmental health officers and says 'the group will beplaying a leading role in the air quality sections of the transport strategyconsultations being carried out in 1998/99'. It has not been recognised that airquality should not be an add-on, but an integral part of the policy makingprocess. Although the Northamptonshire Air Quality Group containsrepresentatives from the County Council, health authority and EnvironmentAgency, no representatives appear to be included from the transport planningprofession. There is some mention of the implications of the review andassessment process, but then goes on to say that air quality monitoring inNorthamptonshire is at a fairly early stage. The situation should become clearerover the next 12 months because Government legislation requires the setting upof any action plans by the year 2000'.

There is limited evidence of the transport planning community beinginvolved in the air quality management processes of Northamptonshire.

3.9. North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire County Council submits its TPP as an overall document and 4package bids for Scarborough, Harrogate, the North York Moors and theYorkshire Dales. In the 1997 submissions, there was little mention of any airquality considerations. There was no mention of any air quality monitoringresults or collaboration with outside bodies. Air quality was not identifiedexplicitly or implicitly as a material consideration in the TPP developmentprocess.

As for the 1997 document, the 1998 package*^ has as one of its objectives 'toreduce pollution from traffic'. Again, there is little mention regarding how thisis proposed and only occasional mentions of air quality in any context. TheNorth York Moors bid has no mention of air quality. The Harrogate Packagebid makes no mention of air quality, even in discussing proposals forenvironmentally friendly measures such as Park and Ride schemes. Within theYorkshire Dales Package bid air pollution is briefly mentioned. However, itstates that 'there are no mechanisms currently in place to either measure their[local traffic] impact within the Dales or to record to what extent any proposed



measures might reduce such impacts'. It is proposed that monitoring fornitrogen dioxide might be put in place, but a lack of time and money is cited asproblems in including it as part of the package. The Scarborough Package bidincludes a small section on air quality that includes nitrogen dioxide diffusiontube results, which show some exceedences of the EU limit value. It then goeson to say 'air quality issues are clearly of some concern, and are tackled by thewide range of proposals in the Package Bid which are aimed at reducing trafficlevels generally'. No further mention is made.

It can only be concluded that there have been limited efforts in including airquality within the TPP and integration of air quality management processes inthe policy and programmes is absent.

4.Summary

From the above descriptive analysis an attempt has been made to categorise thelevel of integration of AQM into the TPP development processes operatingwithin this sub-set of TPPs. The categorisation is relative and is onlycomparable within the context of the group. The categories are as follows:Absent no explicit consideration of air quality issues within the

document.Limited some mention of air quality but no substantial attempt to

integrate it within policies or plans.Developing some attempt to relate air quality to transport policy in a

qualitative/ semi-quantitative way.Advanced integration of air quality issues into the transport decision

making process is explicit. Some attempt to quantify futureair pollution.

Table 1: Summary of AQM integration into the TPPs reviewed

Authority

AvonHampshireLeicestershireMerseysideCornwallNorfolkHertfordshireNorthamptonshireNorth Yorkshire

Level of AQMintegration into TPP

AdvancedAdvancedAdvancedAdvancedLimitedLimitedAbsentAbsentAbsent

Significant improvementsmade on 1997 ranking

AAAA-AT--



S.Discussion

The most striking observation from the TPPs investigated is the substantialdiversity between counties in their capacity for integrating air qualitymanagement into transport policies and programmes. This ranges from alimited acknowledgement of air quality, to a transport policy based entirely onthe principles of sustainable development, with air quality as a key issue.

There have been some improvements in the field between the documentsreviewed from the 1997 submission and the 1998 TPPs. This has involved anincreased coverage of air quality issues, mainly in a descriptive manner, butwith some major exceptions. Leicestershire has made the most impressiveimprovements, but those counties already 'ahead' of the field in 1997 havecontinued to place environmental concerns at the heart of their transportdecision making and in most cases make improvements in their own practice.

It should be noted that when these TPPs were written (pre-July 1998) theNAQS review and assessment process was still at an early stage. Aquestionnaire survey carried out in April/ May 1998 (Beattie et al̂ ) showedthat 73% of urban authorities were at the first stage of the review andassessment (R&A), 12% were on the second, 5% on the third and 10% had notyet started. Urban authorities were likely to be the furthest advanced in thisrespect due to greater air pollution activity historically. As the R&A processprogresses (initial R&A due to be completed by the end of 1999), into thewriting of action plans setting out actions to improve local air quality, it willbecome even more critical for transport planners to become involved. It will beinteresting to note further changes over the next two years as the R&A processadvances. Next years TPPs (replaced by the new local transport plans) will bethe first that have been submitted with the AQM review and assessmentprocedure well underway.

In addition, the Integrated Transport White Paper promises to have a majoreffect on transport policy and capital allocation for local authorities. CentralGovernment guidance on the incorporation of sustainability parameters willrequire transport planners to consider these issues in a more explicit andquantifiable manner. It should however be noted that existing Governmentguidance requires transport planners to take note of these issues.

Although encouraging improvements are evident from the 1997 TPPsubmissions to the 1998 submissions, these improvements may be tooinsignificant and too late to make an impact on the AQM process which has adeadline to reach objectives by 2005. Transport policies work on a significantlylonger timescale than is available for the AQM process. Many measures willtake years to implement and where behavioural changes are required (forexample a switch from private car use), public attitudes to transport will onlychange over a long timescale.

No TPPs have yet made any attempt to quantify future trends in air qualityunder different policy scenarios, through the use of modelling techniques. Veryfew counties include any monitoring data of significance although attempts arestarting to be made by the more advanced authorities. Beattie et a? concluded



that county authorities where first phase activities have taken place are betterable to integrate air quality into the TPP and, relative to the other authorities,are better placed to meet their air quality responsibilities under NAQS. Firstphase authorities are those pilot authorities commissioned by the Government toundertake certain aspects of the new air quality responsibilities ahead of thebulk of authorities. They included the ex-Avon authorities, Hampshire,Merseyside and Cornwall. With the exception of Cornwall, these authoritiesstill appear to be ahead of the majority of county councils, although it wasanticipated that other authorities should by now be catching up as good practiceis disseminated throughout England.

References

1. HM Government. Environment Act 1995 Chapter 25 (Part IV). LondonHMSO, 1995.

2. Department of the Environment and the Scottish Office. The UnitedKingdom National Air Quality Strategy. CM3587. The Stationery OfficeLtd, London. March 1997.

3. Beattie C.I., Longhurst J.W.S. and Newton A.J.(1998) Assessment of theLevels of Integration of Air Quality Management within the TransportPolicies and Programmes of English County Government. In UrbanTransport and the Environment for the 21st Century. Borrego, C. &Sucharov, L. (Eds) WIT Press, Southampton and Boston, pp305 - 318.

4. Department of the Environment, Transport & Regions. A New Deal forTransport: Better for Everyone. CM3950. The Stationery Office Ltd,London, July 1998.

5. HM Government. Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997 Chapter 54. LondonHMSO, 1997

6. Avon Area Authorities Transport Policies and Programme: Package bid forthe Avon Area 1999/2000. Bristol. July 1998.

7. Norfolk County Council Transport Policies and Programme 1999/2000.Norwich. July 1998.

8. Cornwall County Council Transport Policies and Programme 1999/2000Submission. Truro. July 1998

9. Merseyside Integrated Transport Study Mersey side's Transport Strategy &Investment Programme 1995-2004; Merseyside 1999/2000 Package Bid.Liverpool. July 1998.



10. Leicestershire County Council Transport Policies and Programme7999/2000. Leicester. July 1998.

11. Hampshire County Council Transport Policies and Programme 1999/2000.Winchester. July 1998.

12. Hertfordshire County Council Transport Policies and Programmes7999/2000. Hertford. July 1998.

13. Northamptonshire County Council Transport Policies and Programme/999/2000. Northampton. July 1998.

14. North Yorkshire County Council Transport Policies and Programme1999/2000. Northallerton. July 1998.

15. Beattie C.I., Elsom D.M., Gibbs D.C., Irwin J.G., Jefferson C.MLLonghurst J.W.S., Newton A.J., Pheby D.F.H., Pill M.A.J., Rowe J.,Simmons A.,Tubb A.L.T. & Whitwell I. Implementation of Air QualityManagement in urban areas within England some evidence from currentpractice. In Air Pollution VI Brebbia, CA, Ratto, CF and Power, H (Eds)WIT Press, Southampton and Boston, pp353-364, 1998


c.i. beattie, j.w.s. longhurst, a. simmons & n.k. woodfield.€¦ · the 1997 tpp submission...

Documents