Have your say on our plans to improve Air Quality in Barnet and reduce exposure to pollution in the borough.
Introduction
Improving air quality in Barnet is vitally important, and in common with all London boroughs, Barnet continues to exceed national target air pollution. Over the last thirty years we have made excellent progress on improving air quality in Barnet. Highlights of successful projects delivered through the previous action plan (2017-2022) include:
- over 1009 trees planted in 2021, in addition to 1637 trees planted in 2020 and 2019
- Publicising High and Moderate Air Pollution episodes through Barnet’s official communication channels, such as, twitter and the council website
- experimental Cycle Lane established on the A1000, which was at first a COVID-19 measure, now made permanent. This will help encourage modal shift to active travel
- launched Barnet’s Anti-Idling Campaign at All Saints Primary School, Whetstone.
What we are proposing in our updated draft Air Quality Action Plan
So that we can continue to improve air quality across the borough we have produced a new draft Air Quality Action Plan 2023- 2028 (AQAP) which is also part of the council’s duty to contribute to London Local Air Quality Management.
This new plan builds on our previous plan and outlines the steps the council will take from 2023 to 2028 to improve air quality across the borough, with actions falling under the following categories:
- monitoring and other core statutory duties: maintaining monitoring networks is critical for understanding where pollution is most acute, and what measures are effective to reduce pollution. There are also a number of other very important statutory duties undertaken by boroughs, which form the basis of action to improve pollution
- emissions from developments and buildings: emissions from buildings account for about 15% of the NOX emissions across London so are important in affecting NO2 concentrations
- public health and awareness raising: increasing awareness can drive behavioural change to lower emissions as well as to reduce exposure to air pollution
- delivery servicing and freight: vehicles delivering goods and services are usually light and heavy-duty diesel-fuelled vehicles with high primary NO2 emissions
- borough fleet actions: our fleet includes light and heavy-duty diesel-fuelled vehicles such as minibuses and refuse collection vehicles with high primary NO2 emissions. Tackling our own fleet means we will be leading by example
- localised solutions: these seek to improve the environment of neighbourhoods through a combination of measures
- cleaner transport: road transport is the main source of air pollution in London. We need to incentivise a change to walking, cycling and ultra-low emission vehicles (such as electric) as far as possible.
The new action plan gives details on how the council will:
- continue to meet its statutory obligations for managing air quality;
- work across many council services and with partners to minimise emissions from transport, existing buildings, and new developments, including Brent Cross and other regeneration projects within the borough;
- continue to raise awareness of air quality issues to the public and encourage residents to do their bit to reduce levels of pollution and raise awareness of the importance to reduce their exposure to poor air quality; and
- work in partnership with others to press for more action to be taken at all levels of government.
We are now consulting on the contents and the actions we have identified to in our draft Air Quality Action Plan 2023 - 2028. To find out more about our proposals please take the time to read the action plan.
Your views are important to us
Our draft Air Quality Action Plan will ensure we can continue to monitor how we are doing and sets out clear targets on what we want to achieve by 2028.
Before we finalise the draft plan, we want to give residents, businesses, community and interest groups, and our partners the opportunity to have their say to ensure the plan is appropriate for all our local communities.
The consultation is open to everyone and asks your views on the overall document, its actions and how we can all support this work.
How to have your say:
Complete our online questionnaire
We are keen to hear your views on our proposals and encourage you to have your say by completing our online questionnaire.
If you would like to request a paper questionnaire or another format, please:
- email scientificservices@barnet.gov.uk or telephone 020 8359 7995.
- alternatively, you can write to us at Scientific Services, Regulatory Services, London Borough of Barnet, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW.
If you would like someone to help you complete the questionnaire or need more information, please contact us using one of the above methods.
Attend a community group meeting
As part of the engagement process will also be attending different community groups in Barnet to share more information about our proposals and seek their views. If you would like us to attend your group, please e mail us at: scientificservices@barnet.gov.uk
What happens after the consultation closes
The council will use the consultation findings to inform our final decision. We will publish the results of the consultation, our decision and how we are acting on the results of the consultation on this web page in June 2023.
