17 February 2023
A new version of the Mayor of London’s, London Plan Guidance on Air Quality Neutral Assessment has recently been released. It provides guidance for the level of assessment required as the new plan now looks at every development regardless of size. Key takeaways: The new guidance now applies to developments of less than 10 residential units and those under 1,000m2 of floor space. Two types of assessments have been introduced – Simplified and Detailed Simplified: Some developments can be considered as Air Quality Neutral without the need for a detailed Air Quality Neutral Assessment. Simple assessments apply to developments that are classed as minor or that generate virtually no traffic. They also relate to developments that use ultra-low NOx boilers, zero-emission heats sources or use existing heat areas. In essence, developments that do not bring in any additional sources of pollutants. Detailed: A detailed assessment will be used for developments that are likely to increase traffic flows considerably or include items of plant that are likely to produce additional pollutants. These are compared with benchmark values, similar to the previous guidance from 2014. If the assessment shows a scheme is not air quality neutral, the scheme would need to be changed to ensure the benchmarks are met. If the benchmarks are still not met, there is the option for offsetting. This would involve a damage cost assessment to determine the monetary value of the emissions generated by a development. This could lead to a considerable cost to the applicant, so it should be avoided if at all possible by making changes to the design of the developments energy and transport strategies where possible and earlier in the due diligence process. If you require support for air quality assessments on your development, or you would like to talk to our team about the changes to the guidance, or which assessment you require, you can contact our team or find out more via the details below.
Dan Newbery
daniel.newbery@m-ec.co.uk
01530 264753
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