We have a duty to review and assess air quality in New Forest, in accordance with Government guidance.
Industry, vehicles and many other sources can increase the levels of pollutants that cause harm to human health.
We also publish guidance on bonfires and burning materials.
The Environment Act 1995 places a duty on local authorities to review the air quality in their area.
Local air quality is assessed at locations of relevant exposure such as residential properties, schools and care homes. The data is reviewed against national Air Quality Objectives.
We carry out assessments for the following pollutants in accordance with the National Air Quality Strategy:
The pollutants of interest in New Forest are mainly sourced from vehicles and industry. Along Southampton Water much of the shoreline is influenced by industrial development, with the landscape being dominated by one of the largest petrochemical complexes in Europe.
Various monitoring techniques are used including real time monitoring and diffusion tubes, which give pollutant concentrations over an averaging period.
We routinely publish data on air pollution levels in map format via the Air Quality England website. You can view the latest data using the link below.
View map of current air quality data
For historical information on air pollution levels, view the air quality bulletin for New Forest.
Government guidance states that if Air Quality Objectives are not being met, or are unlikely to be met, the local authority has to declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). It should then work to improve local air quality in pursuit of the objectives.
We currently have one declared AQMA in Lyndhurst. This area exceeds the annual mean objective for nitrogen dioxide.
Information on the Lyndhurst AQMA can be downloaded below.
Air Quality Management Order - Lyndhurst [50.18KB]
Map of Lyndhurst AQMA [131.37KB]
Lyndhurst Action Plan 2008 [2.54MB]
Lyndhurst Action Plan Update 2019 [2.82MB]
We have a duty to produce an annual local air quality report for DEFRA. Since 2016, a summary air quality report must be made available to the public.
You can download reports for 2018 and 2019 below.
Air Quality Annual Status Report 2018 [2.56MB]
Air Quality Annual Status Report 2019 [3.51MB]
Air Quality Annual Status Report Summary 2019 [863.73KB]
Find out more about air pollution on the DEFRA website.
The Clean Air Act 1993 introduced a wide range of new regulations, such as those which control smoke emissions.
There are no smoke control areas within New Forest. However, care should be taken when choosing a fuel to avoid causing smoke problems to your neighbours.
It is recommended that wood burning stoves (or any appliances burning solid fuel) do not have a cap or cowl on the discharge end of the flue that impedes the upward vertical flow of emissions from the flue. This causes the smoke to flow back down to the ground (down-wash) and increases the likelihood of causing annoyance to your neighbours.
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