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Air quality - latest news
Heathrow Airtrack
Annual reporting
Air quality grant received for the "clear ideas" campaign
Heathrow expansion
London low emission zone


Heathrow Airtrack
Heathrow Airtrack
 Heathrow Airtrack is the proposed new rail link to Terminal 5 from the existing rail network at Staines.
The second phase of the consultation for this will run from 20 October to 15 December 2008.Topics covered include:
  • changes following the first consultation phase
  • impacts on the community and the environment
  • extent of the works, including a new depot at Feltham
There is a public exhibition where you can find out more and discuss the scheme:

Date Time Location
Tursday 23 October 12 noon - 8pm Stanwell Moor Village Hall
Saturday 25 October 10am - 4pm Staines Community Centre
Thursday 6 November 12 noon - 8 pm St Giles Hotel, Feltham
Saturday 8 November 10 am - 4pm Staines Community Centre


Consultation brochure (external link)
Annual reporting Spelthorne Borough Council has prepared their Progress Report for 2007 on Air Quality in the Borough. Under the Environment Act 1995 the Council must prepare this report to set out how it is managing local air quality and what it is doing to try to achieve concentrations below the air quality objectives set by government.

The report is currently in draft, until it is formally approved by the government’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The report has been written in technical language and was not directly intended for residents. But the report does include information on what has been done in 2007 and past data from monitoring locations that may be of interest to some local residents.

Residents may prefer to take a look at the report’s executive summary (21KB) before trying to read the whole report (1.84MB).

We have also prepared a summary of air quality monitoring in the Borough in 2007 specifically for residents (34KB).
Air quality grant received
for the "clear ideas"
campaign
                           DEFRA
 We have successfully been awarded a £10,000 grant by Defra to implement an educational project promoting emission reductions from business road transport in the Heathrow area - the "clear ideas" campaign.

All four councils surrounding Heathrow (Hillingdon, Hounslow, Slough and Spelthorne councils) have declared Air Quality Management Areas and have Air Quality Action Plans to reduce emissions from road traffic. The four boroughs will work together on this campaign which looks to use a range of innovative communications tools to promote reductions in emissions from road transport across the Heathrow area. The audiences aimed at will be:
  1. Senior Managers in large corporate business;
  2. Small and medium sized businesses;
  3. Secondary audiences such as sole traders, car drivers, motorcyclists; and
  4. European freight haulage, their drivers and employees.
The aim of the campaign is to start a communication process between all levels of businesses and aim at exchanging best practice across the business community.

Heathrow expansion
heathrow expansion
 The consultation has now closed. Responses are being analysed by an independent company, Detica in partnership with IPSOS-MORI. They will submit their report to the Department for Transport and this will be available at www.dft.gov.uk/heathrowconsultation
It is anticipated that mixed mode would commence at the earliest in 2010/11, and a third runway in 2020.
If approval is granted there will be further consultations.
London low emission zone
lez map
 The low emission zone (LEZ) was introduced in a bid to improve London's air quality. It covers all of the London boroughs and applies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The full London LEZ will be introduced in a phased approach from 4 February 2008 through to January 2012. Different vehicles will be affected over time and increasingly tougher emissions standards will apply.

Although Spelthorne itself is not affected, neighbouring areas will be, including Heathrow, Feltham, and Bedfont.

What vehicles are affected?
The LEZ does not apply to cars.
It covers diesel-engine heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), buses and coaches, larger vans and minibuses, motor caravans, ambulances and hearses over a specific weight limit.
Currently HGVs, buses and coaches are affected. Large vans and minibuses will be included from 2010.

How will it affect me?
To drive one of the affected vehicles in London you must register and meet the emissions standards. You will need to pay the daily charge if you drive within the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in a vehicle that does not meet the LEZ emission standards and is not exempt from the scheme or entitled to a 100 per cent discount. You can check you vehicle's compliance and what options are available to you on the Transport for London website.

The LEZ is clearly identifiable by:
  • Signs at the boundary informing drivers they are entering the zone
  • Signs on roads outside the zone giving advance warning to drivers that they are approaching the LEZ
  • Signs approximately every 5km within the zone to let drivers know they are within the LEZ

For further information
See the Transport for London website or call 0845 607 0009.