+44 1865 259200
Aether was commissioned by Berkeley Homes to undertake an air quality assessment for the proposed installation of gas fired boilers at 250 City Road. Dispersion modelling was undertaken and a ‘slightly adverse’ impact on local nitrogen dioxide concentrations was found at worst case locations. Other pollutants were not of concern. One uncertainty in the modelling was the background nitrogen dioxide concentrations, as the data obtained from the nearby background monitoring station differed to that obtained from the Defra background concentration maps. In addition, the current pollution contribution from City Road was also uncertain. Therefore a nitrogen dioxide monitoring survey using diffusion tubes was commissioned to determine the current pollution levels at various points around the development site.
The challenge
At the time of monitoring, the area was a building site and therefore none of the buildings that will be constructed as part of the development were available for monitoring at. The site also needed to be clear of obstructions. Therefore the diffusion tubes were placed around the perimeter of the development site and from this interpolations had to be made.
The solution
Five diffusion tubes were exposed at the extremes of the site for periods of between 4 and 5 months in accordance with the UK Nitrogen dioxide survey timetable. One location was at first floor level to provide an indication of concentrations above ground level.
The result
The results indicated that concentrations exceeded the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective in some residential locations close to City Road, which confirmed the indications provided by the dispersion modelling. Therefore, the installation of NOx/NO2 filters was recommended at these locations.
Melanie Hobson
Director
Related case studies
Air quality monitoring
Category: Construction and Property Developers, Air Quality Assessments
Aether was commissioned by Berkeley Homes to undertake an air quality assessment for the proposed installation of gas fired boilers at 250 City Road.
Read case studyIndustrial air quality assessment
Category: Construction and Property Developers, Air Quality Assessments
Aether was commissioned by Ballymore to undertake an air quality assessment for a proposed energy centre in phase 2 of the development at Royal Wharf in the London borough of Newham.
Read case studyResidential Air Quality Assessment, Dartford
Category: Construction and Property Developers, Air Quality Assessments
A case study of the Air Quality Assessments Aether delivers for residential developments, here for a proposed development in Dartford.
Read case studyNews
Latest news
Posted on: 17 March 2026
Central Asia Study Tour: Air Quality Workshop
Aether provided representatives from Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan) who were visiting the UK on a study tour with an introduction to air quality management.
Read full storyPosted on: 26 February 2026
Pakistan Training Workshop on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV), Carbon Markets, and Article 6 Mechanisms
Aether staff delivered a workshop in Islamabad, Pakistan on the fundamentals of MRV and GHG inventories.
Read full storyPosted on: 13 January 2026
Devolved Governments Air Pollutant Emissions Inventories
The air pollutant emissions inventories for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were published in September 2025. The data covers the period 2005 to 2023, for the pollutants ammonia, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds, PM10, PM2.5, sulphur dioxide, and lead.
Read full storyPosted on: 11 December 2025
Aether provided training to strengthen Government of Jersey’s climate policy modelling capacity
Aether completed a project for to train staff in Government of Jersey in using Aether's Carbon Scenario Model to quantify the carbon impacts of net zero policies. The model is a key tool for the Government of Jersey for informing policy decisions on climate actions, and other related policies.
Read full storyFilter news by category
Aether Blog Air Pollution Air Quality Assessments Barriers to Net Zero Capacity Building Carbon Footprint Climate Emergency Climate Equality Climate Finance Consumption COP28 Culture Data Visualisation Economic Status Emissions Reporting European Topic Centre GHG Infrastructure Inventories Local Government Mitigation MRV National Government Net Zero Oxfam Paris Agreement Policy Recruitment Society Stakeholder Engagement Waste Sector Wider Impacts
Testimonial
