Category: Construction and Property Developers, Air Quality Assessments

Residential AQA, Westbourne Park in London

Aether was commissioned to undertake an air quality assessment, air quality neutral assessment and construction dust assessment for a proposed large residential development on Edenham Way in Westbourne Park in London.

Aether was commissioned to undertake an air quality assessment, air quality neutral assessment and construction dust assessment for a proposed large residential development on Edenham Way in Westbourne Park in London.

The challenge

The development is located within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) where there have been wide spread exceedances of annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentrations in recent years, primarily due to high levels of traffic. Therefore RBKC has declared the whole borough as an Air Quality Management Area and air quality is therefore a key issue for the planning application.

The solution

The dispersion modelling tool ADMS-Roads, was used in combination with local meteorological and monitoring data, traffic data and energy centre data to predict nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10) concentrations at the site and at nearby residential locations. This allowed concentrations at the development site pre and post development to be assessed and appropriate mitigation to be put in place.

The modelling showed that in the pre development scenario, annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentrations were predicted to be above the objective at all locations. This was primarily due to the high background concentrations. With development, the change in concentrations was predicted to be negligible due to no increase in car journeys being assumed and the energy centre impact being minimal.

An air quality neutral assessment was undertaken and found to be compliant with London’s ‘air quality neutral’ guidance for buildings and transport.

Emissions and dust from the construction phase of a development can have a significant impact on local air quality. A brief assessment was undertaken to highlight the main issues and suggestions of mitigation provided.

The result

Due to the predicted exceedances of annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentrations, it was recommended that NOx/NO2 filters were installed in all of the flats. In addition the developer was encouraged to consider further mitigation measures in order to minimise the use of private vehicles by residents.

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Melanie Hobson

Director

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“ It is always an absolute pleasure working with Aether. I always know what is expected of me. Their work ethic is of a very high standard and projects are always handled in a very professional manner. I have learnt many skills in terms of project management, quality control and workshop training styles from Aether and I hope to carry these principles forward in my own work. I look forward to collaborating with Aether more in the future. ”

Luanne Stevens, Gondwana

“ Chris was excellent to work with and always very pro active in making suggestions, taking work forward and applying his considerable technical knowledge in effective ways. ”

Robert Vaughan, Defra Air Quality Team

“ Saint Lucia embraces the professional approach with which this project was undertaken by Aether, particularly their ability to develop mentorship relations with local government experts. This provides a basis for ensuring that the pool of local experts remain engaged and recognized over successive processes. ”

Annette Rattigan-Leo, Chief Sustainable Development and Environment Officer

“ We have been collaborating with Aether for several years, and our projects have greatly benefited from it. Aether staff are very knowledgeable, professional and flexible - and last but not least, very friendly and a pleasure to work with. ”

Umhverfisstofnun, Environment Agency of Iceland

“ The support provided by Aether for this project was especially remarkable considering the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tools and methods used in order to engage local stakeholders really added value to the capacity building of the national team. ”

Shanna Emmanuel, Saint Lucia BUR Project Coordinator

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UNFCCC Secretariat