Revocation Of Broxburn Air Quality Management Area
The Broxburn Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) has now been revoked by way of The West Lothian Council (Broxburn) Air Quality Management Area Revocation Order 2024 which came into force on the 26th January 2024. The order revokes the whole of the Broxburn AQMA for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulates (PM10) which have been consistently below the air quality objective for both pollutants over a number of years, resulting in an improvement in local air quality.
Broxburn Air Quality Management Area Revocation Order 2024 Broxburn AQMA Revocation Order 2024 (PDF, 204 KB)(opens new window)
PUBLIC CONSULTATION- Revocation of Broxburn Air Quality Management Area Order 2011 - NOW CLOSED
West Lothian Council has statutory obligations to monitor air quality and to take corrective action where specified pollutant concentrations are above permitted objective levels. The council has a statutory duty to provide an annual progress report to the Scottish Government in regard to air quality standards and any action being taken by the council to fulfil statutory obligations.
The Broxburn Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) was declared by West Lothian Council in 2011 for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM10) due to historical exceedances of the air quality objective. Automatic monitoring of these pollutants has been ongoing since 2011.
Annual Progress Reports submitted to the Scottish Government on air quality within West Lothian, have highlighted that concentrations of NO2 and PM10 are consistently below the air quality objective for both pollutants.
A Detailed Assessment 2022 Broxburn Detailed Assessment of Air Quality (PDF, 3 MB)(opens new window) of air quality in Broxburn was independently carried out by air quality specialists in 2022 which concluded that WLC may wish to;
- Consider revocation of the Broxburn AQMA for NO2
- Delay revoking the AQMA for PM10 until Scottish Government guidance regarding AQMA revocation and the use of FIDAs analysers (currently in use by WLC) for particulate measurements is updated
The proposal to revoke the Broxburn Air Quality Management Area was presented to the Public and Community Safety PDSP on 23 February 2023 and subsequently submitted before Council Executive on 21st March 2023 to approve the proposals and seek agreement from the Scottish Government for revocation of the AQMA, to allow consultations on the Broxburn draft revocation report to begin.
The Scottish Government were content for the revocation of Broxburn AQMA to proceed for both NO2 and PM10 subject to any additional comments by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). SEPA were content with the supporting air quality data taking into consideration point 2 of the conclusions (see above) in the Detailed Assessment and had no objections to the proposal.
West Lothian Council hereby notifies its intention to revoke the Broxburn Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) for NO2 and PM10 in exercise of powers conferred upon it by Section 83(1) of the Environment Act 1995.
It is proposed that the AQMA is revoked in relation to continued compliance of the NO2 and PM10 National Air Quality Strategy objectives as set out in the Air Quality (Scotland) Regulations 2000, the Air Quality (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2002 and the Air Quality (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2016.
The 2023 Proposed Broxburn Revocation Report can be viewed on the Councils websiteBroxburn Revocation Report 2023 (PDF, 854 KB)(opens new window).
The Council invites written comments by 6th August 2023 on its proposal to revoke the Broxburn AQMA. Comments, should be sent as a reply to the following email address (environmentalhealth@westlothian.gov.uk), with Broxburn Air Quality Revocation Consultation Report in the subject header. Consideration of comments will take place and the progress report may be updated , if necessary.
Supporting Information
A Detailed Assessment (PDF, 2 MB)(opens new window) of air quality was carried out and it found that road traffic, principally cars, is the main source of air pollution in central Broxburn.
AQMA Declaration
An AQMA was declared by a legal order in March 2011 due to the air pollution levels exceeding permitted levels. You can find the Broxburn AQMA order and AQMA map here (PDF, 248 KB)(opens new window).
Air Quality Action Plan
A draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) was developed. It was subject to wide consultation over 6 weeks, both internal and external, including transport operators, local residents, community council, local businesses and elected members. The feedback from the consultation shaped the finalised action plan and the priority given to each measure.
A finalised version of the AQAP was then developed and prior to adoption, a further 6 week public consultation was carried out. The finalised Action Plan lists the measures considered worthy of pursuit and details timescales for their implementation. The AQAP for Broxburn can be accessed here (PDF, 1 MB)(opens new window).
Your Contribution
Anyone with views on the Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) for Broxburn or the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) can email broxburnairquality@westlothian.gov.uk or post to West Lothian Council, Environmental Health, c/o West Lothian Civic Centre, Howden South Road, Livingston, West Lothian, EH54 6FF.
More Information
For more general information regarding air quality throughout West Lothian please see Annual Progress Report 2017 (PDF, 2 MB)(opens new window) or the non-technical summary (PDF, 130 KB)(opens new window).
