Linlithgow Air Quality Management Area

PUBLIC CONSULTATION- Revocation of Linlithgow Air Quality Management Area Order 2016 - 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 Linlithgow Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) was declared by West Lothian Council in 2016 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 2005.

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 of air quality in Linlithgow  2022 Linlithgow Detailed Assessment of Air Quality [3MB]  was independently carried out by air quality specialists in 2022 which concluded that WLC may wish to;

1. Consider revocation of the Linlithgow AQMA for NO₂
2. 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 Linlithgow Air Quality Management Area was presented to the Public and Community Safety PDSP on 27th February 2024 and subsequently submitted before Council Executive on 12^th March 2024 to approve the proposals and seek agreement from the Scottish Government for revocation of the AQMA, to allow consultations on the Linlithgow draft revocation report to begin.

The Scottish Government were content for the revocation of Linlithgow 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 Linlithgow 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 2024 Proposed Linlithgow Revocation Report can be viewed on the Councils website  Linlithgow Revocation Report 2024 [763KB] .

The Council invites written comments by 9th June 2024 on its proposal to revoke the Linlithgow AQMA. Comments, should be sent as a reply to the following email address (environmentalhealth@westlothian.gov.uk), with Linlithgow Air Quality Revocation Consultation  Report in the subject header. Consideration of comments will take place and the progress report may be updated, if necessary.

What have we done?

A Detailed Assessment of Air Quality in Linlithgow has been carried out and found the following:

• NO₂ concentrations in excess of the 40 μg.m-3 annual mean objective occurred at 342 High Street where the predicted NO₂ annual mean concentration is 40.6 μg.m-3.
• There were no exceedances of the NO₂ annual mean objective at first floor height where there are residential properties
• Annual mean PM₁₀ concentrations in excess of the 18 μg.m-3 Scottish objective occurred at several locations along High Street including 10 residential properties.
• At specified receptors, High St 16, 17 and 18, the predicted NO₂ annual mean is below the annual mean objective. However these results should be considered in context with the estimated model uncertainty which was 3.91 μg.m-3. There is a risk that the annual mean objective may also be exceeded at ground level residential properties at these locations

More information can be found in the Detailed Assessment of Linithgow [2MB] .

In light of the Detailed Assessment of Air Quality in Linlithgow using the available monitoring data from 2014, West Lothian Council declared an Air Quality Management Area for the exceedances of the Scottish PM₁₀ annual mean and Nitrogen dioxide annual mean objectives. A consultation on the proposed AQMA for Linlithgow ran from the 7 March 2016 to 7 April 2016. The views gathered during this period were considered. An Air Quality Management Order was drafted and finalised on the 25 April 2016 declaring an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) for Linlithgow due to exceedances of both Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and fine particulates (PM₁₀). More information can be found in the  AQMA Order for Linlithgow [758KB] .

The boundaries mirror those in the West Lothian Local Development Plan Proposed Plan. This includes Linlithgow, Linlithgowbridge and land allocated for development.

Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) Map for Linlithgow. Displays a larger version of this image in a new browser window.

Where are we now?

The Draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) [1MB] was drawn up and has been subject to public consultation. Section 5 of the draft AQAP details each measure and the service within West Lothian Council with responsibility for taking the measure forward. West Lothian Council is not seeking further views on the draft AQAP.

During the last 3 years air pollution levels have met air quality objectives (limits). Therefore a detailed assessment is being carried out to assess whether the Linlithgow AQMA should remain in place. If the AQMA remains in place, the AQAP will then be finalised.

For further information or queries on the draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) for Linlithgow or general Linlithgow air quality queries, email LinlithgowAirQuality@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.