Workstream: Planning for Air Quality Guidance update
In January 2017, Environmental Protection UK (EPUK) and the Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) jointly published Land-Use Planning & Development Control: Planning for Air Quality. The guidance has become an important resource for local authority air quality and planning officers, developers and consultants involved in the preparation and assessment of planning applications.
Almost ten years on, the policy, planning and scientific context has changed significantly. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in England and wider planning policy have evolved, while growing evidence about the health impacts of air pollution has strengthened the case for taking a proactive approach to air quality through the planning system.
Environmental Protection UK joined the IES to become the Environmental Policy Implementation Community (EPIC) in 2023.
Why is the guidance being updated?
The 2017 guidance placed a strong emphasis on air quality assessment and compliance with statutory objectives and limit values. These remain important considerations, but there is now a much greater focus on preventing and reducing pollution through the design and delivery of developments.
Planning policy increasingly requires development to minimise emissions wherever possible, consider opportunities for environmental improvement and ensure that people are not exposed to unacceptable levels of air pollution as a result of development.
The updated guidance therefore reflects major developments in policy, evidence and practice over the last decade. There is a stronger focus on better design, exposure reduction, health outcomes and inequalities (in line with the latest NPPF iteration in England), alongside the consideration of regulatory compliance.
The updated guidance will provide practitioners with a clear, practical, and up-to-date approach to managing air quality through the planning process.
What is the workstream doing?
The IAQM and EPIC are working together, through two separate working groups, to update the guidance, bringing together expertise from across the air quality community, including practitioners in consultancy and those working in local government.
There is currently an exposure draft which reflects major developments in policy, evidence and practice over the last decade. Expert reviews are underway by planning and public health specialists (local authority officers, HIA experts, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), Royal College of Physicians, Defra etc.).
Following their comments, the working groups will consult IAQM and EPIC members more widely, including questions on specific aspects of the new assessment framework and methodologies. Of note, existing Table 6.3 criteria will be replaced, there will be updated screening methods including for road traffic, and methods to assess the potential for air pollution to lead to adverse health outcomes (including non-threshold effects) and inequalities.
The EPIC working group, which has strong local authority representation, is considering the implications of the updated NPPF and wider changes to the planning system, including what these changes mean for the role of local authorities in managing and improving local air quality. The working group is also considering how the guidance can best support practitioners to move beyond simply assessing air quality impacts, towards identifying opportunities to prevent and reduce emissions and deliver better outcomes through the planning process.
What's next?
The working group are aiming to publish a draft for consultation in early 2027.
The update has taken longer than originally anticipated, in part because the working groups wanted to understand the implications of the updated NPPF before finalising its recommendations. This will help ensure that the revised guidance is relevant to the planning system practitioners are working within today, rather than simply updating the 2017 document.
There will be ample opportunity to provide feedback before publication and we hope to provide workshops and CPD sessions for members to learn how to interpret the new guidance.
EPIC members will have the opportunity to comment on the draft and help shape the final guidance. Further updates will be shared through the EPIC community as the work progresses.
If you would like to support this workstream or find out more, please contact the EPIC Coordinator (ellie@the-ies.org).
For the most recent status and estimated timelines, take a look at the Guidance section on the IAQM website.
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