Air quality

Air Quality Management Areas 

Fenland District Council has four declared Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs).

An AQMA is a defined area identified as potentially having air quality concerns, in that there may be exceedances of nationally set air quality objectives. These are detailed in the Annual Status Reports.

There have been no exceedances to acceptable air quality pollution levels within these AQMAs and therefore these areas will be reviewed accordingly. 

Consultation - Revocation of two Air Quality Management Areas in Wisbech

Following a review, Fenland District District is revoking two historic Air Quality Management Areas in Wisbech.

The areas - AQMA 1 - PM10 Wisbech (PDF, 1 MB) and AQMA 2 - SO2 Wisbech (PDF, 1 MB) - were declared in 2001 and 2006 due to concerns about pollutants from an industrial process at a factory involving coal burning.

This activity is no longer in operation and the air quality monitoring has been completed. As a result, and in accordance with statutory guidance from the Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Fenland District Council is now revoking these areas.

Should you wish to comment or provide feedback on the AQMA revocation, please complete our survey by Sunday, 2 March.

About Air Quality Monitoring

Air quality affects our health and the local environment in different ways. In Fenland, our Environmental Health Team take steps to help manage local air quality and aim to achieve even better air quality across the district. Our Air Quality Action Plan sets out the actions we are undertaking.  

Monitoring of Nitrogen Dioxide is undertaken across the district to assess levels of traffic related pollution. Monitoring of Particulates, Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulphur Dioxide are also monitored in a fixed location in Whittlesey. Some industries and developers also monitor air quality. Air quality management areas are declared in areas where pollutants exceed acceptable levels. Details of monitoring and Air Quality Management Areas can be found in our Air Quality Annual Status Reports and on Cambridgeshire Insight. 

Data is also available from the Whittlesey air quality sensor from the Air Quality in England monitoring service. 

Industries that may cause air pollution, such as dust, fumes and smoke are inspected, permitted and regulated by the Environmental Health Team or by the Environment Agency.