Air pollution

The Local Air Pollution Control (LAPC) and the Local Air Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC) systems are designed to impose conditions of control on emissions to the atmosphere from various industrial sectors covering approximately 17,000 individual processes.

These conditions can include controls over how a process is carried out as well as the setting of maximum permitted emission levels for certain types of pollutant; these are aimed at the protection of human health and the environment.

Process guidance notes

Process guidance notes are published by the Secretary of State to help local authorities assess these 'prescribed' processes. Currently there are over 80 different types of industry covered. These offer a range of possible conditions to be considered and, where appropriate, applied to an individual process.

You can find current Local Air Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC): process guidance notes on GOV.UK.
 

Air quality information

The National Air Quality Information Archive on defra.gov.uk provides up-to-date, comprehensive, detailed information on air quality.

You can find out what air pollution is like near you and for a forecast of what it will be like over the next 24 hours. The site is also the national archive for:

• air quality information and reports
• detailed air quality monitoring data and statistics
• local air quality management
• air quality research in local air quality management areas (AQMAs).

Local air quality

Uttlesford declared an AQMA in May 2012 to include major road junctions in Saffron Walden, based on the annual mean for nitrogen dioxide not being met at the Debden Road/London Road junction and the Thaxted Road/East Street junction. The area was centred on Elm Grove off Hill Street.

On 19 March 2024 the Saffron Walden AQMA was revoked.

Order Revoking an Air Quality Management Area: Saffron Walden (PDF) [270KB]

Additional information

► Health matters: air pollution guidance from Public Health England on GOV.UK