Councillors will scrutinise changes to the Royal Borough’s air quality strategy next week after a decision to remove five monitoring zones was heavily criticised by independent councillors.

At a council meeting last month, the cabinet voted to scrap the five Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) in the borough.

An AQMA is a marked zone where air pollution exceeds legal limits for nitrogen dioxide or fine particles such as PM10 and PM2.5.

These, named for their tiny size (10 / 2.5micrometres or less) can harm the respiratory tract or even enter the bloodstream and cause serious conditions.

Councils are legally required to declare an AQMA when these limits are breached and must then develop and implement an action plan to improve air quality in that area.

Cabinet voted through recommendations to scrap the AQMAs in favour of a borough-wide approach to managing air pollution in May, because monitoring had shown these were no longer necessary, according to a report.

The council said the monitoring zones had not exceeded limits for six years, meaning they need to be revoked under Government rules.

But several Royal Borough councillors believe this was the wrong move, criticising both the data and the process of collecting it.

Cllr Wisdom Da Costa (WWRA, Clewer and Dedworth West) told the Advertiser he thought the move was ‘unwise’ and could lead to legal challenges.

It is ‘particularly worrying’, Cllr Da Costa feels, that the Frascati Way monitor – ‘the sole site used to extrapolate a borough-wide air pollution model’ had been offline since December – yet, the report ‘did not acknowledge or explain its closure’.

Removing the zones could expose the council to legal action, Cllr Da Costa feared, if someone were to come to harm as a result of air quality.

Cllr Da Costa was further concerned about the impact of dropping the AQMAs on future planning decisions.

Their existence strengthens requirements on developers to assess and mitigate air quality impacts, he feels – potentially leading to planning conditions or outright refusals.

Cllr Da Costa is one of four councillors who feel the decision needed further scrutiny, alongside Cllrs Carole Da Costa, Alison Carpenter and Kashmir Singh.

They jointly submitted a call-in request on May 29, claiming the cabinet’s decision on May 21 was ‘flawed’.


They argued the move is contrary to the council’s own policies, which include commitments to promoting wellbeing, reducing inequalities, preventing harm and addressing climate change.

The call-in cites potential breaches of equalities and human rights duties, as vulnerable groups like children and older residents are disproportionately affected by air pollution.

It also criticises the quality and completeness of the data used to justify the strategy’s removal.

A council spokesperson, said: “As the air quality in the borough has improved and has met national air quality objectives for more than six years, the Air Quality Management Areas have been removed and replaced with a borough-wide Air Quality strategy, supported by planning guidance.

“This will strengthen the council’s commitment to addressing air pollution, driving forward improvements and consolidating policy.

“Councillors can raise questions or concerns relating to any agenda item ahead of, or at, a cabinet meeting.

“Once cabinet has made a decision, any request for a call-in must meet the criteria set out in the constitution, with officers determining whether there is sufficient evidence to do so.”

The borough's air quality monitoring strategy is on the agenda to be discussed at a Place overview and scrutiny panel on Tuesday.