Air quality

Local authorities in the UK have a duty to take steps to ensure that air quality meets legally prescribed standards.

This involves reviewing and assessing likely sources of air pollution in our area, and monitoring air quality to determine if these sources are likely to be causing exceedances of the legal limits where people are likely to be exposed to emissions. The biggest source of emissions in South Derbyshire is road traffic.   

We currently only monitor nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), as studies show that the levels of the other pollutants in South Derbyshire will not be near the limits set. 

Monitoring is carried out using diffusion tubes, which give an average reading of pollution in the area they are situated. The locations of our monitors are set out on the map below.

Data is used to assess changes in air quality year-to-year and determine if legal standards are being met. We publish an annual Air Quality Status Report ^{(pdf, 1.2mb)}  which has to be submitted to and approved by central Government. This report includes all of the actions that the Council and others are taking to improve air quality.

We have also published an Air Quality Strategy ^{(pdf, 348kb)} which sets out how the Council has responded to a government publication in 2023 which set out the government’s specific expectations of local authorities’ role in the delivery of clean air.

Click here to view the locations of South Derbyshire Air Quality monitors.