Air Quality Action Plan 2024-29

Overview

Cleaner air benefits everyone and Sutton is committed to improving air quality. The whole of the London Borough of Sutton was designated an Air Quality Management Area in 2013, and was declared for pollutants Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM10).  This declaration means that the Council must prepare an Action Plan setting out the actions it will take to improve air quality in the Borough. This Plan is reviewed every 5 years and we are now seeking views on the latest revision.

Air quality in Sutton has generally experienced a steady improvement over the last decade and it is encouraging that pollution levels for Nitrogen Dioxide and Particulate Matter (PM10) are below National Objective levels in almost all parts of the Borough - often well below the objective limits.
However, very low concentrations of particulate matter and particularly the smaller particulates PM2.5 can harm health and our action plan for the next five years sets out the actions we will take to reduce concentrations even further. 

The priorities set out in our draft Action Plan build upon the achievements from our previous Plans and seek to have the greatest impact on the most polluting activities - transport, construction and domestic wood burning. Many actions may also provide complementary benefits, such as improving people's choices to lead a healthy lifestyle, encouraging more active travel and improving sustainable transport options.

The revised Air Quality Action Plan has been drafted with the involvement of officers from across the Council - in recognition that air quality is an issue that affects and is affected by many different aspects. The Action Plan complements the aims of our Ambitious for Sutton corporate plan and Action on Climate Change. 

Why your views matter

The Council is now seeking the views of others to help shape and inform the action plan further, so that we can create a plan that is well-supported. It will only be through the support of the community and everyone playing their part that we can secure real improvements in air quality and protect people’s health for the future.