Twyford's air quality improves - DEFRA revokes continuous monitoring

Pollution levels at Twyford’s crossroads have now dipped below worrying levels, according to Defra, so much so that it has revoked its status as an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).

The site has been of concern since 2015, with levels of nitrogen oxide being monitored continuously.

However, consistently lower than the ‘annual average objective’ of nitrogen oxide readings (40μg/m3 micrograms per cubic metre) shows that Twyford has reached ‘satisfactory levels’ of an annual mean level of 23.6μg/m3.

This has caused the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to state that continuous monitoring is no longer needed.

Another area close by, which monitors levels 60m on either side of the M4 and includes villages such as Hurst, has also been revoked and will no longer be continuously monitored.

Levels of nitrogen oxide have been monitored in Twyford since 2015 at this, and 48 other areas in the Wokingham Borough.

The announcements were made in a 150-page Air Quality Update delivered at this week’s overview and scrutiny management committee meeting at Wokingham Borough Council.

Annual status reports of air quality management must be submitted to Defra and this latest set of results refers to data up to the end of 2022.

Cllr Ian Shenton, executive member for environment, sport and leisure, said:

“The revocation is of the designation. It doesn’t change the ongoing monitoring, not continuous monitoring, that ceases, but the diffusion tubes will remain and monitoring will continue. We’re not stopping monitoring.

“Generally it is a good news story I’m going to take that on board. If anything, we were slightly reluctant about Twyford, we had hoped to get another couple of years of data before we revoke Twyford but Defra made it clear that the next time that you report which will be in June, they expect two revocations so we’re not getting much choice on that.”

Whilst continuous monitoring will cease, five diffusion tubes, placed on lamp posts throughout the village, will remain in place.

These monitor levels in locations around Wargrave Road, Church Street, London Road, Twyford Crossroads, and High Street.

“If any of that data indicates that something is going in the wrong direction even though we’ve had sufficient confidence in the data that’s been collected to date that’s been appropriate to revoke the AQMA - if the diffusion tubes start to show us differently then we will obviously reconsider what we might need in that location,” said Emma Choules from the enforcement and safety department at WBC who delivered the report.

The report also cited the measures that WBC had taken to encourage active travel, improve walkways, cycle paths and public transport and said that more people are working from home, using electric vehicles or alternative methods of travel and idling less at the crossroads.