Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs)

What are Air Quality Management Areas?

Since December 1997 each local authority in the UK has been carrying out a review and assessment of air quality in their area. This involves measuring air pollution and trying to predict how it will change in the next few years. The aim of the review is to make sure that the national air quality objectives (PDF) will be achieved throughout the UK by the relevant deadlines. These objectives have been put in place to protect people's health and the environment.

If a local authority finds any places where the objectives are not likely to be achieved, it must declare an Air Quality Management Area there. This area could be just one or two streets, or it could be much bigger.

Then the local authority will put together a plan to improve the air quality - a Local Air Quality Action Plan.

These pages tell you about the general progress that each local authority is making towards its air quality review. If you would like more detailed information then please contact the officer responsible for the review. Where possible, we have included contact details for each local authority.