Air Quality Assessment - Lidl Foodstore, Honiton

REC were commissioned to discharge a planning condition for a new Lidl foodstore in Honiton, Devon, through the production of an Air Quality Assessment. The Local Authority had requested this as a condition of planning consent due to concerns over potential increases in pollutant levels as a result of additional vehicles accessing the development. The existing air quality in Honiton is poor and therefore any further deterioration may lead to health impacts for local residents.

REC initially undertook a baseline study in order to determine pollutant concentrations in the vicinity of the site and identify receptors sensistive to changes in air quality. Consultation was also undertaken with the local environmental health department in order to agree our proposed methodology and obtain recent air quality monitoring results. Due to errors in the council's data, additional interpretation was required in order to indentify suitable inputs for the assessment.

The operation of the foodstore will increase traffic on the local road network as a result of shoppers travelling to and from the site. This will cause additional exhaust fume emissions and associated increases in ambient pollution levels. The assessment therefore predicted concentrations both with and without proposals at residential properties in the vicinity of roads affected by traffic from the development using the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) calculation methodology. The two values were then compared in order to determine potential changes in air quality and any associated health impacts. This indicated that the effect of traffic from the new Lidl would be neglible and mitigation was not required.

The findings of the assessment were subsequently verified by the local authority without further questions and the planning condition was discharged, allowing the client to proceed with the planned construction programme.