Basildon Air Quality

Locations on a stretch of the A127 and two areas to the south of it (notably in East Mayne) in Basildon have been identified as exceeding legal limits for nitrogen dioxide - a harmful gas caused by vehicle emissions.

The Basildon Enterprise Corridor is a busy business area and a through-route for many vehicles, with congestion issues and queuing traffic worsening the air quality problems caused by vehicle emissions.

The UK Government reports to the European Commission on its compliance with the European Air Quality Directive, which assesses exposure at roadside locations. In 2017, the UK’s failure to comply with the directive within agreed timescales prompted the Government to produce a National Air Quality Plan to deal with nitrogen dioxide emissions in the shortest possible timeframe. It identified three roadside locations along the A127 as likely to be non-compliant with the directive for nitrogen dioxide beyond 2020, two in Basildon and one in Rochford.  

Further detailed assessment in 2018 confirmed locations in Rochford to be compliant with the directive and locations in Basildon to be non-compliant, with additional non-compliance identified to the south of the A127 in East Mayne (A132) and Upper Mayne (A176). In order to comply with the directive in the shortest possible time, Essex County Council and Basildon Borough Council were directed by Government to develop an Air Quality Management Plan.

Air quality is a problem across many areas of the UK and is certainly not unique to Basildon. In fact, according to local air pollution monitoring, air quality in Basildon is meeting UK Air Quality Objectives - a national system which assesses pollution exposure where people live. Unlike many other places in the UK, there has not been the need to declare any air quality management areas – local areas which consistently exceed Air Quality Objectives.  

However, the UK Government also reports to the European Commission on its compliance with the European Air Quality Directive, which assesses exposure at roadside locations. It is based on this directive that exceedances have been identified in Basildon.

For more information about air quality in Basildon, read Basildon Borough Council’s 2020 Air Quality Annual Status Report.

Essex County Council and Basildon Borough Council were directed by Government to improve air quality on the A127 as quickly as possible and a new 50mph speed limit was introduced earlier in 2020 to tackle the issue.  They were also directed to carry out further analysis to establish what measures would be needed to bring air quality to within legal limits in the shortest possible time. Computer modelling confirmed that if no further action was taken then compliance in East Mayne was not likely to occur until 2024 and, therefore, Essex County Council and Basildon Borough Council have a legal obligation to make it compliant sooner.

The pandemic initially resulted in a general decrease in traffic, particularly during the first lockdown, however the number of vehicles on our roads has quickly climbed back up close to pre-COVID levels and our roadside monitoring shows air quality in areas of Basildon is still above legal levels.

Engine technology is improving and emissions from vehicles will gradually fall as people buy newer, less polluting vehicles, but this could also be delayed by the financial impacts of COVID-19.

Essex County Council and Basildon Borough Council were directed by Government to improve air quality on the A127 as quickly as possible and a new 50mph speed limit was introduced in early 2020. Further analysis showed that compliance in Upper Mayne would also be achieved in 2021 without further intervention.

However, the work also showed that if no further action was taken then compliance in East Mayne was not be likely to occur until 2024. Therefore, the councils were directed to carry out further analysis to establish what measures would be needed to bring air quality to within legal levels as soon as possible on East Mayne. As a result of that analysis, a preferred option has now been identified.

The scheme, which has now been completed, involved relocating the existing pedestrian and cycle route in East Mayne away from the central reservation to reduce people’s exposure to air pollution at the roadside when using the shared-use footway/cycleway.  

Our technical work showed this measure would result in compliance with legal air quality levels in East Mayne in 2022, while avoiding any disproportionate impact on residents and businesses.

We investigated a series of options and scenarios to see whether they could potentially address the air quality exceedance in East Mayne. These included engineering options, low emission measures and, at the direction of the Government, a charging clean air zone – to act as a benchmark against which all options must be measured.  

We collected and assessed a significant amount of information to ensure we could present the required evidence to Government about the likely impact of any potential schemes. This included capturing data from Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras about traffic movements and some initial engagement with businesses to get a better understanding of their vehicles and operations. This information, together with what we already knew about air quality and traffic in the area, enabled us to use computer models to predict the expected impact of the various measures.

In August 2020, the Government, which is funding the project and has been independently verifying all of the work through its Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU), advised it was satisfied there was sufficient evidence for a preferred option to be identified and instructed us to prepare a business case for the scheme.

The scheme will reduce people’s exposure to poor air quality by providing a safer alternative route away from the central reservation and will also complement wider initiatives to improve air quality throughout Basildon.  

Our technical work showed the scheme was likely to achieve some improvement to air quality in East Mayne. Crucially, it will reduce people’s exposure to air pollution at the roadside when using the shared-use footway/cycleway in the central reservation.  

Active air quality monitoring in the area, which allows traffic signals to be adjusted accordingly to better manage traffic flows and reduce congestion, will also have additional air quality benefits.

Various schemes and initiatives have already been developed to help improve overall air quality in the Basildon area and encourage a shift to cleaner forms of travel and transport, while a number of others are planned.

These include:

• A127 speed limit reduction
• Cycle route improvements
• Installation of electric vehicle charging points
• Funding for bus companies to reduce emissions
• Basildon Integrated Transport Package
• Essex Climate Action Commission
• ForwardMotion
• LiftShare

A pilot electric scooter hire scheme is also being run by TIER and Emergency Active Travel proposals are being progressed for a project that forms the first part of a long-term plan to create an improved cycle link between Wickford and Basildon.

No changes have been made to vehicle lanes on East Mayne or access to and from adjoining roads, including Christopher Martin Road.

The central reservation has been returned to grass and any unnecessary street furniture, such as some of the existing fencing, has been removed. Landscaping work has also been completed.

While we acknowledge that our scheme causes some inconvenience to some pedestrians and cyclists, particularly those travelling between the Sainsbury’s store and the Nevendon junction, crucially it reduces people’s exposure to air pollution in the worst affected section of the central reservation. Various options to relocate the crossings were considered, including two which included pedestrian/cycle crossings on the eastern side of East Mayne, closer to the roundabout to the north, however our technical work concluded these would result in traffic queuing back onto the A127, which would have a negative impact on air quality and would be a road safety risk. These options were therefore discounted.

This project is a very difficult balancing act, but doing nothing is not an option and, ultimately, we must address the air quality exceedances as soon as possible, as required by law. We believe our scheme represented the most proportionate way of doing that, while recognising that they will cause some inconvenience.

We recognise our scheme to meet legal air quality levels would cause some inconvenience to cyclists, however, crucially it will reduce people’s exposure to air pollution in the worst affected section of the central reservation.

We are firmly committed to improving cycling and walking infrastructure in Basildon and are in the process of developing the Basildon Borough Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). This will provide a strategic approach to improving conditions for walking and cycling in the borough, identifying preferred routes and core zones for future development and outlining a prioritised programme of infrastructure improvements for future investment.

Cycle facilities along Upper Mayne and Cranes Farm Road were upgraded as part of a Defra-funded scheme, linking key commercial and recreational locations. Further route improvements have also been made, connecting residential areas and schools to the west, as far as Laindon link, as part of the Basildon Flagship Cycle Route. We have also recently been awarded Emergency Active Travel funding from the Government for a transformational Safer, Greener, Healthier scheme in Wickford. The proposals are expected to include a series of improvements through residential areas from Nevendon Road, in the south of the town, to the town centre and Wickford Railway Station. The project is the first part of a long-term plan to create an improved cycle link between Wickford and Basildon, which will eventually enhance the whole cycle and walking network across the Basildon borough.

There are also the ForwardMotion initiative and Stop.Swap.GO! campaign, which are devised to encourage and support people to travel differently.

Our traffic modelling work showed that without any action, delay and congestion was set to worsen in the peak and inter-peak periods by 2022 due to increases in traffic. This, of course, would worsen the air quality problems. In devising our scheme, which removes the need for pedestrians and cyclists to cross at the point of highest air pollution, we considered several configurations of signals. The chosen scheme was considered to provide the best configuration, on balance, with delays on some turning movements offset by improvements in other turning movements. It is recognised that the priority of keeping traffic moving on East Mayne has been balanced with a slight increase in queues on Christopher Martin Road, due to the introduction of a new cyclist/pedestrian crossing. However, traffic queues will be regularly monitored as part of the air quality monitoring plan.

Consequently, there will be regular opportunity to review signal timings and respond to any excessive queuing or delay, which ultimately should further contribute to air quality improvements.

More than 40 other options have been considered to reduce the number of more polluting vehicles using East Mayne and, therefore, resolve the air quality exceedances in the shortest possible time. However, our studies have showed they would not be sufficiently effective, would take longer to implement, be too difficult to evidence or would have a disproportionate impact on residents and businesses.

Among the other options were:

• Travel demand management - A marketing-led behaviour change campaign to encourage people to switch to cleaner vehicles and use more sustainable modes of travel such as walking, cycling and buses.
• Commercial vehicle upgrade grants - Working with businesses in the Basildon Enterprise Corridor to upgrade their lorries and vans, which are some of the largest contributors to nitrogen dioxide in the area. Grants could also have been available to incentivise the upgrades.
• Strategic re-routing - Installing road signage to highlight pollution levels and direct non-compliant lorries using East Mayne as a through-route to use alternative routes
• Charging clean air zone (CAZ) - The Government directed us to prepare a case for a charging clean air zone to provide a benchmark, against which other options could be compared.

More information about the project is available in our public engagement brochure and on our website at www.essex.gov.uk/airquality.

A charging CAZ is a designated area that vehicle owners are charged for driving within if their vehicle fails to meet certain emission standards. They work on the basis that the charge would encourage a proportion of people to upgrade to cleaner vehicles and deter others with higher emission vehicles from driving in the zone.

The charging CAZ that was used as a benchmark was a class C, meaning that private cars and motorbikes would not have been charged. Affected vehicles would have been required to pay the charge only if they did not comply with the following Euro emissions standards: Diesel – Euro 6 (most new registrations after 1 September 2015), Petrol – Euro 4 (most new registrations after 1 January 2006).  

Based on the charging CAZ we were directed to consider, the CAZ would have been in place in an area south of the A127 between East Mayne and Upper Mayne, including Cranes Farm Road.

The Government directed us to prepare a case for a charging clean air zone to provide a benchmark, against which other options could be compared. The expectation is that any other alternative measure must address the air quality exceedances in a similar or quicker timescale.

Our studies concluded that a charging CAZ would take longer to implement and, therefore, could not result in compliance with legal air quality limits in the shortest possible time.

We know there are also significant concerns about the disproportionate impact a charging CAZ would have on businesses and residents, especially in light of the continued financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We share those concerns, which is another reason we were committed to fully exploring all possible alternatives and are pleased to have now identified an alternative preferred option.

Three locations along the A127 route in Basildon Borough and Rochford District were identified by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) model in 2017 as likely to be exceeding national air quality thresholds which is why it is being tackled as a priority area.

We did further testing in April 2018, which found that no exceedances were identified in Rochford District. However, a card of the A127 north of Basildon was identified as exceeding national air quality thresholds and additional exceedances were identified to the south of the A127 (notably in East Mayne).

Reducing speeds from 70mph to 50mph can reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions from car exhausts by up to 20 per cent, as well as improving road safety and journey time reliability.

Air quality is influenced by many factors, including number, type and speed of vehicles, meteorology and time of year. COVID-19 and the lockdowns further complicate this because they have led to abnormal (generally lower) traffic flows as fewer journeys are made. This has likely had a much greater impact on air quality than the speed limit scheme this year, so it is difficult to tell what impact the scheme is having until traffic flows return to a consistent, pre-COVID, level.

Vehicles’ engines work more efficiently at about 50mph; vehicles driving below 50mph and above 55mph produce more emissions from their exhausts. While traffic is often slower than 50mph at peak times, having a consistently lower speed limit helps to improve journey time reliability by smoothing the traffic flow, because it reduces the number of times vehicles have to stop and start again. This in turn reduces the time traffic is stationary or moving slowly in queues, and has an air quality benefit as vehicles’ engines emit the most NO2 emissions when they are switched on but not moving or moving slowly (that is why it is so important not to leave your engine running when you are parked).  

Vehicles travelling at 50mph produce up to 20 per cent less nitrogen oxide pollution from their exhausts than vehicles travelling at 70mph. That helps improve overall air quality, regardless of the time of day or what the traffic conditions are.

We are using average speed cameras as they have been proven to be very effective in reducing the speed of vehicles.