Whilst air quality has improved since the decline of industry, the introduction of smoke control areas and lead free petrol, other pollutants mainly associated with vehicle emissions are of concern. People with respiratory illness can suffer discomfort when air pollution rises and other people's quality of life is impaired.
On this page you will find information about monitoring data and the reports detailing the assessment of the Air Quality within the Preston City Council boundary.
There are also a number of related factsheets available for download at the bottom of the page.
Air quality monitoring in Preston
The Council has two continuous air quality stations, known as Bootle Street and Meadow Street.
- Bootle Street measures - Nitrogen Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Particulates, Sulphur Dioxide and Ozone.
- Meadow Street measures - Nitrogen Dioxide
To view live pollutant levels at either site, click on the following external links:
Bootle Street - NO2, CO, PM 2.5
Meadow Street / Ringway - NO2
Air Quality Forecast
To find out a 24hr forecast for pollution levels within the North West region, view the UK Air Pollution Forecast.
District wide review and assessment
Every local authority in England and Wales has a statutory duty to review local air quality under the Environment Act 1995. The aim of the review process is to identify any areas where the Governments National Air Quality Standards and Objectives for 7 key pollutants are likely to be exceeded, to declare any such areas an 'Air Quality Management Area' and then to prepare action plans to show what can be done to improve air quality in these areas.
The Council has carried out a number of assessments since the introduction of this legislation and these can be viewed by viewing the relative document links at the bottom of this page.
Air quality management areas
Following the results of the Detailed Assessment in 2004, the Council declared two Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) in September 2005. In Both these areas it is likely that levels will exceed that set by the National Air Quality Objectives for nitrogen dioxide and with the declaration of the two AQMA's the Council has to provide an Action Plan detailing any possible solutions to improving the air quality of these areas. This can be found at the bottom of the page.
Document links
Date Updated: 16/12/09