Air quality monitoring stations or sensors

Current monitoring provision

1) Does the authority operate its own air quality monitoring stations or sensors, independent of Defra's national networks?

2) How many air quality monitoring stations or sensors are currently in operation across the authority's area?

3) What type of monitoring equipment is used (manufacturer, model, and parameters measured, for example PM2.5, PM10, NO2 or O3)?

4) Where is each monitoring unit located (addresses or geographic coordinates)?

5) Who operates the monitoring system (an in-house team or an external provider)?

6) What system is used to present and publish the monitoring data (web platform, mobile application, or public information display)? Please provide the URL if the data is published online.

Ownership and contracts
7) Is the monitoring equipment owned by the authority? If so, please state:
* the date of acquisition,
* the cost of acquisition,
* who services the equipment and under what agreement (provider name, type of
contract, and contract term).

8) If the equipment is not owned by the authority, under what arrangement is it used (rental, lease, hire, loan, or other)? Please state:
* the start date of the current agreement,
* the end date of the agreement,
* the name of the provider.

Costs

9) What was the total cost of purchasing and commissioning the current monitoring system?

10) What is the annual cost of running the system, including servicing, calibration, data transmission, and hosting of the presentation platform?

11) What budget has been allocated to air quality monitoring for the 2026/27 financial year?

Development plans

12) Are any modifications to, or expansion of, the current monitoring system planned? If so,
please state:
* what changes are planned (for example additional sensors, a change of technology, or
expansion of the data platform),
* the intended timescale,
* the estimated budget.

13) If the authority does not currently operate an air quality monitoring system, does it plan to implement one? If so, please state the intended timescale and the budget envisaged.

External funding

14) Does the authority plan to apply for any grants or external funding related to air quality monitoring?

15) Which funding programmes are being considered or have already been identified (for example Defra's Air Quality Grant, or other national, devolved, or regional schemes)?

16) Has the authority previously drawn on external funding for this purpose? If so, from which sources and in what amounts?

Collaboration and data integration

17) Does the authority collaborate on air quality monitoring with any other organisations (for example universities, non-governmental organisations, Defra, or neighbouring authorities)?

18) Is the data from the authority's monitoring system integrated with any publicly accessible air quality platforms (for example UK-AIR)?

19) Does the authority use air quality monitoring data to inform operational decisions (for example issuing air quality alerts, managing traffic, or Local Air Quality Management action planning under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995)?

20) Does the authority use air quality monitoring data to inform or educate residents?

VII. Air quality in planning and environmental permitting

21) When determining major development proposals (for example large construction, infrastructure, industrial, or minerals and waste schemes), does the authority require air quality or dust assessment, and does it attach conditions requiring air quality monitoring, dust management, or a Construction Environmental Management Plan during the works?

22) For industrial installations that the authority regulates through environmental permitting, does it set air emission limits or air quality monitoring requirements as permit conditions?

23) Where such conditions or permit requirements are imposed, is the operator required to carry out the monitoring, and is the resulting data reported to the authority or made publicly available?

1. No

2-10. N/a

11. Nil

12. No – air quality monitoring has largely been a responsibility of district councils in two-tier local authority areas. The districts have run the monitoring stations for Air Quality Management Areas for example

13. No

14. No

15. LCC understands it that the DEFRA Ait Quality Grant programme has ended.

16. We received £58,000 from the DEFRA Air Quality Grant in 2023. This was for a joint project with the seven district councils in Lincolnshire. It looked at air quality outside of eight schools in Lincolnshire and provided lesson plans to the schools on air quality. The project ended in 2025

17. No

18. N/a

19. No – as above - district councils in two-tier authority areas are designated as local authorities responsible for reviewing and assessing air quality within their areas.

20. No

21. This would be done on a case by case basis. The Council has specified on the need to have dust management, air quality monitoring and a Construction Environmental Monitoring Plan in planning applications.

22. The Council does not regulate industrial installations – this would be a responsibility of the Environment Agency or the district council depending on the scale of the industrial installation and the process used.

23. N/a