Greenwich / Planning & development
Air quality assessment in Greenwich
Connect local monitoring, planning requirements and building design for your Greenwich development. ACP provides air quality assessment, monitoring and mitigation advice for sites from the Peninsula and Charlton to Woolwich, Plumstead and Eltham.
Build a clear evidence brief before layouts, plant and ventilation decisions become difficult to change.
Discuss your projectCurrent local guidance
Policy E(c), the replacement Climate Resilience SPD and local validation.
Monitoring in context
Roadside trends, particles, diffusion tubes and site representativeness.
Your project checklist
Coordinate traffic, neighbouring uses, construction and building design.
01 / The local setting
A borough of corridors, riverside sites and neighbourhoods
Peninsula and Charlton Riverside
Study traffic and tunnel approaches, wharf or industrial activities, servicing and changing development layouts. Source relevance depends on the site, operating conditions and receptor location.
Woolwich and Plumstead
Busy roadside settings need a clear distinction between kerbside measurements, occupied façades and background. Consider loading, junction queues and pedestrian routes alongside the proposed use.
Eltham, Blackheath and the A2/A20 corridors
A borough-wide average can conceal differences between a major road and a quieter street. Check the road network, setback, building height, gardens and nearby sensitive uses.
A whole-borough AQMA, with local differences
Defra’s Greenwich record lists a whole-borough AQMA declared on 1 July 2001 for NO₂ and PM₁₀. The designation remains listed without a revocation date. The declared pollutants, current measured concentrations and a new development’s effects are separate evidence questions.
For wider assessment methods and London requirements, use our London air quality guide.
02 / Monitoring evidence
Read the trend and the measurement setting
The council’s 2025 Annual Status Report, published in June 2026, provides the results below. Seven of nine automatic stations recorded a small NO₂ rise from 2024, while Woolwich Flyover and Hoskins Street fell. Read the long-term reduction alongside this mixed recent picture.
Annual mean NO₂ / µg/m³
Two roadside histories
Selected 2019–2025 council results. These measured roadside series describe their monitoring locations.
Woolwich Flyover
GR8 / Roadside
27.7 µg/m³ in 2025
Hoskins Street
GN5 / Roadside
26.7 µg/m³ in 2025
Read the annual values
| Year | GR8 | GN5 |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 52 | 41 |
| 2020 | 43 | 34 |
| 2021 | 40 | 33 |
| 2022 | 40 | 32 |
| 2023 | 33.1 | 30.9 |
| 2024 | 33.9 | 28.5 |
| 2025 | 27.7 | 26.7 |
Source: Greenwich 2025 ASR, Table D. Calendar-year NO₂ capture: GR8 93.0%; GN5 91.4%. The chart does not attribute the changes to a single policy or intervention.
03 / A wider monitoring picture
Particles, diffusion tubes and the assessment baseline
The 2025 ASR lists nine automatic monitoring sites. Table C contains 42 diffusion-tube locations, including seven triplicate groups: 56 physical tubes. Triplicate tubes share a location for quality assurance. Confirm the method, data capture and exposure setting before choosing a project baseline.
| Monitoring site | NO₂ | PM₁₀ | PM₂.₅ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoskins Street GN5 | 26.7 | 16.8 | 7.5 |
| Falconwood GB6 | 19.6 | 18.6 | 9.3 |
| John Harrison Way GN6 | 20.0 | 17.4 | 9.3* |
| Blackheath GR7 | 26.6 | 17.0 | — |
| Woolwich Flyover GR8 | 27.7 | 21.7 | 12.6 |
| Westhorne Avenue GR9 | 19.2 | 17.7 | 9.0 |
| Burrage Grove GN0 | 22.0 | 17.1 | 12.3 |
| Plumstead High Street GN3 | 22.1 | 13.9 | 10.6 |
| Fiveways Sidcup GN4 | 21.4 | 17.4 | — |
Source: 2025 ASR. *GN6 PM₂.₅ was annualised from 43.7% calendar-year capture. A dash means no value in the reported table. GR8 PM₁₀/PM₂.₅ capture was 83.2%/79.7%; GR9 PM₂.₅ was 82.7%. All values refer to the monitor location.
Plumstead Road: monitor and receptor differ
The ASR reports 42.1 µg/m³ at tube BVTGNW101, then 39.7 µg/m³ at the relevant receptor after distance adjustment. Keep these figures distinct. Both the local hotspot and the adjustment assumptions matter when selecting a baseline.
Particles and ozone remain relevant
PM₁₀ annual means rose at all nine automatic sites from 2024 to 2025; PM₂.₅ rose at all seven reporting sites. The ASR also reports ozone monitoring at four sites. Assess particle exposure alongside the longer-term NO₂ trend.
Use national and London data appropriately
Defra’s local-authority dashboard adds wider modelled and national-network context. Compare year, metric and spatial scale with council and LAQN evidence; use provisional live readings with their quality flags.
04 / Planning evidence
Use the current Greenwich planning framework
Adopted Core Strategy: E(c)
Policy E(c) addresses air pollution from development, transport-emissions reduction and residential exposure. Read it with E(a)/E(b) pollution considerations and the current London framework. An older threshold or guidance reference should not be treated as the entire assessment test.
Climate Resilience SPD: replacement adopted
The 18 March 2026 Cabinet decision adopted the Climate Resilience SPD and revoked the Greener Greenwich SPD. Coordinate green infrastructure and climate resilience with ventilation and exposure; planting needs a site-specific design rationale.
Local validation and the document schedule
The council’s 2025 local validation list distinguishes air-quality evidence, including Air Quality Assessment and Air Quality Positive submissions. Match the application type, project scale and policy triggers to an agreed document schedule.
London Plan SI1: distinct questions
Assess exposure and local effects alongside applicable Air Quality Neutral, Air Quality Positive and construction requirements. Our London Air Quality Neutral guide explains the benchmark workstream.
05 / A coordinated assessment
Make the report useful to the design
Start with sources and receptors
Locate roads, occupied rooms, outdoor amenity, plant, extract, nearby activities and construction boundaries. Establish which emissions and exposure pathways need assessment.
Resolve the building strategy
Align ventilation intakes, window use, overheating, acoustics and energy assumptions. A mitigation measure needs a feasible design and a clear maintenance responsibility in the project brief.
Build proportionate evidence
Use a documented screening decision, dispersion modelling or monitoring where justified. Keep construction dust controls, operational emissions and any ecology pathway explicit in the scope.
For connected design questions, explore our noise assessment advice and odour assessment service.
Greenwich / Public planning examples
How air quality has shaped Greenwich planning proposals
Public planning records show how Greenwich’s roads, neighbouring uses and development design can influence an air-quality brief. The examples below concern different proposals and consenting routes.
Millennium Retail Park: room layout and ventilation
At Millennium Retail Park (24/1965/F), the June 2025 Planning Board minutes record how the applicant addressed A102 traffic and neighbouring uses through the residential design. The proposed response included filtration and heat-recovery ventilation for some homes, together with fewer habitable rooms facing the A102. The Board resolved to grant permission subject to referral, a legal agreement and conditions. This example shows why air quality, acoustics and room layout need to develop together.
For your brief: Coordinate exposure, room orientation and ventilation while the layout can still change.
Silvertown Tunnel: separate construction controls and operational monitoring
Silvertown Tunnel illustrates a different evidence programme. Its Greenwich construction air-quality plan sets out dust, vehicle and plant controls. Operational effects sit within a separate monitoring and mitigation framework: the development consent requires baseline NO₂ monitoring, independent annual review and mitigation where the specified tests are met. For a new project, the useful lesson is to distinguish construction management from operational assessment and to define what monitoring will trigger.
For your brief: Set the monitoring purpose, review criteria and management response before collecting data.
Construction air-quality plan · Consent monitoring requirements
06 / Interactive project checklist
Greenwich evidence planner
Answer five questions to assemble a starting brief. Keep uncertain points visible by choosing “Not sure yet”. Answers are processed in this page.
This planner organises a project brief. It does not decide legal requirements or demonstrate compliance.
07 / The horizon
Keep dates and policy status visible
Royal Greenwich 2040: emerging plan
The Regulation 19 consultation ran from 27 July to 6 September 2026. The council describes examination before intended adoption. Keep emerging policy and its stage distinct from the adopted Core Strategy.
A revised Air Quality Action Plan decision is listed for March 2027, with status “For Determination” when checked. This is a forward programme, not an adopted replacement. Recheck progress at submission.
Review changes in transport, energy, construction and national air-quality guidance against the assessment year. For local schemes, consider a defined ecological receptor or designated-site pathway where relevant, rather than adding an unsupported blanket requirement.
08 / Your next step
Start your Greenwich air quality brief
Send the site address, development description, drawings and planning stage. Include traffic or energy information already available, any council request and the intended programme.
ACP can then identify the assessment workstreams, information gaps and practical next steps for your proposal.
Discuss the assessment scope09 / Common project questions
Greenwich air-quality FAQs
Is the whole of Greenwich an Air Quality Management Area?
Yes. Defra lists the whole borough as the Greenwich AQMA, declared on 1 July 2001 for nitrogen dioxide and PM10. This designation does not mean every location currently exceeds an objective. Check monitoring year, pollutant and the proposed exposure at the actual site.
Does the Greener Greenwich SPD still apply?
Cabinet agreed adoption of the Climate Resilience SPD and revocation of the Greener Greenwich SPD on 18 March 2026. Use the replacement guidance and adopted planning policies. Historic reports citing the earlier SPD need a document-status review.
What does Policy E(c) require for air pollution?
The adopted Core Strategy policy addresses developments with potentially significant air-quality impacts and measures to minimise them. It also addresses transport emissions and residential exposure. Read the policy with London Plan SI1, current validation requirements and the specific proposal.
Does Greenwich use NO2 diffusion tubes?
Yes. The council reports diffusion-tube monitoring alongside continuous analysers. The networks answer different questions: tubes provide longer-period indicative NO2 results, while automatic instruments resolve shorter-term variation. A tube does not measure PM10 or PM2.5.
Can I use the Woolwich Flyover result as my site background?
Choose a monitor that represents the site and assessment purpose. A roadside flyover reading includes local traffic influences. It should not automatically be used as urban background or transferred to a courtyard, upper-floor home or another road.
How should a Greenwich Peninsula or Charlton Riverside scheme be scoped?
Identify road and tunnel approaches, adjacent commercial or industrial activities, servicing, plant and construction phases. Check which sources can affect the particular receptors. Coordinate ventilation, overheating and acoustics before fixing a mitigation strategy.
Is an Air Quality Neutral calculation the whole assessment?
Air Quality Neutral compares specified building and transport emissions against London benchmarks. Exposure, local impacts, construction dust and any applicable Air Quality Positive work answer additional questions. Agree the submission schedule for the application.
Is the Royal Greenwich 2040 Local Plan adopted?
The council held its Regulation 19 consultation from 27 July to 6 September 2026 and describes independent examination before intended adoption. Keep the emerging plan separate from the adopted framework and check the latest examination position when submitting.
Greenwich / Your next step
Discuss your air quality project
Send the site, proposal and planning stage. Include any council request and programme constraints so ACP can identify the assessment steps.
Your details are handled under our privacy policy.
Evidence / Checked 20 October 2026
Greenwich guidance and sources
- 2025 annual status report: monitoring and quality notes
- Council annual report library
- Defra Greenwich AQMA record
- Climate Resilience SPD adoption and replacement decision
- 2025 local validation requirements
- Air Quality Action Plan 2023–2027
- Royal Greenwich 2040: emerging plan consultation
- Action-plan review: forward decision programme
- Defra local-authority data dashboard
- Greenwich air quality needs assessment
Monitoring results above cover 2025. Public planning examples include links to their specific decision or consent records.