Newham / Planning & development
Air quality assessment in Newham
From Stratford and Canning Town to East Ham, Beckton and the Royal Docks, an effective assessment connects local pollution sources with the proposed development.
ACP provides air quality assessment, monitoring and mitigation advice, bringing planning evidence, ventilation, energy and construction into one coordinated brief.
Discuss your projectKnow your policy area
SC5, local validation and the former LLDC planning area.
Read the local evidence
Roadside trends, particle monitoring and diffusion tubes.
Build a clear brief
Bring traffic, energy, ventilation and construction together.
01 / A local assessment brief
A borough of distinct exposure settings
Stratford and the Lower Lea
Understand the street layout, traffic, servicing and nearby activities before selecting background data. For sites in the former LLDC area, check the continuing LLDC development plan and supplementary guidance.
Canning Town and major roads
The A13, A12 and A1020 corridors call for careful source and receptor mapping. Elevated roads, junctions and changing traffic patterns can make an apparently nearby monitor a poor match for a façade or air intake.
Royal Docks, airport and industry
Check London City Airport, road access, construction and permitted industrial activities where relevant to the actual site. Proximity alone does not establish which source dominates exposure.
The whole borough remains an AQMA
Defra records Newham AQMA No. 2 as declared on 5 December 2019 for annual NO₂ and daily PM₁₀, covering the whole borough. An improving monitoring trend does not revoke that designation.
Check the current Defra AQMA record · Council industrial and environmental-permitting information
02 / Monitoring evidence
Two settings, seven years of evidence
Newham’s 2025 annual status report provides the measurements below. Cam Road fell from 20.1 to 19.4 µg/m³ in 2025, while Wren Close rose from 16.8 to 17.4 µg/m³. Both remained below their 2019 annual means.
Measured trend / 2019–2025
Roadside and urban background
Annual mean NO₂, µg/m³, at the monitoring location. The dashed line marks the annual objective.
Cam Road
NM2 · roadside
19.4 µg/m³ in 2025
2025 valid data capture: 93.1%.
Wren Close
NM3 · urban background
17.4 µg/m³ in 2025
2025 valid data capture: 99.7%.
View the annual values and source
| Year | Cam Road | Wren Close |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 29.2 | 28.0 |
| 2020 | 24.1 | 20.3 |
| 2021 | 23.3 | 20.6 |
| 2022 | 23.8 | 21.8 |
| 2023 | 21.5 | 19.8 |
| 2024 | 20.1 | 16.8 |
| 2025 | 19.4 | 17.4 |
These are monitoring-location values, without distance adjustment. They do not establish conditions at every proposed building or isolate a policy’s effect.
03 / Pollutants and background
Look beyond the borough average
| Station | NO₂ | PM₁₀ | PM₂.₅ |
|---|---|---|---|
| NM2Cam Road | 19.4 | 17.4 | 10.8 |
| NM3Wren Close | 17.4 | 16.8 | 10.8 |
| NM4East Ham Town Hall | 27.6 | — | 11.1 |
| NDNewham Dockside | 16 | — | — |
| KGVKing George V House | 17 | 14 | 9 |
ASR Tables D, H and J. A dash means no result in the relevant table. Check capture by pollutant: Cam Road PM₁₀ has 84% capture, while its NO₂ has 93.1%.
Diffusion-tube coverage
The report includes council, school and airport NO₂ diffusion tubes, plus separate sensor evidence. For NO₂ tubes, retain the report’s bias adjustment and any annualisation for incomplete years. Review sensor methods and quality assurance separately.
A local hotspot needs its own review
At Canning Town NHM-20, the report gives measured NO₂ of 36.8 and a receptor-adjusted estimate of 42.1 µg/m³. It explicitly cautions about the multi-road and flyover setting.
Particle exposure still matters
Consider PM₁₀, PM₂.₅ and construction dust alongside NO₂. Review industrial or specialist emissions where the actual activity creates a relevant pathway.
Select evidence for the question
Use the appropriate assessment year, background grid and monitoring environment. Check local traffic, energy plant and source geometry without double-counting their contribution. A short-term sensor reading and a ratified annual mean serve different purposes.
Explore the Defra local-authority dashboard · Review monitoring locations, diffusion tubes and QA notes
04 / Policy and submission
Use the right policy for the site
Local Plan SC5
The adopted 2018 policy addresses Air Quality Neutral development, emissions and exposure. It covers major-road design, waterborne freight where relevant, construction emissions, enclosed dust-generating uses and combustion as a last resort.
Validation and the pollution statement
The council’s application gateway links its Planning Application Requirements and submission checklist. The December 2024 PAR addresses air quality and dust within a Pollution Management Statement, with proportionate evidence and cross-references to the design.
Current application and validation gateway · Planning Application Requirements
Local supporting guidance
Check the council’s Demolition and Construction Logistic Plan Guidance and Travel Plan Guidance alongside the air-quality scope. Coordinate haul routes, servicing and mitigation commitments with those documents.
The former LLDC area
Planning powers returned to Newham on 1 December 2024. The council confirms the LLDC Local Plan and supplementary guidance continue to apply in that area until replaced. Check the policies map before assuming SC5 is the sole local route.
London Plan SI1 and ecological receptors
Keep impact assessment, Air Quality Neutral and any applicable Air Quality Positive evidence clearly identifiable. Use the current GLA methods for the relevant workstream.
SC5 also identifies potential Epping Forest SAC implications from significant additional traffic on the A12/A406. Screen the actual traffic pathway and in-combination effects with the ecology and transport teams; the plan-level HRA is not a project clearance.
Use our London policy and evidence tools and Newham examination HRA evidence.
05 / Practical design response
Connect the assessment to the design
Map the occupied spaces
Position homes, classrooms, amenity areas and ventilation intakes against the relevant roads, operational sources and construction works. Include heights and elevated-road geometry where they influence exposure.
Resolve energy and servicing
Align transport, plant and ventilation inputs with the submitted design. Where combustion equipment remains, provide emissions, operating hours, flue position and nearby building dimensions for review.
Make dust controls deliverable
Connect the dust risk assessment with demolition, earthworks, construction and trackout controls. Record monitoring locations, response arrangements and NRMM requirements in the construction documents.
For Royal Docks and industrial-adjacent sites, include the relevant operational sources and permit information. For kitchens and other extract systems, coordinate discharge location, odour treatment and fan noise using the same drawings.
Newham / Public planning evidence
What a local planning decision shows
London City Airport: specialist monitoring
The August 2024 recovered-appeal record for application 22/03045/VAR considers airside operations, surface access, NO₂, PM₁₀, PM₂.₅ and odour. Its conditions retain air-quality monitoring and management strategies, add an ultrafine-particle monitoring scheme, and require periodic review.
Build the brief around the local sources
For relevant Royal Docks proposals, define the airport, road or industrial sources and the proposed receptors before selecting a monitoring method. Across Stratford and the Lower Lea, align the applicable policy, traffic, energy and ventilation inputs with the submitted design.
Agree pollutant coverage and monitoring duration against the source, expected exposure and planning question.
06 / Interactive project checklist
Newham evidence planner
Answer five questions to organise the assessment brief. Choose “Not sure yet” where information is missing; those points remain visible in your results.
Answers stay in this page. The planner organises evidence; it does not certify compliance or decide planning requirements.
07 / A clear assessment package
From the brief to the planning evidence
01 / Scope
Define the question
Bring together the local requirement, proposal, sources and receptors. Identify missing information before detailed work begins.
02 / Assess
Use consistent inputs
Align the baseline, traffic, plant and programme. Explain assumptions and compare relevant scenarios.
03 / Respond
Connect findings to design
Record mitigation and the drawings or specifications it relies on. Review material changes as the project develops.
Our London Neutral and Positive evidence planner helps organise the wider policy workstreams. For construction, use the London assessment and monitoring guidance alongside the site-specific brief.
Where extract, fan noise or sensitive neighbours are involved, coordinate the noise assessment and odour assessment with the same plans. The main air quality service page explains the broader assessment and monitoring services.
On the horizon / Checked 20 October 2026
Track the next policy and evidence changes
The council’s review page records receipt of the new Local Plan Inspector’s report in August 2026, with formal adoption still to follow. Treat emerging CE6 air-quality policy and examination evidence separately from the adopted plan.
The 17 March 2026 Cabinet announcement endorses an Air Quality Action Plan for 2025–2030. The council’s air-quality gateway still identifies the 2019–2024 plan as current. Check the formal adoption decision and applicable action schedule when preparing the submission.
For traffic-sensitive schemes, revisit the latest Silvertown Tunnel monitoring and current traffic assumptions. At London and national level, use the guidance, background data and assessment methods current when the work is scoped.
Local Plan review status · Cabinet announcement · Current council action-plan gateway
08 / Send what you have
Start your Newham air quality brief
Send the information available now so we can identify the next assessment steps:
- Site address, plans, use and planning stage.
- Policy area, planning reference and council comments.
- Traffic, servicing and construction routes.
- Energy plant, flues and ventilation proposals.
- Nearby airport, industrial or other relevant sources.
- Occupied spaces, intake heights and sensitive neighbours.
- Previous reports, monitoring, conditions and programme.
A clear change schedule helps align a condition response with any revised plant, layout or traffic assumptions.
Questions / Local answers
Newham air-quality FAQs
Is the whole of Newham an Air Quality Management Area?
Yes. Defra records Newham AQMA No. 2, declared on 5 December 2019, for annual nitrogen dioxide and daily PM10 across the whole borough. The designation remains declared.
Which planning policy applies in the former LLDC area?
Newham determines applications following the return of planning powers in December 2024. The council says the LLDC Local Plan and supplementary guidance still apply to that area until replaced. Check the policies map and current plan status for the site.
What does SC5 mean for energy and transport design?
SC5 addresses emissions and exposure, including Air Quality Neutral development, major-road design, construction and combustion choices. The applicable assessment should use the actual energy and transport proposals and the current London methods.
Does the local validation list cover air quality and dust?
The council’s application gateway links its Planning Application Requirements and submission checklist. The PAR addresses air quality and dust within the Pollution Management Statement. Identify the relevant evidence and cross-references for the particular proposal.
Can we use a borough monitor as the site baseline?
Check its environment, distance, height, pollutant coverage, data capture and assessment year first. A roadside or airport-related location may answer a different question from an urban-background monitor or a proposed intake.
Do Royal Docks schemes need airport-related assessment?
Review the actual location, sources, proposal and council requirements. Include airport, road access and operational evidence where a credible pathway is relevant. Proximity alone does not establish the required scope or identify the dominant source.
Could a Newham project affect Epping Forest SAC?
SC5 identifies significant additional traffic on the A12 and A406 near Epping Forest SAC as a potential HRA pathway. Review the project’s traffic and in-combination effects with transport and ecology specialists; do not assume a plan-level assessment resolves the project.
What happens if the plant or layout changes after assessment?
Compare the revised design with the assessed inputs and any planning condition. Record changes to plant, flues, ventilation, traffic and receptors, then identify which evidence or mitigation needs updating.
Newham / 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.
Sources / Local and London evidence
Newham sources and further reading
- 2025 annual status report and monitoring quality notes
- Defra: Newham AQMA No. 2
- Adopted Local Plan
- Planning Application Requirements
- Supporting guidance and SPDs
- Former LLDC policy area
- New Local Plan review status
- 2025–2030 action plan Cabinet announcement
- Examination library and HRA evidence
- Defra local-authority dashboard
- London policy, borough finder and tools