Southwark / Planning & development
Air quality assessment in Southwark
Planning a development in Southwark? ACP provides air quality assessment, monitoring and mitigation advice for sites from Bankside and Old Kent Road to Peckham and Dulwich.
Connect your site design with P65, the adopted Climate and Environment SPD and the latest local monitoring evidence.
Discuss your projectLocal planning guidance
P65, the adopted 2025 SPD and the evidence needed for validation.
Monitoring explained
Roadside NO₂, background conditions, particles and ozone.
Your project checklist
Six questions covering development, Neutral exemptions, dust and plant.
Local context / Sources, monitoring and exposure
From Old Kent Road to neighbourhood exposure and river activity
Old Kent Road and Tower Bridge Road
Review traffic, junctions and road-facing accommodation alongside the background environment. The borough’s station network provides several contrasting roadside settings rather than one representative concentration.
Elephant and Castle, Peckham and the south
Treat building layout, amenity space and ventilation as assessment inputs. Check local roads and new sources at each site, including locations south of the older AQMA boundary.
Riverside, plant and construction
For relevant sites, include vessel activity, combustion plant and overlapping works in the source review. The council’s monitoring programme includes river-related investigations; that does not establish a uniform impact along the Thames.
AQMA / Current designation
The whole borough is designated
The AQMA began on 1 June 2003 and was extended to the whole borough on 8 June 2023. Its registered objectives are annual NO₂ and daily PM₁₀. Older references to northern or “most” of the borough describe the previous coverage.
Defra / 2025 reporting evidence
Keep the dashboard and network counts separate
Defra’s 2025 dashboard shows 88 of 88 included NO₂ records compliant. These are submitted records rather than a count of instruments. Defra retains some additional precision: Old Kent Road is 21.3 µg/m³, while the ASR rounds its 2025 automatic result to 21. Use one identified series consistently.
Highest adjusted tube result
Annual NO₂ at Tower Bridge Road, below the 40 µg/m³ objective.
Roadside and background
Annual NO₂ at Old Kent Road and Elephant and Castle, as rounded in the ASR.
Particles rose in 2025
Both PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ annual means increased across the reporting stations.
Concentrations in µg/m³. 2025 ASR, Tables D, E, G and I.
The monitoring network
The 2025 ASR describes six automatic monitoring locations, with separate BAM and FIDAS instruments at Old Kent Road. It reports 88 diffusion tubes at 84 sites, including co-location groups, and notes a travel blank in its quality arrangements. Six locations monitor NO₂. PM₁₀, PM₂.₅ and ozone coverage varies by instrument. Breathe London sensors provide additional indicative evidence.
Measured trends / 2019–2025
Two local records, a shared scale
Annual mean NO₂ · µg/m³
Old Kent Road
SK05 · roadside
21µg/m³ · 2025
Elephant and Castle
SK06 · urban background
17µg/m³ · 2025
Dashed line: annual NO₂ objective, 40 µg/m³. 2025 ASR, Table D, PDF page 24.
Annual values and data capture
| Year | Old Kent Road | Elephant and Castle |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 38 | 30.4 |
| 2020 | 25 | 21.2 |
| 2021 | 28.5 | 22.8 |
| 2022 | 26.2 | 21.9 |
| 2023 | 24.2 | 20 |
| 2024 | 20.2 | 15.7 |
| 2025 | 21 | 17 |
| 2025 data capture | 96.82% | 94.27% |
Old Kent Road recorded 21 µg/m³ in 2025 and Elephant and Castle 17, above 2024 but below 2019. The report describes a small annual increase at five NO₂ stations after earlier reductions. South Circular Road moved in the opposite direction.
Capture was 96.82% at Old Kent Road and 94.27% at Elephant and Castle in 2025. The council reports 2025 values to whole integers; the earlier decimals are retained. These are monitor-location values, not exposure-distance corrections.
Street-level evidence / Diffusion tubes
Higher roadside readings and local variation
| Tube site | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| SDT18Tower Bridge Road | 37.1 | 35.9 |
| SDT20Tower Bridge school fence | 25.1 | 27.6 |
| SDT90375 Old Kent Road | 31.8 | 32.6 |
| SDT11Camberwell Church Street | 30.7 | 31.1 |
| SDT1–3Old Kent Road co-location | 22.2 | 23.2 |
| SDT12–14Elephant and Castle co-location | 19.3 | 19.4 |
Bias-adjusted results at the monitor location, before any distance correction. Table E, PDF pages 29–31. SDT18 had 75% annual capture; the other selected rows had 100%.
The council reports no adjusted annual NO₂ exceedance at its tube locations in 2025. SDT18 recorded 41.6 µg/m³ in 2023, 37.1 in 2024 and 35.9 in 2025. Its raw 2025 reading exceeded 40, but the report requires the bias-adjusted value for comparison with the objective. Improvement at one site does not revoke the whole-borough AQMA.
Background / Assessment inputs
Match the baseline to the source and receptor
Elephant and Castle provides an urban-background automatic record. The co-located tubes are labelled “Urban Centre” in Table E and use a different measurement method. Keep those descriptions and series distinct when interpreting 17 and 19.4 µg/m³.
For a development assessment, select the relevant grid square and year from Defra’s background maps. Compare suitable local observations, then assess additional road, plant or other source contributions. Record the map edition, meteorological year and verification approach.
Defra background maps · Southwark technical assessment guidance
Particles and other pollutants
PM₁₀ · dust and particles
Table G reports 2025 annual means of 21 µg/m³ at Old Kent Road (BAM), 18 at its FIDAS instrument, 15 at Elephant and Castle and 17 at Tower Bridge Road. All reporting sites rose from 2024, while remaining below the annual national objective. The two Old Kent Road instruments are separate series. PDF pages 39–44.
PM₂.₅ · fine particles
Table I reports Vicarage Grove at 11 µg/m³, Elephant and Castle and Tower Bridge Road at 10, and Old Kent Road, Lower Road and South Circular Road at 9. These rounded 2025 values rose from 2024. Read target-year benchmarks and WHO guidelines separately from current legal objectives. PDF pages 51–52.
Ozone · a different pattern
Table J records 53 days above a daily maximum eight-hour mean of 100 µg/m³ at Elephant and Castle in 2025, compared with 22 in 2024. The table’s objective allows ten days. Its capture cells are blank, so check the ratified series and quality record before detailed interpretation. Ozone is not a pollutant basis of Southwark’s AQMA. PDF page 58.
2025 ASR: full results, methods and indicative sensor appendix
For river-facing development, review vessel activity and other combustion sources where a relevant pathway exists. Keep Breathe London sensors separate from reference instruments. Construction dust, kitchen odour and ecological effects require their own source and receptor review.
Turn the evidence into a site brief
Match the pollutant, measurement height, source setting and period to the question being assessed. Use ratified annual data for trends and distinguish provisional live readings. Review the relevant background maps and emissions inventory edition before choosing model inputs.
For ecological receptors, identify the habitat and exposure pathway before selecting deposition or concentration methods. Keep health objectives, habitat criteria and WHO guidelines clearly identified.
Council report and quality notes · London policy and assessment framework
Full-report data year: 2025. Defra dashboard data year: 2025. Sources checked 19 October 2026.
Local requirements / Policy, guidance and validation
Southwark planning evidence: the current documents
Southwark Plan 2022: P65
P65 requires at least Neutral development and reduced exposure for occupants and public-realm users. Address orientation, layout, ventilation and appropriate greening. Keep the design response connected to the assessed sources and receptors.
Adopted Climate and Environment SPD
Adopted 14 October 2025, chapter 4 develops P65. Sections 4.1.1–4.1.3 address AQN, AQA and Positive statements. An AQN exemption needs an explanatory statement where no extra parking, vehicle movements or combustion sources are introduced.
Full-planning checklist
All major developments need an AQA. The checklist requests Positive statements for masterplans, large EIA development briefs and Mayoral referrals. The SPD expressly covers major referable development. Keep the submission schedule clear and resolve the route at scoping.
Technical guidance and obligations
The older air-quality technical guidance remains linked, but its Core Strategy/Saved Plan references predate P65. Read it with the adopted SPD and current London guidance. Address prevention and on-site mitigation before any justified off-site contribution under the current S106/CIL SPD.
Construction machinery and practical controls
Section 4.1.4 of the adopted SPD sets out NRMM registration, emissions standards and planning for grid electricity. Coordinate this with dust management, access routes and occupied neighbouring buildings. Check the current London requirements and any applicable exemption when preparing the construction package.
Section 106 and CIL SPD · adopted July 2025
The council adopted the replacement SPD on 7 July 2025. The Climate and Environment SPD directs applicants to this framework for justified off-site air-quality measures after prevention and mitigation. Keep the remaining impact and proposed obligation explicit; do not treat a payment as automatic compliance.
Keep the assessment documents distinct
The impact assessment considers pollution and exposure. Air Quality Neutral compares development emissions with the applicable benchmarks. Air Quality Positive records opportunities to improve air quality through design. A construction dust assessment and management plan address the works themselves.
02 / Practical approach
Separate assessment from design evidence
Use a document schedule to show where each assessment component is addressed. Then keep the Positive design record alongside it where that workstream applies.
A useful design record explains the options considered and the reasons for selecting measures. The construction scope should reflect the actual programme and nearby receptors, rather than rely on a generic management paragraph.
Illustrative project brief
A major scheme has an impact assessment under way while its public-realm design is evolving. The project can maintain a separate options record showing how air quality has influenced that design.
03 / Interactive project checklist
Southwark evidence planner
Answer six 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.
04 / 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 / Status checked 19 October 2026
What is changing in Southwark?
The October 2025 SPD is adopted, even though some pages within its published PDF retain old draft footers. The adoption statement establishes its status. Continue checking the council’s plan-review programme and updated monitoring reports; do not present future policy as a current requirement.
Council update and policy status
At regional and national level, track adopted guidance separately from consultations. Use the London air quality hub and main air quality guide for the wider framework, then check the edition relevant to the application date.
05 / Send what you have
Start your Southwark air quality brief
Send the information available now. These details help us identify the next assessment steps and prepare an appropriate scope:
- Site address, plans and planning reference.
- Proposed use, scale and application stage.
- Council comments, conditions and relevant deadlines.
- Traffic, servicing, energy and extract information.
- Occupied spaces, windows and ventilation proposals.
- Construction activities and intended programme.
- Existing reports, monitoring and material design changes.
For this project, pay particular attention to: major-application evidence and positive design.
Local project questions
Southwark air quality questions
Local policy, monitoring and the evidence for your proposal.
Is all of Southwark now in an AQMA?
Yes. The June 2023 amendment extended the designation to the whole borough. Older maps and checklist wording can show the previous northern coverage.
Which supplementary guidance should I use?
Use the adopted October 2025 Climate and Environment SPD with P65 and the current application checklist. Treat the older technical note’s policy references as historical where superseded.
Can a development be exempt from an AQN assessment?
The SPD provides a route where no additional emission sources are introduced, including parking, traffic and combustion plant. Supply an exemption statement; do not simply omit the evidence.
When is a Positive statement needed?
The SPD addresses major referable development. The full-planning checklist also names masterplans and large EIA development briefs. Confirm the applicable route and demonstrate the design opportunities considered.
Does Southwark use diffusion tubes as well as automatic stations?
Yes. The 2025 ASR reports 88 tubes at 84 sites and explains co-location and travel-blank arrangements. Its highest bias-adjusted annual NO₂ result was 35.9 µg/m³ at Tower Bridge Road. Use adjusted results and check capture, location and method.
Does NO₂ compliance mean every pollutant is improving?
No. Several NO₂ stations rose slightly in 2025 despite a lower long-term trend. Particle annual means also increased, and the ASR reports 53 ozone days above its stated eight-hour threshold at Elephant and Castle. The pollutant, averaging period and quality notes all matter.
Should river traffic or kitchen emissions be included?
Include them where the site’s sources, operating conditions and receptor relationships make them relevant. Coordinate odour, noise and ventilation evidence for commercial uses.
Can the London hub replace Southwark’s local checks?
No. It explains the regional framework. P65, the adopted SPD, validation requirements and the site context provide the local detail.
Southwark / 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 19 October 2026
Southwark guidance and sources
- 2025 annual status report: monitoring, trends and quality notes
- Preceding annual status report
- Adopted Local Plan and relevant policies
- Adopted supplementary planning guidance
- Current planning validation requirements
- Council air quality planning guidance
- Current council action plan / policy updates
- Council report library
- Defra: current AQMA and history
- Defra: local-authority dashboard
- Adopted Section 106 and CIL SPD
- Defra background maps
Use the dated report tables and adopted documents alongside the latest council updates.