Watlington campaigners left fuming by council claim that air quality is no longer issue

CAMPAIGNERS in Watlington have reacted angrily after the town lost its Air Quality Management Area status.

South Oxfordshire District Council’s licensing committee voted earlier this month to remove the designation from the town saying it had consistently shown levels of pollutants that were below national guidelines.

The status meant that targeted action was needed to reduce nitrogen dioxide, a key pollutant primarily linked to emissions from combustion engine vehicles.

A cabinet report on the issue presented to the committee said that since Watlington was first designated as a management area in March 2009 it has seen a reduction in NO2 of about 54 per cent.

The 2025 report found that the level of NO2 was 23.7 μg/m3 compared to 51.3 μg/m3 in 2009.

But parish councillors in Watlington have written a letter to Simon Hill, one of the officers behind the report, saying they are “very angry” with the decision.

They argue that the data over the past five years can not be used because the council’s analysis used data from the covid years of 2020 and 2021.

They added that it was “upsetting” that the council was not contacted prior to the decision being made despite holding several meetings with officers on the issue in the past.

In response, the district council argues that even if the covid years are excluded, the area still meets the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ criteria for removing the designation

It said the guidance states the status should be removed after five years of compliance but can be considered after three.

Defra says: “Compliance being reached in 2020 may not be representative of long-term trends in pollutant concentrations due to the change in activity observed across the UK as a result of covid and associated lock down measures.

“Where 2020 is one of many consecutive years of compliance, this may be considered for revocation.” Gill Bindoff, who is chair of the Watlington Neighbourhood Plan Advisory Board, wrote: “There have not been five consecutive years of valid data as Defra has stated that, because of the unusually low levels of NO2 recorded in the covid years of 2020 and 2021, these years should be excluded. ”

Mrs Bindoff has requested that the committee’s decision be “withdrawn immediately”.

She wrote: “You knew that the years 2020 and 2021 should not be included but your report included them anyway and misled the members of the committee. They will be very embarrassed but, in Watlington, we are very angry.”

Mrs Bindoff said that she was upset at a lack of communication around the decision.

She added: “We consider that it is very poor practice not to have informed Watlington that the item would be on the agenda for that meeting. The partnership between the council and communities should be better than this.”

A spokeswoman for the district council said: “Specifically for Watlington, measurements show that levels of pollutant, nitrogen dioxide, have continued to decline in 2022, 2023 and 2024 (following on from the 2020-2021 declining trend) and are now substantially below the National Objective set by Defra.”

She said that correspondence between the council and Defra had previously confirmed that the air quality management area could be lifted this year.

The spokeswoman added: “Defra confirmed that ‘if NO2 concentrations remain below the objective and the legislation does not change, the council should be in a position to revoke Watlington AQMA in two years’ time’.”

Officers behind the council’s report said that they believed the progress had come as a result of a combination of factors, which include changes in working patterns following the pandemic and the rise in electric vehicles.

The data was collected by the Environmental Protection Team using diffusion tubes and analysers which will stay in place and continue to be monitored after the AQMA is lifted.

l What do you think? Write to: Letters, Henley Standard, Caxton House, 1 Station Road, Henley or email letters@henleystandard.co.uk