Perth Air Quality Action Plan
Perth and Kinross Council · 20 August 2025
Back to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee — 20 August 2025 and its agenda
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Our vision is a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality ___________________________________________________________________ Committee or Board: Climate Change and Sustainability Committee Date of Meeting: 20 August 2025 Report Title: Perth Air Quality Action Plan Report Number: 25/207 Report Author: Oliver Law, Air Quality Officer, Environmental Health Organisational Lead: Elaine Ritchie, Strategic Lead – Housing & Communities ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this Report is to seek agreement on the adoption and implementation of the updated Perth Air Quality Action Plan, see Appendix 1. 1.2 This plan details the current air quality within the Perth Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) (Appendix 2) and outlines the improvement measures Perth & Kinross Council (PKC) will deliver between 2025 – 2030 in order to reduce concentrations of air pollutants within Perth City. This Action Plan is an update to the previous Perth Air Quality Action Plan published in 2009. 2. Recommendation It is recommended that the Committee: 2.1 Agrees the adoption and implementation of the updated Perth Air Quality Action Plan and its associated improvement measures. 3. Background/Context 3.1 Following prior exceedances of the National Air Quality Objectives, Perth City was designated an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in 2006. In accordance with Local Air Quality Management Guidance, PKC published the first Perth Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) in 2009 which included a variety of improvement measures aimed at reducing air pollutants within the AQMA below the National Objective Levels.
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3.2 PKC ensures compliance with the National Objectives and assesses the effectiveness of the Action Plan’s improvement measures by continuously monitoring air quality across the region through a combination of real time monitoring stations (RTMs) and a widespread diffusion tube network. This network can be altered and redeployed where necessary to monitor potential changes to air quality, for example in advance of a new development or change in the road network. 3.3 Over the course of the last 16 years the measures within the original Perth AQAP have been carried out, with the majority now complete or ongoing. The largest and most impactful of these measures being the creation of the Cross Tay Link Road, which was a primary measure within the original AQAP. Further completed measures include air quality consideration being integrated with various Council operations such as Planning, Transport Strategy, Fleet etc., the improvement of Perth traffic congestion with the introduction of smart traffic management systems, and the carrying out of various educational activities such as Clean Air Day and the iBike and Bikeability projects. 3.4 However Perth City has undergone many changes since the publication of the original Action Plan in 2009 and is expected to go through further change during the operational period of the updated plan. The newly completed Destiny Bridge and New Kingsway is expected to have a notable impact on air quality within the City Centre, and large developments at Bertha Park, Scone and Perth West will further change both road traffic and by extension air quality within Perth, changes which will need to be closely monitored to assess their full impact. 3.5 PKC must therefore ensure that the Perth AQAP is up to date with adequate measures to address the current and future changes to Perth City and maintain the downward trend in air pollutants for the health benefit of all its citizens. The new plan must also be aligned with the Council’s other related strategies to enhance all possible co-benefits. 3.6 The updated plan was created by Environmental Health with the support and agreement of a steering group made up of PKC officers from a wide range of services (Traffic & Network, Development Management, Fleet, Public Transport etc.), including external stakeholders from NHS Tayside and Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership (TACTRAN). Air quality consultants also assisted in updating the plan through creation of updated air quality models for Perth, giving a clear view of air quality city wide and allowing us to better target improvement measures at key sources of pollutants. 3.7 Following the creation of the new draft action plan, a public consultation exercise was carried out for a period of 6 weeks between 4/11/24 and 31/12/24. Responses were received from members of the public, community councils, business owners etc as well as from stakeholders such as Transport Scotland and neighbouring local authorities.
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The feedback received was collated, reviewed and the draft action plan updated accordingly, for example the addition of a measure focused on domestic burning emissions from stoves and more detail on works to improve traffic signalling within Perth City centre. Further details on the consultation, feedback received, and the resultant changes made to the plan can be found on pg. 82-83 of Appendix 1. 3.8 To ensure the Perth Air Quality Action Plan is accessible to all and in response to feedback received during the document’s public consultation, a summary action plan will also be prepared. This document will be a briefer and more focused version of the main plan, aimed to be understandable by anyone regardless of their prior knowledge of air quality. 4. Main Issues 4.1 Air pollution remains the single largest environmental health risk in the United Kingdom, contributing to premature death and disease. Poor air quality, due to gaseous and particulate pollution, is associated with both short- and long- term adverse effects on human health. Long term exposure to air pollution can affect everyone’s health, however, some people are more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution because of their age (children and older people are at increased risk) and existing medical conditions. PKC therefore has a duty to reduce air pollution at a minimum to below the national objective levels to protect public health and well-being. 4.2 Since 2009 there has been a generally consistent downward trend in both nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5) within the Perth AQMA, due to both the delivery of the AQAP’s improvement measures and continued improvements in vehicle efficiency and local fleet composition. 4.3 However, the most recent air quality modelling of Perth still identifies pollutant hotspots with borderline objective compliance. For example, while there has not been an exceedance of the NO2 objective in Perth since 2018, levels are still high in hotspots with Atholl Street recording the second highest NO2 levels in Scotland in 2023. 4.4 A further challenge facing PKC in the near future is Scottish Government considering the implementation of stricter air quality objectives in line with either the EU or World Health Organisation, which would likely result in Perth once again having objective exceedances. 4.5 In light of the continued borderline pollutant levels within Perth City, the various changes to road traffic behaviours resulting from the Cross Tay Link Road and other future developments and their possible impact on air quality, and the potential tightening of air quality objectives by Scottish Government in the future, an up to date and thorough Perth Air Quality Action Plan is essential to ensure air quality continues to improve within Perth.
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5. Proposals 5.1 The proposed action plan will run from 2025 to 2030 and will undergo regular reviews each year as part of the Local Air Quality Management annual progress reporting procedure. 5.2 Following committee approval, the improvement measures set out within the Action Plan (pg. 26 – 46, Appendix 1) will be progressed by the relevant teams. Some of these measures are already underway, while others will require planning, consultation and/or sourcing of funding to begin implementation. 5.3 Environmental Health will lead on the coordination of the overall delivery of the action plan, however due to the varied nature of the improvement measures within the plan cross-service collaboration is essential to complete individual measures. 5.4 Progress on delivery of the action plan, its associated measures and the impact on Perth’s air quality will be reported each year as part of the annual progress reporting procedure. The annual progress report is submitted in June each year, and is assessed by Scottish Government, SEPA and a third party. Once approved, each report is then made publicly available on the Council and Scottish Air Quality websites. The report will also be issued to Elected Members to keep them informed of the Council’s progress in improving air quality. 6. Conclusion 6.1 PKC has a duty to protect public health by reducing air pollution within the local authority area to safe levels. While recent pollutant levels have remained below the national objectives, changes to Perth’s traffic movements following future developments remain a potential risk to air quality and as such we cannot be complacent in our work to improve air quality. 6.2 This action plan and its improvement measures will drive the Council’s work to reduce air pollution for the next five years, while also tying in with other closely linked Council Strategies (e.g. Climate Change Strategy, Mobility Strategy etc.). By delivering the Perth Air Quality Action Plan alongside these other strategies, PKC will strive to deliver a healthier and more sustainable Perth City for all its citizens. 7. Impact Value Assessment Perth AQAP Impact and Value Assessment Summary.pdf 8. Appendices Appendix 1 – Perth Air Quality Action Plan Appendix 2 – Map of the Perth Air Quality Management Area (AQMA)
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