Wirral commended over improvements to local air quality
Wirral Council’s annual air quality status report has been highly commended by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) which stated that ‘no further improvements can be recommended’.
Officers from Wirral’s Environmental Health team presented the Air Quality Status Report (ASR) to councillors at the most recent meeting of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee in September.
Their update also covered progress on the council’s Air Quality Implementation Plan (AQIP) which supports the Wirral Air Quality Strategy 2024-28.
As well as detailing the actions that had been taken in Wirral during 2024 to improve air quality it is also updated members on the results of monitoring for air quality in the borough over the year. This confirmed that there had been no identified exceedances of the National Objective levels for pollutants.
The committee was as impressed as Defra clearly were when we read the report and I am sure that our air quality team will continue to be commended on their detailed presentations of data.
While they might be producing exemplary reports into Wirral’s AQ, it is still up to politicians to ensure that we support policies aimed at keeping our air as clean as it possibly can be. Air pollution is a major killer across Merseyside, and we must do all we can to reduce the risk posed by poor air quality.
As national targets get stricter over coming years, the good work of our AQ team will become ever more essential as we try to remain compliant with increasingly tough guidance. We know that there are no safe levels of particulate and NOX air pollution and so, as politicians we should aim to reduce air pollution in all we do.
All local authorities in England have duties regarding local air quality management and must regularly review and assess air quality to determine whether objectives are likely to be achieved.
As part of this responsibility, Wirral Council provided its ASR to DEFRA on 23 June 2025. This showed the strategies employed by Wirral Council to improve air quality and any progress that has been made.
DEFRA acknowledged Wirral’s submission on 24 July 2025 stating: “The report is well structured, detailed, and provides the information specified in the guidance.”
It then made a number of comments designed to help inform future reports, which included:
- “This is a very good ASR containing a lot of detail about measures being undertaken by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council to address air quality including the measures being undertaken to address PM2.5. No further improvements can be recommended.”
- “It is commended that the Council replied to last year’s comments and included the improvements in this year’s ASR.”
- “Trend graphs have been included with comparison to the relevant AQO. This is commended.”
- “Mention of adherence to the diffusion tube monitoring calendar is commended.”
- “The inclusion of tables showing the percentage changes in NO2 concentrations from 2023 to 2024 as well as the changes in concentrations from 2019 to 2024 is welcomed. These tables help to show the trends observed at these monitoring sites clearly.”
- “Indicative monitoring results were also included in the ASR. This is commended.
- “Clear maps showing monitoring locations have been included.”
- “This ASR has received sign off from the Director of Public health. Although this is not a requirement, it is welcomed.”
Full details of Wirral’s Air Quality Strategy and the full Annual Status Reports for the last three years can be found on Wirral Council’s website - Air quality in Wirral | wirral.gov.uk
