The air quality department at IDOM Merebrook Ltd has recently been involved with a project in Derby city centre which was refused planning permission on air quality grounds in September 2019. However, a new solution developed recently by our team looks likely to overturn that decision.

The refusal was on the basis that proposed development would result in the creation of a street canyon effect; restricting dispersion and resulting in unacceptable impacts at nearby receptors.

Our team worked closely with the client, planning consultant and architect to assess the improvement in air quality terms which could be achieved by increasing the distance between the façade of the proposed building and the adjacent road. This was an iterative process undertaken using specialist dispersion modelling software and resulted in a redesign of the scheme that, whilst significantly reducing the impact on local air quality, also remained commercially viable.

Feedback has recently been received from the Environmental Health Officer which indicates that ‘it would be hard to sustain a refusal of the application solely on air quality grounds’. We currently await the final decision once the scheme has been to planning committee.

If you require assistance with a project, even if it is has previously been refused on air quality grounds, we would welcome the opportunity to work with you and discuss potential solutions.