Air quality, the hidden cost saver that planners shouldn’t ignore

Air quality is one of those topics that rarely makes it onto a client’s priority list, until it’s a council requirement. By the time most clients are considering it, the clock is ticking, the budget is strained, and planners are left managing expectations. But with the right early guidance, an assessment of air quality doesn’t have to be a hurdle to jump through, but a costsaving, programme protecting advantage.

Why air quality matters at planning stage

As soon as the preapplication process begins, air quality quickly shifts from an overlooked issue to a formal requirement that shapes how a development progresses. Air quality requirements can come from national guidance, the local planning authority (LPA) specific guidance, as well as localised air quality action plans where the project falls within Air Quality Management areas (AQMAs).

Air quality assessments can evaluate how a proposed development may affect the local environment, as well as how current air quality levels might influence the comfort of future occupants. 

The cost saving opportunity often missed

The real opportunity for planners lies in recognising how early air quality input can significantly reduce costs across the entire project lifecycle.

• Early design stage

Air quality consultants can review project designs and advise how tweaks in site layout can avoid unnecessary redesign further down the line if planning is rejected by the local authority. We have seen this in action. For example, on a site in Cambridgeshire, we were able to advise repositioning the proposed building to avoid potential odour issues from a nearby sewage treatment plant.

Another example is a data centre project where early engagement allowed us to recommend relocating the flues to maximise the distance from nearby residential properties. Identifying this issue later in the design process could have resulted in costly redesigns and increased operational expenses.

• Avoiding unnecessary surveys

Our team can provide expert advice on the availability of pre-existing modelled and monitored air quality data, drawing on our experience to minimise or even remove the need for site specific surveys. This can typically save around six months of data collection or reduce the number of monitors to complete surveys needed by the team, helping to shorten planning timescales and deliver cost savings that can be passed directly to the client. 

• Reducing scope through negotiation

Let’s be clear, we don’t want to reinvent the wheel; we want to work on projects where we can add value and become the planners’ and clients’ trusted advisors. By fully understanding and negotiating the scope required to support the planning submission, we can look at options such as relocating monitors during different phases of the programme to make cost and efficiency savings. By agreeing survey scopes quickly and efficiently, we have managed to arrange rapid deployment of equipment to achieve timely discharge of planning conditions, helping to preserve planning permission and save the cost and time of an expensive reapplication. 

Section 106 contributions

Not all projects require total redesign. We were recently able to save a data centre client from paying potential environmental damage costs in excess of £300,000 by evidencing adherence to the requirements of wider regional planning policy, and also by highlighting inconsistencies with another similar scheme which had recently been granted planning permission by the same LPA. By demonstrating a net reduction in emissions relative to the existing site use, we evidenced a positive impact on local air quality.

The team worked promptly to produce all evidence required and acted as the negotiator between the LPA and the client. As a result, planning approval was secured shortly after resubmission, avoiding the time and costs of a potential planning appeal and ensuring the construction programme remained on track. 

Expertise without the overload

As part of the planning submission, planners can be tasked with a multitude of complex demands. Our role is to simplify the air quality element of this process by absorbing the complexity and turning it into succinct practical steps to ensure a successful planning application. By filtering out unnecessary detail and focusing on what truly matters, we help planners to protect project programmes, mitigate risk and strengthen trust with their clients.