Air quality

Introduction

This document is intended to help developers provide the correct information to the LPA to demonstrate how they intend to minimise any adverse impact from demolition and construction activities, relating to both on site and transport arrangements to nearby sensitive receptors.

A Demolition/Construction Environmental Management Plan (DEMP/CEMP) must address how potentially adverse impacts associated with demolition and construction sites on nearby residential and commercial receptors will be managed by the developer and their contractors.

The level of detail required in a demolition or construction management plan will depend on the type and scale of the development.

DEMPs/CEMPs do not prejudice or replace the need to obtain any separate consents or approvals such as road closures or demolition notices.

Document use

All development sites, regardless of type or scale shall implement the following requirements within this document unless agreed otherwise in writing with the Local Planning Authority (LPA). Where a DEMP/CEMP is required, it shall include site specific measures as provided by the appointed contractor.

The requirement for a DEMP/CEMP will usually be secured by a pre-commencement planning condition but may also be required if it is determined by officers of Environmental Health that a development is having a persistent adverse impact to nearby sensitive receptors.

This document provides suggested headings by section and associated guidance which should form the basis of your DEMP/CEMP. Additional information can be included to further demonstrate how potentially adverse impacts from the development will be mitigated.

Development (including any demolition) must be undertaken having full regard to the approved DEMP/CEMP, and failure to submit this prior to the commencement of development may constitute a breach of planning consent, with subsequent enforcement.

Some paragraphs outline the information the LPA would expect to see in a management plan, other areas require you to provide the information and supporting evidence.

Demolition/Construction Management Plan template

1.0 Introduction

Planning reference number

Provide the planning reference number of the development e.g. N*/2025/00001/DPA

Development site address

Provide the address including postcode of the development site, with a location plan.

Site description

Provide a plan of the proposed development site with any nearby sensitive receptors marked accordingly (e.g. residential dwellings including care homes, nurseries and schools, businesses).

Provide a description proposed demolition and construction and details of the potential issues and site constraints (e.g. narrow streets, site access, tree preservation orders (TPOs), nearby watercourses, existing utility services, etc.).

2.0 Site management

Site personnel

Provide contact details of the person(s) on site with an overall responsible for compliance with the plan.

Site layout

Provide a site layout plan including locations of the site office, material storage areas, waste storage areas, staff parking, vehicle access points, wheel wash locations, generators, delivery loading and unloading areas, and details of any site hoardings or acoustic screening to be erected.

Provide details of the measures to ensure the segregation of pedestrians, cyclists and development traffic (where Public Rights of Way are likely to be affected).

Managing materials, site storage, and housekeeping

Provide information on where raw materials, demolition arisings, and other waste products will be stored at the development site. (Note: Mobile crushers will require the relevant environmental permits to be made available on request).

Provide details of the housekeeping arrangements for the site to ensure that stored materials, arisings, and equipment do not have an adverse impact on the occupiers of nearby sensitive receptors.

Provide details of the measures to be taken to ensure that materials stored on the site such as soil and sand, are adequately secured to prevent unnecessary and unsightly dispersal around the site and public areas.

Community liaison and communication, including complaints procedure

A display board shall be prominent and shall detail the nature of the works being undertaken, a contact name and telephone number (including a telephone number to be used outside normal working hours).

A complaints register shall be kept and shall include complainant’s details, date and time of the complaint, cause(s) of the complaint, action taken to resolve the complaint, date and time of action taken to resolve the complaint, and reasons for any unresolved complaints.

Implementation, monitoring, and corrective action

A responsible person shall undertake regular site inspections to monitor compliance with the demolition or construction management plan to ensure site activities are not having an adverse impact on the occupiers of nearby sensitive receptors. Where non-compliance is identified, the responsible person shall ensure that corrective action is taken.

Provide further information on how the implementation of the demolition or construction management plan will be monitored including frequency.

3.0 Site operations

The working hours for the development site (including any demolition and construction activity) and deliveries including the transport of materials, plant, and equipment to the development site shall only take place during the following hours:

• 8am to 6pm on Monday to Friday
• 8am to 1pm on Saturdays
• No working on Sundays or Public Holidays
• No Piling operations should commence prior to 9am

These working hours cover operations and work which are audible at the site boundary. Any noisy operations outside these hours shall not be undertaken without prior written approval from the LPA. These hours may be amended by the LPA where local circumstances demand as necessary.

Any deliveries outside the above hours cannot be undertaken without prior written approval of the LPA.

If a school is located in the vicinity of the development site or on the proposed access and egress routes, deliveries shall be restricted to between 9:30am and 3pm on Monday to Friday during term time. Provide details of any planned delivery arrangements that may be required outside of the above hours.

Provide details of the proposed procedures and location(s) for the loading and unloading of plant and materials at the development site. Wherever possible loading and unloading should only take place within the development site.

Noise and vibration

There are British Standards (BS) that provide guidance for the control of noise and vibration on construction and open sites (BS 5228-1: 2009 + A1: 2014 and BS 5228-2: 2009 respectively). These documents should be used to form the proposed site-specific control measures included within your plan.

The following provide guidance where vibration may be an issue:

• BS 6472: 2008 Guide to the evaluation of human exposure to vibration in buildings
• BS 7385-2:1993 Evaluation and measurement for vibration in buildings - guide to damage levels from ground borne vibration

All vehicles and plant used during the development will be maintained in good and efficient working order, and in accordance with manufacturer’s specification.

All vehicles, mechanical plant, and machinery used during the development shall be fitted with proper and effective silencers (where available and in compliance with health and safety requirements) and shall be maintained in good and efficient working order.

All plant and machinery in intermittent use shall be shut down in the intervening periods between works.

Plant and machinery capable of generating significant noise and vibration levels will be operated in a manner to restrict its duration.

Static plant and machinery shall be sited as far away as possible from inhabited buildings or other noise sensitive locations.

All compressors shall be ‘noise reduced’ models that are fitted with properly lined and sealed acoustic covers which shall be kept closed whenever the machines are in use. All ancillary pneumatic percussion tools shall be fitted with mufflers or silencers of the type recommended by the manufacturers.

Wherever possible mains electricity or battery powered equipment shall be used instead of diesel or petrol fuelled generators.

The handling of materials shall be conducted in such a manner that minimises noise, including minimising drop heights into hoppers and lorries.

No stereos or similar amplified devices shall be audible beyond the site boundary.

Provide details of site specific noise and vibration mitigation measures.

Provide any noise impact assessments conducted, including relevant noise.

The requirement for a noise impact assessment will normally be identified at the planning application stage and will be determined based on a variety of factors including (but not limited to), the scale of the development, the likely duration of the project, the proximity to residential or other noise sensitive properties, the history of noise complaints in the locality, and the cumulative impact of any other concurrent developments in the vicinity.

Provide details of any site hoardings and acoustic screens where a noise impact assessment has identified these as necessary to mitigate the potentially adverse effects of noise on nearby sensitive receptors.

Dust

There are several other guidance documents providing information on best practice for control of dust. These documents should be used to form the proposed site-specific control measures included within your plan:

• Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) Guidance on Assessment of Dust from Demolition and Construction 2024
• Greater London Authority (GLA) The control of dust and emissions during construction and demolition (Supplementary planning guidance) July 2014

All plant and equipment shall be maintained in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations to ensure emissions to atmosphere are minimised.

Any equipment used to cut paving blocks, kerbs, flagstones etc. shall be operated with a water suppression attachment or a dust filter.

Engines of plant, machinery, and lorries shall be switched off at all times when not in use.

Delivery activities, plant, stockpiled materials and any other activities liable to significant dust generation shall be located as far away as possible from site boundaries and neighbouring properties.

Stored materials liable to dust generation shall be dampened down, covered with tarpaulin, or otherwise contained as far as reasonably possible.

Drop heights from conveyors, loading shovels, hoppers, and other loading or handling equipment shall be minimised and fine water sprays should be used on equipment where necessary.

Skips, chutes, and conveyors shall be covered and if necessary enclosed to ensure that dust does not escape.

All vehicles carrying dusty materials shall be securely covered. Water suppression shall be used in dry conditions to reduce dust emissions (e.g. mobile bowsers or fixed sprayers as appropriate). A water suppression contingency plan should be included detailing water supply to site and what equipment will be kept available (e.g. number and size of bowsers, sprinklers, mist canons etc.).

Provide details of site specific dust mitigation measures proposed for operations and activities to the carried out at the development site.

Provide a dust impact assessment conducted for the development site where applicable.

The requirement for a dust impact assessment will normally be identified at the planning application stage and will be determined based on a variety of factors including (but not limited to); the scale and nature of the development works, the sensitivity of the area, the likely duration of the project, the history of dust complaints in the locality, and the cumulative impact of any other concurrent developments in the vicinity.

Provide details of how dirt or dust spread onto the public highway will be prevented and cleaned.

Details of relevant environmental permits from mobile equipment shall be submitted prior to use e.g. mobile concrete crushers

You may find this dust matrix useful for including in your dust action plan.

The Site Manager should carry out daily inspections and log observations of site conditions including any occurrences of dust or the onset of potential dust generating conditions.

Should visible dust be generated the site manager will act promptly to identify the source of the dust and take necessary corrective action. Each event and action taken should be recorded in the site logbook. Where necessary the site manager will instruct the cessation of operations causing the visible dust emissions until such time as the situation is brought under control.

A graded scale of dust occurrences should be included in a dust action plan, together with responses, as follows.

Air quality

North Northamptonshire Council has produced a supplementary planning guidance document specifically for air quality please see above.

There are several other guidance documents providing information on best practice for maintaining existing air quality during demolition and construction. These documents should be used to form the proposed site-specific control measures included within your plan:

• Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) Guidance on Assessment of Dust from Demolition and Construction 2014
• Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) Guidance on Air Quality Monitoring in the vicinity of Construction and Demolition Sites 2018

Your plan must include an assessment of dust from demolition and construction in accordance with the above referenced Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) Guidance on the assessment of dust from demolition and construction or equivalent industry standard document. Where a screening identifies possible receptors and a need for a detailed assessment the IAQM guidance shall be followed and the appropriate dust assessment report and accompanying tables shall submitted to the LPA. The report shall include a mitigation strategy detailing.

All Non-Road Mobile Machinery used on site must be compliant with the Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Emission of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants) Regulations 2018. Where requested by a relevant officer, documentation shall be provided evidencing manufacturers emission limits or that equipment has been appropriately retrofitted in accordance with the regulations.

Mud

The public highway must be kept mud free. This is applicable to both roads and pavements.

Provide details of proposed wheel washing facilities and other measures to prevent mud or other materials being deposited onto the highway.

Provide details of any proposed road sweepers including details of when and where road sweepers will be deployed.

Artificial lighting

Flood lighting, security lights, and any other obtrusive external lighting shall be sensitively located so as to avoid nuisance to neighbouring properties and should only provide the necessary luminance for the relevant task(s).

Lighting schemes shall be compliant with the Institution of Lighting Professionals Guidance Note 01/21 “The Reduction of Obtrusive Light”.

Provide details on how obtrusive artificial light will be minimised during the development including any drawings and assessments of temporary lighting installations where applicable.

4.0 Waste management

There shall be no burning on site at any time.

The appointed contractor(s) shall have an appropriate means of waste disposal in place for the duration of the development works. Appropriate waste transfer and disposal documentation shall be made available for inspection by the LPA on request.

The appointed contractor(s) shall ensure that any waste materials stored on the site are adequately secured to prevent unnecessary and unsightly dispersal of the materials around the site and beyond its boundary.

Provide details of measures for waste management at the development site and mitigation measures to protect local amenity.

Provide details of any hazardous or dangerous materials identified at or likely to be encountered at the development site (e.g. asbestos, contaminated soil) and arrangements for its identification, removal and safe, licensed disposal. Note: Imperative that any mitigation is undertaken in line with associated contaminated land conditioning and timescales.

5.0 Environment

Soil and land management

Provide details and locations of any planned storage areas for materials (e.g. topsoil, demolition waste, contaminated ground) or construction materials, and how these will be managed.

Provide details of your procedures for controlling and dealing with spillages, reducing the need for stockpiling and controlling the size of stockpiles, environmental monitoring, and regular site inspections.

Provide details of your procedures for identifying and dealing with any previously unidentified contamination discovered at the site during development. This can include reference to a remediation strategy already accepted by the LPA.

6.0 Supporting information

Use this section to provide any supplementary or supporting documents too large to include in the main plan, such as:

• drawings
• noise assessments
• dust risk assessments
• non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), mobile crushers and concrete batching plants
• heavy duty vehicle routing and traffic management plan

For any information regarding the proposed development and its potential impact on nearby watercourses, including any run-off issues or discharge consent requirements, contact the Environment Agency.