Erewash Borough Council says there is no evidence to justify reinstating an Air Quality Management Area in Sandiacre, after a resident questioned the relocation of a pollution monitor and the potential impact of additional traffic.
Ray Barker raised the issue at Thursday evening’s Full Council meeting.
He questioned why the former Air Quality Management Area had been revoked, why a nitrogen dioxide sampler was subsequently moved and whether its new position accurately reflected the pollution experienced by residents living near the M1 and Derby Road.
Responding for the council, Cllr Mark Alfrey said national air-quality objectives were not being exceeded and there was currently no evidence that would justify declaring a new management area.
Monitoring area introduced in 2002
The former Air Quality Management Area covered land alongside the M1 in Sandiacre.
It was declared in 2002 following recorded or likely exceedances of the annual nitrogen dioxide objective of 40 micrograms per cubic metre.
Erewash Borough Council agreed to revoke its Sandiacre and Long Eaton management areas on January 12, 2022.
Mr Barker told councillors that readings towards the end of the Sandiacre area’s operation had remained in the mid-30s – below the national objective but, in his view, still sufficiently high to justify concern.
He also questioned the timing of the decision because plans for New Stanton Park, involving substantial additional traffic, were being considered during the same period.
Resident questions relocation of monitor
Mr Barker said the original sampler had been positioned east of the M1, near the top of Derby Road hill, where heavy vehicles travel uphill.
He said it was subsequently moved further from the motorway and questioned whether the new location was less likely to capture the highest concentrations of pollution.
Mr Barker told councillors that readings had fallen by approximately 50% following the move. He argued that this could not be explained by an equivalent overnight improvement in vehicle technology or reduction in traffic.
He asked the council to return the monitor to a location where pollution was likely to be concentrated and declare a new Air Quality Management Area.
His comments represented his interpretation of the publicly available information. The council disputed the suggestion that moving the sampler had produced misleading evidence.
Council points to independent assessment
Cllr Alfrey said councils were required to declare an Air Quality Management Area where monitoring or modelling indicated that national objectives were being, or were likely to be, exceeded.
He said the former Sandiacre area had been established following prolonged exceedances, but later measurements had fallen below the national annual objective.
According to Cllr Alfrey, the council commissioned independent consultants to conduct a detailed assessment before revoking the designation. He said Defra was satisfied with the evidence supplied.
The council’s website confirms that both former management areas alongside the M1 were revoked in January 2022.
Why was the monitor moved?
Cllr Alfrey said the original sampler was positioned on a bridge over the M1, approximately 35 metres from the nearest residential property.
He said it was moved following updated guidance so pollution could be measured closer to where residents lived and went about their daily lives.
The change also allowed council employees to access the equipment safely without the risk of objects falling onto the motorway, he added.
The replacement monitoring point, known as EBC/1a, is listed as a kerbside location on Derby Road in Sandiacre. The council’s report records it as one metre from the road and two metres from relevant residential exposure.
The latest published figure for EBC/1a was an annual average nitrogen dioxide reading of 17.2 micrograms per cubic metre during 2024 – below the national objective of 40.
Concerns about New Stanton traffic
Mr Barker also raised concerns about additional HGV traffic associated with the New Stanton development.
The council response said the development’s transport assessment predicted a net increase of around 660,650 vehicle movements annually.
Cllr Alfrey said this should be considered alongside more than 45 million annual vehicle movements on the nearby M1.
Residents have repeatedly raised concerns about the effect of additional HGVs using roads through Sandiacre, including pollution, noise and road safety.
Erewash Borough Council has now agreed to spend up to £80,000 on an economic appraisal of options for improving access to the Stanton Regeneration Site. This will include considering a possible new M1 junction at the Lows Lane underpass.
Latest report records no exceedances
The council’s 2025 Annual Status Report, which covers monitoring undertaken during 2024, states that no site in Erewash exceeded the annual nitrogen dioxide objective.
It records three suburban monitoring locations and one kerbside site in Sandiacre. The report says all Sandiacre locations have remained below the national annual objective.
The highest annual average recorded anywhere in the borough during 2024 was 35.4 micrograms per cubic metre at the EBC/28 Little Hallam monitoring site in Ilkeston.
Cllr Alfrey said additional monitoring was taking place on key routes around Sandiacre and that the council would continue reviewing air quality as traffic connected with Stanton increased.
The disagreement therefore centres not only on the readings being recorded, but on whether monitors are positioned in the places most likely to capture the pollution residents are concerned about.
