Broadwater Gardens, Welwyn Garden City
Expertise Provided: Air Quality Consultant
Project Period: 2020 - 2021
Project Type: Residential-led Mixed-use
EIA, due diligence and good communication
Air Pollution Services was commissioned to undertake the air quality assessment in support of the full planning application for the Broadwater Gardens development in Welwyn Garden City.
Due to scale and nature of the development the Council required an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). APS provided EIA screening and scoping support as well as the air quality chapter of the Environmental Statement (ES).
Project Outline
A full planning application for the regeneration of a derelict Biopark site into a new community of high-quality homes, cafe, gym, courtyard and roof gardens.
The key concerns included:
- Emissions from the adjacent railway line and station
- Emissions from road traffic
- Emissions from energy plant of nearby developments
- Emissions from a nearby inorganic chemical factory
- Emissions from a nearby metal melting facility
- Emissions from nearby construction works
- Emissions from onsite combustion plant and basement car park
Our Services
- Air Pollution Services acted as the air quality consultants for the planning application.
Our Role
Our air quality assessment focused on the potential impacts of the development upon the local area and conditions for future users of the development.
The key concerns were considered as well as the potential impacts associated with changes in streetscape massing, whereby the new buildings would lead to changes in the dispersion of pollutant emissions from the adjacent road. The cumulative effects were also considered in detail. The air quality effects of the development were found to be not significant.
Our Value
- Provided an early due diligence report, identifying potential sources of concern and risks to the scheme.
- Highlighted to the project team the constraints to the design and potential options to overcome issues.
- Ongoing communication and workshop attendance provided to ensure the project progressed smoothly.
- Addressed all concerns in detail to ensure a fully robust assessment was submitted.