Air quality

Under the 1995 Environmental Act, all local authorities in England and Wales are required to assess air quality against a set of national standards for key pollutants.

While most parts of Tamworth enjoy very good air quality, levels of nitrogen dioxide (mostly associated with vehicle exhaust fumes) have been found - at times - to exceed the national targets next to some of the town’s busiest roads and junctions.

These locations are therefore routinely monitored by our environmental protection team.

We do this by sampling air through small diffusion tubes located on road signs, lamp posts and other street furniture.

Monitoring sites in Tamworth

There are currently 14 areas of Tamworth being monitored through the use of ‘passive diffusion’ tubes.

They are:

  • Upper Gungate
  • Claremont Road
  • Lakeland Drive
  • High Broom Court
  • Overwoods Road (Dosthill)
  • High Street (Dosthill)
  • Dosthill Road (Two Gates)
  • Watling Street (Two Gates)
  • Tamworth Road (Two Gates)
  • Watling Street (Two Gates)
  • Glascote Road
  • Perrycrofts Crescent
  • Upper Gungate
  • Tamworth Road (Amington).

Visit this link for Tamworth Borough Council diffusion tube data.

Air quality reports

Every year we send a report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about air quality in Tamworth.

You can view reports for the last three years below. Reports for previous years can be requested.

Where air quality standards are not being met, local authorities must declare an Air Quality Management Area and carry out further assessments in accordance with an action plan.

We do not have any live Air Quality Management Areas in Tamworth at this time.

Air Quality Strategy

Improving air quality

Air pollution is responsible for between 26,000 and 38,000 UK deaths every year. There are measures we can all take to improve air quality. You can read about the work being undertaken In Tamworth in the Air Quality Annual Status reports above.

Radon

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas. You cannot see, hear, feel, or taste it. It comes from the minute amounts of uranium that occur naturally in all rocks and soils. We all breathe it in throughout our lives - for most UK residents, radon accounts for half of their total annual radiation dosage.

Most of Tamworth borough is lower risk, but you can check radon potential on the UK Radon map: https://www.ukradon.org/radonmaps/

More information is available via the UKHSA Radon website.