Case Study
ECE Planning – Air Quality Damage Costs & Emissions Mitigation for Planning
Phlorum was commissioned by chartered town planners, ECE Planning, to undertake an air quality assessment to support a planning application for a new residential-led development on Union Place, Worthing, West Sussex. The development, a joint venture between Sussex-based home builder, Roffey Homes and Worthing Council, comprises 216 apartments over four to eleven storeys located in the centre of Worthing, together with commercial ground floor space, live-work units, communal residential gardens and a replacement public car park.
Image Source: Roffey Homes
The Challenge
Given the central Worthing site location, surrounded by a dense mixture of sensitive commercial and residential uses and less than 500 metres from the seafront and the historic Worthing Pier, ECE Planning recognised that local air quality could be a potential planning constraint and therefore instructed Phlorum to undertake an air quality assessment to support the planning submission.
The Services Provided
Phlorum produced a comprehensive air quality assessment report to support the planning submission, which included a review of local environmental policy and air quality data and the assessment of construction-phase and operational-phase impacts and exposure. An emissions mitigation assessment, to determine the ‘damage cost’, in monetary terms, of the scheme’s operational emissions and the associated mitigation package that would be required to offset the ‘damage cost’ was also undertaken in accordance with relevant Sussex air quality guidance.
Throughout the assessment process, Phlorum kept in regular contact with ECE Planning on matters relevant to the air quality study, such as traffic data provision, scheme design information, construction programme and methods, and operational-phase mitigation proposals. Importantly, early in the process, Phlorum consulted the local air quality officer and Adur and Worthing Councils to discuss and agree the approach to the assessment. This was key to ensure that air quality matters were fully addressed to the satisfaction of the local planning authority and therefore potential obstacles at the planning determination stage minimised.
Image Source: ECE Planning
The Outcome
Following the planning submission in November 2023, full planning consent for the Union Place development was granted in August 2024. Phlorum will provide any post-planning air quality support that may be required to support the project moving forwards, such as construction dust management and monitoring expertise.
Phlorum regularly undertake air quality assessments to support planning applications for land development projects in the south-east of England and elsewhere in the UK.