Request
Current monitoring provision
1. Does the authority operate its own air quality monitoring stations or sensors, independent of Defra's national networks?
2. How many air quality monitoring stations or sensors are currently in operation across the authority's area?
3. What type of monitoring equipment is used (manufacturer, model, and parameters measured, for example PM2.5, PM10, NO2, or O3)?
4. Where is each monitoring unit located (addresses or geographic coordinates)?
5. Who operates the monitoring system (an in-house team or an external provider)?
6. What system is used to present and publish the monitoring data (web platform, mobile application, or public information display)? Please provide the URL if the data is published online.
II. Ownership and contracts
7. Is the monitoring equipment owned by the authority? If so, please state:
- the date of acquisition,
- the cost of acquisition,
- who services the equipment and under what agreement (provider name, type of contract, and contract term).
8. If the equipment is not owned by the authority, under what arrangement is it used (rental, lease, hire, loan, or other)? Please state:
- the start date of the current agreement,
- the end date of the agreement,
- the name of the provider.
III. Costs
9. What was the total cost of purchasing and commissioning the current monitoring system?
10. What is the annual cost of running the system, including servicing, calibration, data transmission, and hosting of the presentation platform?
11. What budget has been allocated to air quality monitoring for the 2026/27 financial year?
IV. Development plans
12. Are any modifications to, or expansion of, the current monitoring system planned? If so, please state:
- what changes are planned (for example additional sensors, a change of technology, or expansion of the data platform),
- the intended timescale,
- the estimated budget.
13. If the authority does not currently operate an air quality monitoring system, does it plan to implement one? If so, please state the intended timescale and the budget envisaged.
V. External funding
14. Does the authority plan to apply for any grants or external funding related to air quality monitoring?
15. Which funding programmes are being considered or have already been identified (for example Defra's Air Quality Grant, or other national, devolved, or regional schemes)?
16. Has the authority previously drawn on external funding for this purpose? If so, from which sources and in what amounts?
VI. Collaboration and data integration
17. Does the authority collaborate on air quality monitoring with any other organisations (for example universities, non-governmental organisations, Defra, or neighbouring authorities)?
18. Is the data from the authority's monitoring system integrated with any publicly accessible air quality platforms (for example UK-AIR)?
19. Does the authority use air quality monitoring data to inform operational decisions (for example issuing air quality alerts, managing traffic, or Local Air Quality Management action planning under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995)?
20. Does the authority use air quality monitoring data to inform or educate residents?
VII. Air quality in planning and environmental permitting
21. When determining major development proposals (for example large construction, infrastructure, industrial, or minerals and waste schemes), does the authority require air quality or dust assessment, and does it attach conditions requiring air quality monitoring, dust management, or a Construction Environmental Management Plan during the works?
22. For industrial installations that the authority regulates through environmental permitting, does it set air emission limits or air quality monitoring requirements as permit conditions?
23 .Where such conditions or permit requirements are imposed, is the operator required to carry out the monitoring, and is the resulting data reported to the authority or made publicly available?
Response
1. Yes.
2. 17.
3. SOCOTEC acetone:triethanolamine (50:50)
4. As follows:
- DV-01 High St Roadside 631369 141961 NO2 No 2.0 1.5 No 2.6
- DV-04 Christchurch Way Urban Background 630944 143159 NO2 No 6.0 N/A No 1.6
- DV-05 Bench St Urban Centre 631986 141321 NO2 No 4.0 30.0 No 3.0
- Town Hall1 Roadside 631601 141722 NO2 Yes - High St/Ladywell 0.0 2.5 No 3.0
- DV-11 Gateway Roadside 632317 141429 NO2 No 0.0 12.0 No 3.0
- DV-12 St Martins Roadside 632317 141429 NO2 No 0.0 10.0 No 3.0
- DV-23 Snargate A Roadside 631729 140965 NO2 No 0.0 15.0 No 3.0
- DV-24 Snargate B Roadside 631825 141112 NO2 No 0.0 10.0 No 3.0
- DV-28 Sunny Corner Urban Background 630717 140020 NO2 No 0.0 N/A No 2.0
- DV-30 19 High Street Kerbside 631581 141744 NO2 No 0.0 5.0 No 2.0
- DV-31 3 Ladywell Kerbside 631598 141763 NO2 No 2.0 2.0 No 2.0
- DV-32 1 Marine Parade Roadside 632657 141499 NO2 No 2.0 4.0 No 2.0
- DV-33 24 Marine Parade Roadside 632835 141572 NO2 No 10.0 5.0 No 2.0
- DV-36 Sholden Primary School Roadside 635698 152325 NO2 No 0.0 2.0 No 2.0
- DV-37 London Road, Sholden GR Kerbside 636161 151957 NO2 No 5.0 2.0 No 2.0
- DV-38 London Road, Roundabout Kerbside 636259 151914 NO2 No 2.0 1.5 No 2.0
- DV-39 Barton Road Roadside 631418 142455
5. In-house.
6. DDC website and Kentair
7. No real-time equipment currently owned
8. Not applicable.
9. Circa £1,000 per annum.
10. Not applicable.
11. £5,000.
12. No.
13. Not applicable.
14. No.
15. Not applicable.
16. No.
17. Kent & Medway Air Quality Partnership, Ricardo, Kent & Medway Air Quality Network, Defra
18. Kentair
19. Yes.
20. Yes.
21. Yes.
22. Yes.
23. Yes, if required.