An overview of air quality in Reigate and Banstead

Information about the levels of air pollution in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead.

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council serves an area of approximately 50 square miles of predominantly open countryside.

Though we do not live in an especially built up or industrial area however, the Borough Council still has to address the issue of air quality.

National projections indicate an ever increasing amount of road traffic. With Gatwick, a major international airport close to homes in south Horley, the issue of air quality will become increasingly important.

While 'normal' levels of air pollution do not have an obvious day to day impact on the lives of the population as a whole, air pollution can impinge on the lives of people who already suffer from breathing problems.

Consequently a series of objective and limit values have been set by the government and the European Union for a range of pollutants and Councils across the country have been reviewing their air quality against these limits.

The Borough Council has been engaged in a phased review process to identify the most significant pollutants in the air locally, and the areas where they are most prevalent.