UK Notification to the European Commission to secure additional time to meet the limit values for particulate matter for certain zones/agglomerations in accordance with the Council Directive 2008/50/EC on Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe

The UK’s notification to the European Commission to secure additional time to meet the limit values for PM10 for eight UK zones/agglomerations in accordance with Council Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality was submitted on 24 April 2009.  The notification was subject to public consultation  which closed on 10 March 2009.

The purpose of the notification is to secure, for eight zones/agglomerations in the UK, an exemption from the obligation to apply the limit values for PM10 until 2011, as provided for under the Directive.  The notification, comprising a series of completed Forms and an accompanying technical report, covers those zones/agglomerations where exceedences have been reported since the limit value came into force in 2005, and sets out in detail how, on the basis of current and future plans, we will achieve compliance across the UK by 2011.

The notification forms and technical report, links to which are given below, are presented in the Commission’s recommended format to meet the requirements of  the Directive including how the limit values will be achieved in these areas by the extended deadline of 2011.

  • Time extension notification forms (Excel format 1.4 MB) - Please note that this excel spreadsheet, provided to Member States by the European Commission, summarises the essential information required for the time extension.  The document should be read on screen as it is not possible to easily print the individual forms due to the large number of columns within each worksheet. These forms should be read in conjunction with Section 4 of the accompanying Technical Report.
  • Accompanying technical document (PDF 1.4 MB)

Additional information

Following their initial examination of the time extension notification forms, on 15 June 2009 the Commission requested additional information in order that they could fully assess the UK’s application.  This additional information below was sent to the Commission on 6 July 2009:

Page published: 28 July 2009