• The site is located with the Havering Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).
• The site is also located within the Green Belt and more importantly, had been fully operational, albeit without planning permission, for various years.
• Multiple appeals had already been submitted, unsuccessfully, against the 21 enforcement notices targeting the large industrial development without planning permission, operating within Green Belt.

The AQA identified that:

• The majority of the closest monitoring locations were below the national annual mean objective for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) and Particulate Matter (PM₁₀ and PM₅) for the assessment year (2019).
• The operational activities generated a significant volume of daily vehicle movements (Lights and Heavies) which met the EPUK & IAQM criteria for requiring a detailed assessment.
• An Air Quality Neutral Assessment (AQNA) was also required to compare the operational transport emissions with the relevant benchmarks and establish whether the site was considered to be Air Quality Neutral.

The AQA concluded that:

• Following the completion of the detailed dispersion modelling, using ADMS-Roads, the traffic related air quality impacts associated with the operational activities were considered to be of imperceptible magnitude and negligible significance.
• The Air Quality Neutral Assessment (AQNA) confirmed that the predicted Total Transport Emissions, also associated with the operational activities of the site, were expected to be lower than the total benchmarked transport emissions. Therefore, the site was considered to be Air Quality Neutral and mitigation measures were not required.
• Overall, the site’s current operational activities were found to be very unlikely to raise any significant adverse impacts upon the health and/or quality of life of any existing neighbours, as a result of any anticipated changes to air quality.