When a council asks for an air quality assessment (AQA), the quality of the report shapes how smoothly your application runs. Choose well and you head off objections; choose badly and you invite conditions or refusal. This guide explains what a good air quality assessment consultant in the UK should offer, the questions to ask, and how to choose in 2026.
What does an air quality consultant do?
An air quality consultant assesses how your development affects local air quality — both the pollution your scheme could generate (traffic, heating, construction dust) and the pollution future occupiers would be exposed to. The assessment covers pollutants such as NO₂, PM10 and PM2.5, which we explain in the pollutants planners care about, and checks your site against any Air Quality Management Area.
What to look for in a top air quality consultant
- Correct guidance. The assessment should follow the joint EPUK/IAQM land-use planning guidance, the IAQM dust guidance (v2.2, January 2024) for construction, and Defra’s technical guidance LAQM.TG(22). For London sites it should address London Plan Policy SI 1.
- Live official data. A credible AQA uses current Defra background concentration maps, national AQMA boundaries, monitoring data and DfT traffic counts — not generic assumptions.
- Correct benchmarking. Impacts should be judged against the UK air quality objectives. A good consultant also understands where the standards are heading — see WHO guidelines vs UK objectives.
- Right level of assessment. Many schemes only need a screening assessment or air quality statement; others need a full detailed study. A good consultant scopes this correctly so you neither under-provide nor overpay.
- Construction-phase cover. Where demolition or earthworks are involved, the report should include a dust assessment and mitigation via a construction environmental management plan.
- Clear, defensible reporting. The findings should be explained plainly and be robust enough to satisfy the environmental health officer.
Questions to ask before you hire
- Will the assessment follow EPUK/IAQM criteria and Defra LAQM.TG(22)?
- Which live datasets will you use for background concentrations and traffic?
- Is my site in or near an AQMA, and how will that be handled?
- Do I need a full assessment or is a screening statement enough?
- Will construction dust be assessed, and what is the turnaround?
Matching the consultant to the scheme
For most extensions, new homes and small commercial or mixed-use schemes, a well-scoped, data-driven assessment against the UK objectives is exactly what the authority expects. Large schemes beside heavily-trafficked roads, or major developments introducing many new residents into poor air quality, may warrant detailed dispersion modelling and a specialist. Knowing which you need keeps the process proportionate. See our guide to new homes near busy roads.
Signs of a weak air quality assessment
A few warning signs are worth knowing. Be cautious of an assessment that uses generic or out-of-date background data rather than current Defra maps and DfT traffic counts; that ignores whether your site sits in an AQMA; or that skips construction dust entirely on a scheme involving demolition or earthworks. An over-scoped study is a problem too — paying for detailed dispersion modelling on a small extension that only needed a screening statement wastes money. Equally, a screening note dressed up as a full assessment can come back to bite you if the environmental health officer disagrees. As with any planning report, no consultant can promise the council will not impose conditions; they can only make the evidence sound. Ask to see how impacts are benchmarked against the UK objectives before you commit.
How Fortress Associates can help
Fortress Associates produces automated air quality assessments for planning applications across every UK local authority, using live official datasets — Defra background maps, AQMA boundaries and DfT traffic data — and following EPUK/IAQM criteria and Defra LAQM.TG(22). The report is free and ready in minutes, screening your NO₂, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations for you. Explore our services or get in touch. New to this? Read what is an air quality assessment.
Sources & further reading
Need help with a UK planning project?
Fixed-fee daylight & sunlight reports and Building Regulations drawings — delivered in 4–5 working days, no advance payment — plus flood risk assessments, air quality assessments, energy statements and sustainability statements for planning applications across the UK.
Request a free quote