The National Planning Policy Framework was rewritten and republished on 17 August 2026. If you are a developer, planning consultant or architect with a scheme heading for submission, the air quality wording has moved, and it has changed in a few places that matter. This guide sets out what the new policy says, what has gone, and what it means for the reports you submit with your application.
Where air quality now sits
Under the December 2024 NPPF, air quality sat in Chapter 15, “Conserving and enhancing the natural environment”, mainly at paragraph 199. In the 2026 Framework it has moved to Chapter 17, “Pollution, public protection and security”, under Policy P3: Living conditions and pollution. The policies are also now split into plan-making and decision-making policies, so the wording that applies to a planning application is set out more directly than before.
What Policy P3 says about air quality
The key air quality clause is P3(2)(c). It says development proposals should “sustain and contribute to compliance with relevant limit values or national objectives and targets for air pollutants”, and the clause names PM2.5 specifically. It goes on to say that proposals should take account of Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) and be consistent with relevant Air Quality Action Plans, Clean Air Plans and Local Air Quality Strategies.
Other parts of P3 are also relevant to air quality work:
- P3(1) asks that proposals are appropriate to their location, taking into account the likely cumulative effects of pollution on health, living conditions and the natural environment, with particular attention to vulnerable groups.
- P3(2)(a) and (b) ask that development provides healthy living conditions, avoids unacceptable exposure to pollution, and does not cause unacceptable pollution impacts on neighbours.
- P3(3) says decision-makers can generally assume that separate pollution control regimes (for example environmental permitting) will operate effectively, unless there is clear evidence otherwise.
What has changed compared with paragraph 199
Three changes stand out.
- PM2.5 is named. The new clause refers to national targets as well as limit values and objectives, and calls out PM2.5. Expect officers to ask how your scheme performs on fine particulates, not only on nitrogen dioxide.
- Clean Air Zones are no longer named in the AQMA wording. Paragraph 199 asked decisions to take into account “the presence of Air Quality Management Areas and Clean Air Zones”. The 2026 clause names AQMAs and the various local air quality plans and strategies instead.
- Health and vulnerable groups are more prominent. P3(1) points to cumulative effects on health and to vulnerable groups. Schools, care homes, hospitals and housing for older people near busy roads will attract closer scrutiny.
What has not changed is the basic test: the decision-making policy is still anchored to compliance with UK air quality standards. That means the established assessment methods used by air quality consultants and council officers remain the right starting point.
What this means for your planning application
In practice, Policy P3 does not create a brand-new report. It sharpens what a good air quality assessment should already cover. For most schemes we would now expect a submission to:
- Confirm AQMA status early. Check whether the site is in or next to an AQMA using Defra’s UK-AIR AQMA maps or the council’s own air quality pages, and say so in the report.
- Address PM2.5 as well as NO2 and PM10. A short, clear section on fine particulates, linked to the national targets, avoids an easy officer query.
- Reference the local plans and strategies. P3(2)(c) asks for consistency with Air Quality Action Plans, Clean Air Plans and Local Air Quality Strategies. Name the relevant documents and show how the scheme fits with them.
- Consider who will live or work there. P3(1) looks at the sensitivity of future occupiers. Façade exposure, ventilation strategy and the location of amenity space all matter.
- Keep construction dust in scope. A construction dust risk assessment using the IAQM’s 2024 guidance remains the standard way to show that construction-phase effects will be controlled, usually secured by a dust management plan condition.
When will you need an air quality assessment?
The new Framework does not set thresholds itself. The widely used screening criteria still come from the EPUK and IAQM guidance Land-Use Planning & Development Control: Planning for Air Quality (v1.2, 2017). As a starting point, an assessment is usually considered where a scheme has 10 or more homes (or a site over 0.5 ha), or more than 1,000 m² of other floor space (or a site over 1 ha), and features such as more than 10 parking spaces or a centralised energy centre. Traffic thresholds are lower within or next to an AQMA. Many councils also list an air quality assessment on their local validation list for sites in or near an AQMA.
Our view
The 2026 NPPF is an evolution, not a revolution, for air quality. The schemes most likely to be held up are the ones that treat air quality as an afterthought: no AQMA check, no PM2.5 section, and no reference to local strategies. Those are quick to fix if they are picked up before submission, and slow to fix once an officer has raised them.
Free 24-hour air quality screening
Freshbreeze Environmental is an air quality consultancy based in Birmingham and working across the UK. We prepare air quality assessments for planning, construction dust risk assessments and dust management plans, odour assessments, dispersion modelling and EIA air quality chapters. Our director, Muhammad Rajput, is an Associate Member of the Institute of Air Quality Management (AMIAQM).
Send us the site address and a short description of the scheme and we will tell you within 24 hours, free of charge, whether you are likely to need an air quality assessment and at what level. Call 0121 827 2737 or email info@freshbreezeeltd.co.uk.
Sources: NPPF Chapter 17 (GOV.UK); Landmark Chambers; IAQM guidance. This article is general guidance, not a substitute for site-specific advice.
