Air quality

Sandwell Council's Draft Air Quality Action Plan 2025-230 - Have Your Say!

Residents, businesses, community groups and visitors to Sandwell are being asked to share their views on a new Draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP), which sets out a range of actions that Sandwell Council will undertake to help reduce air pollution in the borough between 2025 and 2030.

Sandwell Council has a statutory duty to produce an AQAP in accordance with the Local Air Quality Management framework.  This new AQAP will update the current 2020-2025 plan, the draft currently includes a wide range of practical actions that focus on local emission sources which cause local air pollution. The three main priorities identified in the draft plan are promoting walking and cycling, supporting cleaner and safer travel near schools, and lowering speed limits on certain roads. We want to protect and support better health for everyone in our borough, and in particular those who are most vulnerable to air pollution e.g the young, older adults and those pre-existing health conditions.

The Draft Air Quality Action Plan is now available to view,  The consultation survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and can be found on our consultation hub. The survey will be available to complete from 11 August 2025 until midnight on 21 September 2025.

Sandwelll's Air Quality Action Plan 2020-2025

Should you wish to view our current Air Quality Action Plan 2025-230. it is available to download.

Sandwell's first Air Quality Action Plan 2009 can also be downloaded.

Want to do more to help reduce local air pollution? 

There are many things that we can do to help reduce air pollution locally, here are just a few ideas:

• Are there any journeys that you do by car, that you think you might be able to do by walking or cycling instead, e.g. shopping, going to school or work, meeting up with friends and family. By just swapping out a couple of car journeys a week for a walk or cycle not only will your health benefit, but you will save money and reduce local air pollution. Find out more about the benefits of Active Travel on our Healthy Sandwell website. 
• Are you sick of sitting in traffic jams? Ever wonder how many people are driving the same way as you? Have you ever thought about joining Liftshare? By joining liftshare you can help cut congestion and reduce stress and tiredness of travelling with someone else whose doing the same journey as you.
• The TravelWise in Sandwell web page provides all the links you need to plan a journey without a car e.g. public transport routes, cycle routes and walking journeys.
• Information for Sandwell residents on Going Green, Health and Wellbeing and Saving Money.can be found on our Resilient Residents web page.
• If you don't have a wood burning stove and are thinking about buying one, think twice. They create both indoor and outdoor air pollution and are harmful to health, find out more on our Smoke Control Area page.
• If you already have a wood burning or solid fuel burning stove then please be aware that the whole of Sandwell is now a Smoke Control Area. This means that you must ensure that there are no visible emissions of smoke from your chimney by burning the right fuels. To find out more go to our Smoke Control Area page.
• Please don't have bonfires. If you need garden waste taking away regularly, then we strongly recommend that you, sign up for your garden waste to be collected by the Council or otherwise book an appointment and take it to Sandwell's household waste recycling centre on Shidas Lane, Oldbury. Sandwell have also partnered with GetComposting who explain more about the importance of composting and offers discounts on some of their products to residents..
• Report repetitive bonfires e.g. happening weekly or several times a month. Not only do bonfires cause a lot of air pollution, but the smoke can be particularly harmful and even dangerous to people with existing respiratory conditions such as COPD, asthma and bronchitis. We can take action to prevent bonfires occuring if they are found to be causing a statutory nuisance.
• Are you interested in joining Mums for Lungs?  This group campaign for better air quality and it’s not just for mums they have dads, grandparents and anyone with or without children join. Mums for Lungs are keen to hear from Sandwell residents who would be interested in finding out more about their work.
• Planting and preserving trees are important in improving air quality. The Woodland Trust is a woodland conservation charity that provides information on how to plant trees and how to get involved with tree planting and other projects.
• Switching to energy efficient bulbs and appliances, improving insulation, and replacing your boiler with a lower nitric oxide (NOx) option can help reduce your carbon emission and reduce local air pollution. Find out if your eligible for support through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme .
• If you are interested in switching to renewable energy providers (who source energy from renewables such as wind, solar and water) then the Good With Money guide to the Top 5 UK Green Energy Suppliers in 2025  is a helpful place to start. This guide highlights companies that offer 100% renewable electricity and, in some cases, green gas. Which can help reduce your carbon footprint and support the transition to a cleaner energy system. 
• Businesses that would like electric vehicle charge point installed can still take advantage of the Government's Workplace Charging Scheme (WGS). The WGS is a voucher-based scheme that provides a contribution towards the up-front costs of the purchase and installation of electric vehicle chargers. Employers can apply for vouchers using the Workplace Charging Scheme application .
• The Walk and Cycle Sandwell Facebook page is for pedestrians and cyclists, you can use this page to feedback on your experiences (good and bad, but please be respectful) when travelling around the borough. Sandwell Council can use this information to help  identify where improvements are possible or should be prioritised.