Good news for Marcham residents as air quality improves
Published Friday 16 January 2026
At a meeting of the Vale of White Horse District Council Licensing Committee on Thursday 15 January, councillors heard that officers have assessed air quality in the district and found that over five years Marcham Air Quality Management Area has seen consistent reductions in nitrogen dioxide, a key pollutant primarily linked to emissions from combustion engine vehicles.
Much of the Vale of White Horse district has good local air quality, but three places, Abingdon, Botley and Marcham, registered pollutant levels higher than the national target. All three became Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) that needed targeted action. The council’s Air Quality Action Plan aimed to improve air quality and focussed on the AQMAs.
The Department for Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) advise that revocation of an AQMA should be considered following three consecutive years of compliance with the relevant objective, as evidenced through monitoring. Where there have been no exceedances for a period of five consecutive years, local authorities must revoke the AQMA. As a result, Councillors agreed to revoke Marcham’s AQMA.
Similarly, Abingdon had also met these criteria and its AQMA was revoked in December 2024. Marcham has now also achieved levels of nitrogen dioxide below the national air quality objective and its AQMA has been revoked to comply with government guidance.
Councillor Dr Robert Clegg, Vale of White Horse District Council ward member for Marcham and Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, Climate Action and Nature Recovery, said: “I’m delighted that levels of nitrogen dioxide have fallen so far along the A415 through Marcham. I know that residents still have concerns over air quality in this area, especially with the possibility of SESRO being constructed nearby, so I’m also pleased that monitoring will continue regardless of the AQMA revocation. We will continue to work at improving the air quality across the whole district by encouraging active travel, public transport, and the take up of no or low emission vehicles.”
This means that Botley will be only the remaining Air Quality Management Area within the district. Vale of White Horse District Council will continue to monitor the air quality; work with our Air Quality Partner (National Highways); and promote the use of low or no emission transport; all with the aim of continuing to improve local air quality along the A34 which adversely affects Botley.
Air quality throughout the districts will continue to be monitored by the council’s Environmental Protection Team and the results will be available on the Oxfordshire-wide air quality website oxonair.uk
Notes to editors
The matter was discussed at Vale of White Horse District Council Licensing Committee on 15 January 2026
Cabinet report into the revocation of Marcham Air Quality Management Area
Air pollution levels have significantly reduced in the Marcham AQMA since its declaration on 15 June 2006 (level 53.9 µg/m3), with the national objectives for nitrogen dioxide being met in Marcham AQMA since 2020.
