It is possible that those wanting to develop in the future could be required to consider indoor air quality as a part of the planning process, especially if the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, takes on board recent suggestions.
As Mr Khan is revising the London plan for buildings over a certain size, he is being urged by the Clean Air London campaign to include indoor air quality levels into his revision. Simon Birkett, the campaign's founder, has also asked for more measures to turn buildings into "safe havens" considering outdoor pollution is rising.
Given that London is coming under increased pressure for its local air quality standards, this could well be something that Mr Khan takes on board. Certainly, Mr Birkett seems to think the current Mayor of London would support an indoor air quality planning proposal.
Outlining the advantages of considering indoor air quality as part of planning, Mr Birkett said, "People spend about 90 per cent of their time indoors and the cost of filtration is about 10 per cent of the cost of actually getting air into the building. The cost of filters is tiny compared to salaries and the impact of poor air quality on people’s health and productivity.”
London is increasingly in the spotlight these days for its poor levels of air quality, particularly outdoors. In fact, it took London only five days to breach its annual air pollution limit this year. Taking this into account, ensuring that air quality is good indoors could be a way forward, but is by no means an excuse to ignore the high levels of air pollution on the streets of the Capital. Paul McLaughlin, chief executive of the Building Engineering Services Association, said, "While the lengthy debates and legal challenges over how to address outdoor air pollution rumble on, our industry can make an instant impact by putting measures in place that protect the health of building occupants."
