New state-of-the-art air quality supersite launched in Lewisham

The site, which is located in King’s College London’s Honor Oak Park Sports Ground, allows researchers to gather long-term, intensive and high-quality data on the content of harmful urban air pollution.

It is part of a £6m investment by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) into three new air quality supersites – the other two being in Birmingham and Manchester.

In combination, these sites will help researchers to improve their understanding of different sources of air pollution and determine whether they originate from emissions within London – such as traffic or residential wood burning – or from further away.

The supersite also includes new instruments that detect a variety of greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting chemicals, which can help the UK comply with legally-binding targets set out in the Climate Change Act 2008.

Councillor Sophie McGeevor, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport (job share), said, ‘Tackling poor air quality is a priority for the Council as we want residents to lead long and healthy lives. We’re proud of being a key part of the supersite initiative – not just by hosting it in our borough, but by playing a vital role in contributing to its funding. We recognise the importance this site will have in understanding the effects and improvements it could make to air quality in Lewisham, London and beyond.’

Dr David Green from the School of Population Health & Environmental Sciences at King’s College London said, ‘This new facility dramatically improves our capacity to understand the sources and processes leading to the build-up of these harmful pollutants in our atmosphere. This will help further our understanding of the current health impacts and how effective present and future policies are at reducing these.’