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Air quality demand layer for Slurry Infrastructure Grant Round 1 2022

Abstract

This resource consists of a spatial dataset and an accompanying technical document.

  • This spatial dataset identifies locations in England where there is high demand to improve air quality. It was created to support prioritisation of first round applications to the Slurry Infrastructure Grant, which Defra launched in October 2022. It identifies designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in England which have known features sensitive to ammonia emissions and that currently exceed the threshold at which adverse effects are known to occur, called their critical level. These sites were then buffered by 2 km to identify priority areas for air quality improvements.
  • The technical document sets out the methods proposed for and selected to identify the sites most vulnerable to ammonia emissions in England to prioritise the Slurry Infrastructure Grant’s first round applications.

The method used was developed in consultation with an expert group made up of Air Quality specialists across Defra and its associated Arms-Length Bodies. The spatial layer contains embedded features from a number of datasets, however the original features have been heavily altered and none of the original attributes have been retained.

Full details on how this layer was used, alongside a water quality layer, to prioritise applications to the grant can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/slurry-infrastructure-grant.

These resources may not be fully accessible for all users. If you need a copy of any of these resources in a different or more accessible format, please get in touch.

Resource type Dataset

Topic category Environment

Reference date 2022·09·01

Lineage
This dataset has been created to specifically support targeting in the first round of applications for the Slurry Infrastructure Grant, which opened in October 2022. The geometric lineage is derived from Natural England's 2021 SSSI Condition Units dataset. Non-geometrical lineage (demand scores) has been derived from the analysis of two further datasets: Site-relevant critical levels for ammonia (UKCEH, 2017) and average ammonia concentrations (2017-2019) at 1 km resolution (UKCEH, 2022). These datasets were intersected to identify sites where the ammonia concentration exceeded the critical level. These sites were then buffered by 2km. It is expected that the dataset will be updated for the second round of the grant, due to be launched in Autumn 2023. The method used to develop this dataset has been externally peer-reviewed, full details can be found in the associated methods document.

Responsible organisation
Digital and Data Solutions, JNCC owner

Limitations on public access No limitations

Use constraints Available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, please cite copyright: © JNCC.

Metadata date 2023·11·17

Metadata point of contact
Digital and Data Solutions, JNCC

Temporal extent 2017·· 2021··

Spatial extent
North 55.8
South 50
East 2.05
West -5.27
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