As part of the planning process every new development is required to carry out a risk assessment of the activity that will take place during the different phases of demolition, earthworks and construction and produce a Dust Management Plan (DMP) to describe how the risks of air pollution will be effectively managed. Most developers and their contractors will already be a member of a recognised scheme, such as Considerate Contractors, who will have set minimum standards of practice for dust mitigation. Additionally the local authority may request additional measures to be applied through Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

All developments in Greater London already have to comply with the more stringent measures as described in the GLA's 2014 Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG)  'The control of dust and emissions during construction and demolition'. As of September 2015 they will also need to comply with the new tighter emission standards set out as part of the  'Low Emission Zone' for non-road mobile machinary if working in the central activity zone and these standards will then apply to the whole of Greater London by September 2020.

Unfortunately these measures are often ineffective if incorrectly applied and sometimes they do not go far enough to reduce the risks to people living and working within the vicinity of the construction sites.

Use the menu links in this section to look at additional measures that can be applied to further reduce dust and emissions and therefore the impact on local air quality outside the site boundary.