WAVERLEY Borough Council has commissioned an independent review of its 2016 Air Quality Annual Status Report following criticism that it has grossly under-estimated the scale of Farnham’s air pollution problem.

It comes after Farnham-based air quality expert David Harvey submitted a ‘Level 3’ complaint last week to Waverley’s new executive director Tom Horwood, the final stage of the borough council’s complaints procedure, demanding Waverley acknowledge and rectify its mistakes.

Waverley’s latest Air Quality Annual Status Report, published in May, claimed air pollution - and specifically levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) - only “slightly exceeds” the national objective at three monitoring stations in Farnham; two in The Borough and one in Wrecclesham Road.

However, this has been challenged by Mr Harvey, the director of West Street firm ADM Ltd, who believes Waverley has dramatically under-estimated the problem after miscalculating two ‘bias adjustment factors’ used to counter discrepancies between the council’s monitoring equipment.

This, Mr Harvey says, makes the difference between there being an “overall improvement in air quality across the borough”, as claimed by the council, and air quality having actually deteriorated.

In correspondence between the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Waverley, seen by The Herald, DEFRA has asked Waverley to explain the “potential discrepancies” in its data.

Waverley’s head of environmental services, Richard Homewood, has since confirmed in an email to Mr Harvey that the council has “engaged an independent consultant to review our 2016 data, calculations and the 2016 report”.

Mr Harvey, addressing Waverley’s new chief officer Mr Horwood, said: “As air quality is very much in the public eye at the moment it makes Waverley’s inability to publish correct data and woeful response to my representations inexcusable.

“It is now two months since DEFRA first acknowledged that there was an error in the 2016 Air Quality Annual Status Report which is yet to be corrected or even acknowledged by Waverley.

“The failure by Waverley Borough Council to calculate, prepare and submit accurate and correct figures to DEFRA and also preparing an Annual Status Report for the public on air quality in the borough based on these inaccurate figures is serious and represents a failure of service by the local authority.

“Because the 2016 annual report is not fit for purpose Waverley Borough Council are not fulfilling their statutory duties under Part IV of the Environmental Act 1995 to review and assess air quality.”

Mr Harvey has also complained about the conduct of Waverley’s officers, who he says have questioned his credibility and accused him of lying, and has accused the council of frequently moving its monitoring equipment “to get lower numbers”.

He has issued seven demands to Waverley, including that it withdraw the offending 2016 report, correct and re-issue it, investigate why no record of the bias calculation was kept, and put in place procedures and training “to ensure mistakes of this nature do not happen again”.

Mr Harvey has also requested Waverley acknowledge its mistake in public and in a full report to the executive committee and full council.

Responding, a Waverley spokesman told The Herald: “Mr Harvey’s complaint about the accuracy of the report is being taken very seriously and we are currently working with DEFRA to review the 2016 report. At this stage DEFRA has not confirmed to the council whether the data is flawed.

“Mr Harvey’s complaint about the collection of data used in the Air Quality report and the conduct of Waverley employees is being dealt with in accordance with the council’s complaints policy.

“As the complaint has now reached Stage 3, a review of the complaint under the previous stages is in progress and Mr Harvey will receive a response soon.”

Waverley is duty-bound to submit an annual air quality status report to DEFRA after three Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) were declared in Farnham, Godalming and Hindhead in 2004, following the discovery of excessive levels of NO2 which has been linked to as many as 40,000 premature deaths every year in the UK.

• It also comes just days after another unitary authority, Cheshire East Council, admitted ‘falsifying’ air quality figures, requiring hundreds of planning applications to be reviewed and prompting a police investigation.

According to the BBC, Cheshire East Council said “deliberate and systematic manipulation” took place from 2012 to 2014, which made the council’s air quality data readings appear lower than they really were.

An internal review by Cheshire East’s auditors in 2016 found the air quality data submitted was different to the original data provided by the laboratory that analysed readings from the council’s monitoring equipment.