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Web review 2007

An edited version of our website review with clickable links (or 'inert' pdf here)

Local authorities (for 'others', click here)

Once again we have finished our mammoth task of reviewing over 450 local authority websites (and a further 100 non local authority offerings here) dealing with air quality.

The review is carried out with the intention of being relaxed and informal – although we know that some are becoming quite competitive about our rankings. Please see our health warning – any ranking such as this has to be subjective and based on personal opinion, science cannot come to the rescue here.

Compared to previous years, site quality does not appear to have changed much – a dozen or so get top marks for quality, and half a dozen top marks for ease of finding, and 60-odd don’t have sites at all – pretty well the same as last year. That said, we did feel front page logos and buttons were less prominent this year.

Doncaster’s Fresh Air site has a ‘today’s air quality’ link on the home page so straight away gets our five stars for ease of finding. We suspect this link is permanent and not just there in readiness for our review. The Fresh Air site opening page has everything from an interactive health effects area, air quality games and puzzles and a focus on local areas with poor air quality. Games include word searches, word pairs, air pollution hangman, air pollution catch, and creating a healthy environment in a town simulator.

There’s also tips about what can be done to cut pollution. We think this site is a front runner – and all the more remarkable is that Doncaster is a South Yorkshire authority so air quality EHO Malcolm Beale could rest on his laurels beneath the similarly excellent South Yorks Care4Air website – but has instead created the authority’s own stunner.

The Ellesmere Port and Neston council homepage has perhaps the biggest banner pointing to web pages we’ve seen – however you’ve only got a one in six chance of seeing that, as the image is one of several ‘dealt’ out – you need to keep refreshing the screen if you miss it first time round. But just say that you miss it, there is also an ‘air quality – ask us a question about odour’ link on the home page – all in all, this makes Ellesmere our ‘most noticeable’ authority based on homepage links. Once in, you get the excellent Airwatch pages which explain with illustrations about air quality generally and also about pollution in Ellesmere Port in particular. The site is kept fresh with a number of air quality bulletins covering issues such as indoor air, monitoring and reviews.

Previous winner Chiltern retains the all important logo and link on the council home page. Again this looks comfortable enough on the home page not to worry fussy council webmasters. Click through and you are immediately bombarded with the excellent design and graphics that have made this site a long running winner. And so it is again. CLAIRE (Chiltern’s Local Air and Environment) uses cartoons to liven up the pages, and nine cartoon characters based on the various pollutants – the so called ‘noxious nine’, including nasties such as Ozzy Ozone, Bloated Benzene and Savage Sulphur. We’ve introduced these shady characters before, and in the arbitrary nature of these awards, we don’t just judge a site based on how good it is, but also the effort put in.

So just because a site is good and won last year, this doesn’t mean it will win if we think that it’s been neglected. But sadly for the opposition, Chiltern’s site has been improved yet further. A heavily updated and improved kids zones has games, puzzles and artwork – one really can see that they could enjoy using this site. Teachers will appreciate the downloadable resources handily organised in age suitability by key stage (here a seamless link with the Bucks Air Quality Net which is produced by the same EHO, Ben Coakley).

The biggest changes has been the launch of the parallel Sustainable Chiltern website reflecting the increasing pressure on air quality officers to tackle climate issues as well as traditional pollution issues. Both the air quality and climate change areas of Claire are top quality and could quite easily be syndicated for use elsewhere.

Coakley told us a little more about it: “The CLAIRE and the climate change site is part of the main Chiltern site and therefore uses the same technology. This allows the site to be fully searchable and linked but retain its individuality from the main Chiltern site. “I am always looking to expand the site to cover issues specifically on our new AQMA and further linking to the expanding climate change agenda. I am sure this is where the future of air quality is going. There is a need to continue to innovate in order to retain site visitors. With this in mind the next update is likely to capitalise on the new Government requirements for some of the climate change pollutants such as carbon dioxide, ozone etc. and the specific implications for the local environment. It doesn’t cost anything extra except for my time putting it together. No outside consultants or designers! This reduces costs significantly and allows for much quicker updates.”

Top class newcomer this year is York with its JorAir site (the Jor prefix based on the Roman name for York). There’s a link on the council homepage, but we’re not sure how long it will stay there. The JorAir site is bright and grabs your attention and could well have been our winner had it been finished – sadly there is still work to do on the kids zone and data areas.

Another relative newcomer is Portair containing air quality information on Portsmouth. Apart from the neat sounding name, the site is a not huge, but just feels good without being too flashy or difficult to maintain.

Sefton retains its very eye catching Breathing Space site but has lost the council’s home page link to the site. There’s plenty of data on this site and like Portsmouth, has been designed so it doesn’t need too much updating.

We’ve given Hillingdon five blobs even though it’s a little difficult to navigate with LAPC emissions held separately to the air quality pages. What’s new is that ERG has produced Hillingdon’s emissions site with a clickable map with LAPC processes and associated emissions. These are colour coded for high, medium and low risk so concerned residents will be able to see instantly what is going on. We haven’t seen this done as clearly elsewhere, and is to be recommended.

Some might be surprised at the City of London’s air quality pages receiving five blobs for quality (but one blob for ease of finding). At first sight its pages are unremarkable, there’s no flashing links here but one long page of information. Actually stuffing all the information on one page can be quite refreshing as many sites need too many clicks to navigate the sections (more of that later). But as you scroll down the City’s pages, all the information needed is there along with pictures of air quality officer Ruth Calderwood explaining to school kids what is going on in the Corporation’s air quality monitors. Really, this site is there to show others that you don’t need fancy web skills to get five blobs in our quality survey – rather take your camera around with you and think about putting interesting stuff on the web.

Oxford’s Airwatch site has been a favourite for years and was a pioneer of the air quality barometer, which is still there along with reports and data. We still like this site – but don’t like the disappearance of an eyecatching logo on the council home page pointing to the site, now it is very hard to find. No doubt Oxford’s web Stazi will say that the Airwatch page doesn’t attract enough interest to justify space on the homepage, well having no link is going to make it worse.

Shrewsbury is our last ‘five blob’ for quality site and is a dark horse if you can find it. Some good pictures lift this surprisingly useful site out of the doldrums. The team have clearly thought about what they want to get across and its set out in a logical, non-gimmicky way. Air quality management areas are easily made out.

Others: Top 20
for local authority review, click here
 

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