What's the air quality in Waveney? NO₂ 7.9 µg/m³

In 2025 the average resident of Waveney lived with background NO₂ of 7.9 µg/m³, High for England and Wales and below the WHO guideline of 10. PM2.5 was 8.5 µg/m³, Very High for England and Wales and 1.7 times the WHO guideline of 5. The typical area in England and Wales has NO₂ of 7.2 and PM2.5 of 7.4 µg/m³.

PM2.5
8.5 µg/m³
NO₂ for England and Wales
High
Figures for
2025 annual average

Modelled background levels averaged over where residents live (Census 2021), not roadside levels. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Defra modelled background pollution, 2025. How we calculate this

All house prices in Waveney
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Is the air quality good in Waveney?

Background NO₂ in Waveney is 7.9 µg/m³, below the WHO guideline of 10, and higher than the typical area (7.2). That puts it in the High band. Background PM2.5 in Waveney is 8.5 µg/m³, 1.7 times the WHO guideline of 5, and higher than the typical area (7.4). That puts it in the Very High band. Most of England and Wales is above the WHO guideline for PM2.5, so the bands compare places with each other rather than giving a pass or fail.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂): 7.9 µg/m³

NO₂ level is High, on a scale from Very Low to Very High.

High means the second-highest fifth of areas in England and Wales for NO₂.

NO₂ bands for areas in England and Wales, in µg/m³, with the map colour for each
Very Lowup to 4.7
Low4.7 to 6.5
Typical6.5 to 7.7
High7.7 to 9.2
Very Highover 9.2

WHO guideline: 10 µg/m³ (in the Very High band). UK legal limit: 40 µg/m³.

Fine particles (PM2.5): 8.5 µg/m³

PM2.5 level is Very High, on a scale from Very Low to Very High.

Very High means the highest fifth of areas in England and Wales for PM2.5.

PM2.5 bands for areas in England and Wales, in µg/m³, with the map colour for each
Very Lowup to 6.0
Low6.0 to 7.2
Typical7.2 to 7.7
High7.7 to 8.2
Very Highover 8.2

WHO guideline: 5 µg/m³ (in the Very Low band). UK legal limit: 20 µg/m³, with a target of 10 µg/m³ in England by 2040.

The bands split every area we cover into fifths by its level, from Very Low to Very High. The map uses the same colours.

Which part of Waveney has the cleanest air?

Rumburgh has the lowest background NO₂ of the 58 areas of Waveney, at 6.5 µg/m³. Carlton Colville has the highest, at 8.4 µg/m³. Average house prices are shown alongside, so you can weigh air quality against cost.

Areas of Waveney by background NO₂, lowest first, with PM2.5 and average house price
AreaNO₂PM2.5Average price
RumburghLow6.58.3£475,100
WissettTypical6.68.3£387,573
All Saints and St Nicholas, South ElmhamTypical6.78.3£395,000
St James, South ElmhamTypical6.78.3£670,000
St Michael, South ElmhamTypical6.78.3—
WesthallTypical6.88.4£393,750
South CoveTypical6.88.3—
St Margaret, IlketshallTypical6.88.3—
UggeshallTypical6.88.4£325,000
St Peter, South ElmhamTypical6.88.3—
St Margaret, South ElmhamTypical6.88.3—
SothertonTypical6.88.3£210,000
SotterleyTypical6.88.4—
RedishamTypical6.88.4—
SpexhallTypical6.98.3£238,333
BlyfordTypical6.98.4—
SouthwoldTypical6.98.3£481,368
ReydonTypical6.98.3£375,472
Brampton with StovenTypical6.98.4£310,500
BenacreTypical6.98.5—
St Cross, South ElmhamTypical6.98.3£190,000
St Lawrence, IlketshallTypical6.98.4£190,000
FlixtonTypical7.08.3£245,000
FlixtonTypical7.08.3£245,000
St Andrew, IlketshallTypical7.08.4£446,500
FrostendenTypical7.08.4£494,500
KessinglandTypical7.08.7£227,762
Henstead with Hulver StreetTypical7.08.4£858,500
HoltonTypical7.08.4£388,600
St. Mary, South Elmham Otherwise HomersfieldTypical7.08.3£282,500
RushmereTypical7.18.4—
Wangford with HenhamTypical7.18.4£278,892
ShadingfieldTypical7.18.4£385,000
Willingham St MaryTypical7.18.4—
St John, IlketshallTypical7.18.4£810,000
WrenthamTypical7.18.4£296,050
CortonTypical7.28.4£280,452
HalesworthTypical7.28.4£261,064
ElloughTypical7.38.5—
BlundestonTypical7.38.2£352,605
MettinghamTypical7.38.4—
RingsfieldTypical7.38.5£615,000
WestonTypical7.48.5£437,500
MutfordTypical7.48.5£303,714
ShipmeadowTypical7.48.5£333,000
BungayTypical7.58.4£261,696
LoundTypical7.68.3£356,600
BarshamTypical7.68.5—
OultonTypical7.78.2£254,267
GislehamTypical7.78.8£294,333
BecclesHigh8.18.7£266,175
WorlinghamHigh8.28.7£332,405
LowestoftHigh8.28.6£245,535
Oulton BroadHigh8.28.4£264,000
BarnbyHigh8.38.6£363,928
North CoveHigh8.38.7£274,000
Somerleyton, Ashby and HerringfleetHigh8.48.3£546,125
Carlton ColvilleHigh8.48.8£266,792

Levels in µg/m³, 2025 annual average.

How does air quality in Waveney compare with nearby areas?

Background NO₂ in Waveney compared with the nearest other area in East Suffolk.

Compare Waveney with a different area

Does this include busy roads?

No. These are background levels: yearly averages over 1 km squares, away from the immediate influence of roads. Right beside a busy road in Waveney, NO₂ can be much higher. Councils publish roadside monitoring in their annual air quality reports.

What else do people ask about Waveney?

More quick answers on house prices, sales, areas, green space, crime, air quality and listed buildings in Waveney.

Where does this data come from?

Price information is from HM Land Registry, location boundaries are from OpenStreetMap, and households and population are from Nomis Census 2021 postcode estimates (21 March 2021). Parks and green space are from OS Open Greenspace. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Crime is from police.uk street-level data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk. Listed buildings and scheduled monuments are from Historic England and Cadw, and conservation areas from planning.data.gov.uk. © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Source: planning.data.gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Air quality is from Defra modelled background pollution maps. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Defra modelled background pollution, 2025.

Last updated 11 November 2026 at 01:35 with the latest Land Registry data (September 2026). The Waveney dataset covers 4,295 postcodes.

Read our full data methodology

Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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