Construction Dust Risk Screening Tool (CDRA)
Free, instant dust risk screening for your development — built on the IAQM method.
Planning officers are asking for construction dust assessments more and more, often as a pre-commencement condition that lands late and holds up your start on site. This free tool tells you where you stand in about a minute. Type in your site's postcode, answer a few short questions about the works, and you'll get an indicative dust risk rating for the four activities a full assessment covers: demolition, earthworks, construction and trackout.
It won't replace a formal report — a planning officer needs one prepared and signed by a competent assessor — but it will tell you whether you're likely to need one, what risk level to expect, and what that means for mitigation on site. If the answer points to a full assessment, you can request a fixed-fee quote from the same page.
Do I need a construction dust assessment?
There's no single national threshold, which is exactly why this one catches people out. In practice, you're likely to need a Construction Dust Risk Assessment (CDRA) if any of the following apply:
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There are sensitive receptors — homes, schools, nurseries, hospitals, care homes — within 350 metres of your site boundary.
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Your project involves demolition, particularly of larger or older buildings.
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You're moving significant volumes of earth, or working on dusty, exposed ground.
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The site sits within, or close to, an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).
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Your local validation checklist asks for one — as many London boroughs and councils across Kent and Essex now do.
The tool runs the IAQM screening step for you. It measures the distance from your site to the nearest building using open map data, checks whether anything falls inside that 350 metre threshold, and separately picks out nearby schools, nurseries, GP surgeries, hospitals and care homes — the receptors planning officers look at hardest. If a sensitive use sits close to your works, you'll want that on your radar early.
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How the screener works
It follows the same four-step process we use in our reports, set out in the IAQM's Guidance on the Assessment of Dust from Demolition and Construction (updated January 2024):
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Locate. Search your postcode or address and the tool drops a pin on the map. Drag it to the edge of your site nearest the neighbours for the best result.
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Measure. Working outwards from the site, it finds the nearest receptor and counts the properties around you from open Ordnance Survey and OpenStreetMap data — no typing distances by hand.
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Describe the works. Tell it the scale of demolition, earthworks, construction and vehicle movements. Plain options, with the IAQM thresholds shown next to each.
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Screen. It combines the emission magnitude of your works with the sensitivity of the surrounding area — using the IAQM risk matrices — and returns a Low, Medium or High rating for each activity, plus the mitigation tier that implies.
Everything runs live in your browser from public data. Nothing is stored, and you don't need an account.
What the tool assesses
Construction dust doesn't come from one place, so the IAQM method splits it into four activities and rates each one separately:
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Demolition — breaking up structures, especially older masonry and concrete. Usually the highest dust magnitude of the four.
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Earthworks — excavation, grading and stockpiling, which can throw dust across a wide area in dry conditions.
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Construction — cutting, grinding, mixing and moving materials during the build itself.
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Trackout — mud and dust carried onto public roads by site vehicles, then dried and re-suspended by passing traffic.
For each one, the tool weighs up dust soiling (nuisance and cleanliness) and human health (fine particulate, or PM₁₀), taking the local background pollution and the number and closeness of receptors into account.
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From screening to a submission-ready CDRA
When you're ready to satisfy the condition, that's where we come in. A full Construction Dust Risk Assessment from us is specific to your site and your programme — no template with the address swapped in. It sets out the baseline air quality, the receptor survey, the risk rating for each activity and a proportionate mitigation schedule, ready to discharge the condition or support the application. Where a Dust Management Plan is needed, we prepare that too, and where the scheme needs an Environmental Impact Assessment, the dust work folds into the Air Quality chapter.
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Cost and timescales
A straightforward single-phase residential scheme in a low-sensitivity area sits at the lower end of the £550–£950 range. Larger demolition or redevelopment in an AQMA, with monitoring, is more involved and priced accordingly. We aim to send a fee proposal within 24 hours of getting your site details, and most standard CDRAs are turned around in five to seven working days.
To quote, we usually need the site address and red-line boundary, a short description of the works and programme, any planning correspondence or validation letter, and a site location plan.
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Do I need a construction dust risk assessment for planning?
Often, yes — especially if there are homes, schools or other sensitive uses within 350 metres, if you're demolishing or moving earth, or if you're in or near an AQMA. Many validation checklists now require one. The tool above gives you an instant indication for your specific site.
What is a Construction Dust Risk Assessment (CDRA)?
A technical report that assesses the risk of dust and particulate matter from demolition, earthworks, construction and trackout affecting nearby receptors, and sets out proportionate mitigation. It's sometimes called an Air Quality Dust Risk Assessment (AQDRA).
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What is the IAQM dust assessment method?
The nationally recognised framework — the IAQM's Guidance on the Assessment of Dust from Demolition and Construction — that local authorities and environmental health teams expect to see applied. It screens the need for an assessment, then rates each activity by combining the dust emission magnitude with the sensitivity of the surrounding area.
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What is a Dust Management Plan?
A standalone, practical document the site team actually uses on site: mitigation measures mapped to each phase, monitoring locations and trigger levels, named responsible people and a complaints procedure. It's usually required for medium and high-risk sites.
Is the online tool a substitute for a full assessment?
No. It's a free, indicative screening aid to help you plan — it isn't a CDRA and a planning officer will still expect a full report prepared by a competent assessor. It's designed to tell you whether, and roughly why, you need one.
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Does demolition on its own need a dust assessment?
Frequently, yes. Demolition produces the highest dust magnitudes of the four activities, and older buildings may also raise asbestos considerations that need a separate pre-demolition survey. Screen your site above to see the likely rating.
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Get in Touch
If you need advice on whether an Construction Dust Risk Assessment is required for your site, or if you're ready to commission one, we're here to help. We work directly with architects, developers, planning consultants, and local authorities to deliver reports that support successful planning outcomes.
Get in touch to discuss your site and receive a quote.
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