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£1m fund for London employers to implement green
initiatives
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Five business groups across the city to tackle
pollution
The Mayor of London, , is working with London
businesses and other organisations to clean up some of
the capital’s most polluted areas with a £1m fund that will help
to implement hard-hitting measures to tackle toxic air and to
reduce filthy emissions from dirty vehicles.
Five ‘Business Low Emissions Neighbourhoods’ –
spanning five boroughs – were selected from a total of
15 bids, showing the wide-ranging support for improving air
quality among London’s business community.
The Business Low Emissions Neighbourhoods will provide measures
such as anti-idling campaigns, zero-emission delivery services
and cleaner walking routes for staff and
customers. They are being brought in by local business
groups working in partnership with their local councils, which
have supported the development of the proposals.
The five successful Business Low Emissions Neighbourhoods will
take place in the following boroughs and proposals include:
- Southwark - The Better Bankside and Team London
Bridge Business Improvement Districts will deliver a project
around Borough High Street enhancing and promoting routes TO
reduce emissions on the main roads. Interventions will include a
clean walking route from London Bridge Station to Guys
Hospital, consolidating parcel deliveries so that they are
sent into one location and distributed via a low or zero-emission
vehicle to reduce congestion and pollution, a green
cycle path, and anti-idling campaigns.
- Hammersmith and Fulham - Hammersmith Business
Improvement District will deliver a project around the
Hammersmith Flyover working closely with local organisations such
as the Lyric Theatre, which have offered free space for events
and workshops. The project includes a secure hub for people
to store their bikes, and a host of greening and other
improvements such as a green wall to help transform some of the
grey car-dominated parts of this busy destination.
- Islington – the Archway Town Centre Group will deliver a
variety of interventions to support local businesses in going
green and improving the area for walking and cycling, including a
shared electric vehicle for deliveries, a green link cycle
route, and a new park outside a children’s centre. It
is also exploring the possibility of installing lockers for
deliveries at, or close to, Archway station, to help residents
avoid missed deliveries and provide an alternative to getting
their online shopping delivered to work, which often results in
extra traffic pollution and congestion in central London.
- Camden - Euston Business Improvement District will
provide an attractive cleaner walking route from Euston to
Regents Park, helping people avoid some of the most polluted
roads in London.
- Westminster - Northbank Business Improvement District is
a project around Aldwych and the Strand which will reduce
pollution and make this extremely busy area - home to a host of
important destinations and attractions - much more inviting for
walking and cycling. As part of the project, consultants will
work with all the local businesses and
organisations to help them cut the number
of unnecessary deliveries. Other interventions
include a range of street improvements such as parks and
innovative lighting, a project with St Clement Danes School
to improve walking routes to school, cleaner and more
inviting walking and cycling routes, and an
eco-kiosk co-designed with the local community which
will provide information about local attractions as well as air
quality and other environmental information.
Approximately £100,000 in remaining funding will
support some elements of a Low Emission Neighbourhood
around Homerton Hospital. This will provide walking and cycling
routes and facilities for the 1.5m patients and 4,000 staff each
year. It will also provide electric vehicle charge points which
will be used by the hospital and the public.
Speaking ahead of today’s air quality joint select committee,
the Mayor of London, , said: “London’s toxic
air is a public health crisis and I’m delighted to be working
with businesses across the capital to help rid the city of these
pollution hotspots. As a pro-business Mayor I am pleased to be
working with businesses to clean up our air.
“Targeted local initiatives, such as Low Emission Neighbourhoods,
are a great weapon in the fight against air pollution and this
action we are taking is vital for safeguarding London’s health.
“But I cannot tackle this crisis alone. It is sickening that
Government is yet to match my ambition; we urgently need
them to step up and face their responsibilities by delivering a
national vehicle scrappage fund and a 21st Century Clean Air Act
that is fit for purpose.”
Ruth Duston, Chief Executive of Northbank BID,
said: “The Northbank LEN area is a huge generator of visitors to
the central London for the best quality and variety of cultural
and retail attractions with world wide reputations for
innovation, creativity and regeneration.
“We look forward to working with local businesses and the
community to improve air quality and enable behaviour change in a
variety of exciting projects to make this part of central London
healthier for all.”
These Business Low Emission Neighbourhoods, funded by the London
Economic Action Partnership (LEAP), build on Sadiq’s
successful Borough Low Emission Neighbourhoods,
currently being delivered in five locations across
EIGHT boroughs, and already implementing various
measures to reduce emissions and visibly transform areas to
support walking and cycling.
Natalie Campbell, LEAP Board member,
said: “LEAP is delighted to support London’s businesses and
organisations deliver such a great range of innovative and
impactful Low Emission Neighbourhoods. These LENs will help to
protect staff, customers, and visitors to some of our busiest and
polluted areas, as well as helping to increase the attractiveness
of these areas and attract additional investment.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
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LEAP is the
London Economic Action Partnership. LEAP brings entrepreneurs
and business together with London’s government to identify
actions to support and lead economic growth and job creation in
the capital. It is the region’s Local Enterprise Partnership.
- The Mayor wants to work with the government to help tackle
dangerous air pollution once and for all. Government actions
should include:
- Setting up a national scrappage fund: the Mayor has called on
government to implement his new proposals for a national ‘dirty’
vehicle scrappage fund that financially compensates motorists and
enables government to get a grip on killer toxic air. Proposals
include: £3,500 for up to 70,000 polluting London van and minibus
drivers to buy cleaner vehicles; a £2,000 credit scheme to help
low-income London families scrap up to 130,000 cars; and £1,000
to help scrap London’s oldest taxis – with additional support
from the Mayor.
- Producing a 21st century Clean Air Act: new legislation would
provide the overarching framework for action, dragging the law up
to date to cope with the massive air quality challenges we face
today. This would provide a legally enforceable right to clean
air – standards currently enforced by the European Union and the
Government should introduce new powers to better regulate all
sources of emissions, not just road transport, and give powers to
local authorities.
- Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) and other fiscal reforms: it is
essential that national policy is pulling people in the right
direction. Unfortunately VED continues to make the purchase of
diesel cars more attractive.
- Devolving additional powers: London needs additional powers
to manage toxic emissions such as pollution from construction
sites and river traffic. For example additional powers to
implement construction and river low-emission zones similar to
those used for road vehicles.
- Greater funding for City Hall and boroughs: Government should
recognise that London’s air quality challenges are linked to a
national problem and provide additional support. This should
include a share of Londoners’ VED revenues to fund improvements
of nationally important roads.
- More information on the five Borough Low Emission
Neighbourhoods is available here
