Three London boroughs have won a share of £766,000 to help accelerate the switch to zero emission vehicles and tackle London’s toxic air pollution, with a further £875,000 coming from the councils themselves.
The mayor of London, Transport for London (TfL) and London Councils announced the cash award for:
- Camden – 23 schools will benefit from a School Low Emission Neighbourhood in the Frognal and Fitzjohns area. The proposal will see 8,500 pupils at 23 schools benefit from streets in the vicinity being restricted to electric and local access only, electric vehicle charging points in school car parks and points to power up at lamp posts close to home (£720,000 overall funding).
- Hackney – electrified market streets that will help businesses and customers make the transition to cleaner vehicles. New charging points on three market streets in the borough will be built into existing features such as bollards and posts, while remaining sensitive to the look-and-feel of the area. The points will serve some of the most diverse and vibrant streets in London, servicing street traders, commercial vehicles and public buildings (£270,000 overall funding)
- Hammersmith & Fulham – a Hammersmith Town Centre Low Emission Zone. A trail-blazing local Low Emission Zone that prioritises and encourages the use of the cleanest vehicles. It will build on a proposed zero emission street on Hammersmith Grove. This will be complimented with the installation of an electric taxi rank; a last-mile courier hub; and communication support (£650,000 overall funding).
The new ‘Neighbourhoods of the Future’ projects build on the six that were awarded last year, including a joint bid from Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Islington, one from Hammersmith and Fulham, a joint bid from Croydon and Sutton, and one each from Harrow, Haringey and Heathrow.
The London boroughs of Barnet and Redbridge have also confirmed their future involvement in the programme and will be developing projects for funding.
Neighbourhoods of the Future forms part of London’s £13m Go Ultra Low Cities scheme, the Government-funded drive to encourage the switch to electric cars and vans.
Shirley Rodrigues, the deputy mayor of environment and energy said: ‘The mayor is introducing hard-hitting measures to tackle London’s filthy air. He has already brought in a ‘toxicity ‘charge (T-Charge) for older cars in central London, and is upgrading London’s buses into one of the greenest fleets in the world. However he cannot do this alone and the Government needs to urgently face its responsibility and implement a national diesel scrappage fund to take the most polluting vehicles off our roads now.’
