H&F Receives New Funding to Tackle Air Pollution
Plans include zero emission street in Hammersmith Grove and electric taxi rank
Hammersmith & Fulham is one of three London boroughs to benefit from new funds aiming to speed up moves to clean up London's air pollution.
The Mayor of London, TfL and London Councils have announced today, 5 March that £766,000 of new funding is being given to three local boroughs to help accelerate the switch to zero emission vehicles to tackle London's toxic air pollution.
The 'Neighbourhoods of the Future' projects include creating a zero emission street in Hammersmith Grove and a wider Low Emission Zone near Hammersmith town centre, plus a new school low emission zone in Camden and electric charging points in streets in Hackney's markets.
These new projects build on six which received funds last year, including £210,000 given to H&F for a zero emission street for Hammersmith town centre including standard and rapid charge points for electric vehicles, as well as improvements to public space and other innovations such as sustainable urban drainage.
The £766,000 funding will be matched with around £875,000 from the London boroughs involved, showing a firm commitment from the capital's municipal leaders to work in partnership with the Mayor to clean up the city's air.
The winning Neighbourhoods of the Future bid from Hammersmith and Fulham is as follows:
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. The project has overall funding of £650,000.
Cllr Wesley Harcourt, Hammersmith & Fulham Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Residents' Services, said: '"We have innovative plans to radically improve air quality in Hammersmith Town Centre and encourage people to adopt less polluting forms of transport.
"So we're delighted to get this funding which will help us remain at the vanguard of environmental change in inner London."
Shirley Rodrigues, the Deputy Mayor of Environment & Energy said: "To get to grips with London's toxic air health crisis the Mayor has significantly increased air quality funding and these new local schemes will help accelerate the switch to cleaner vehicles around town centres, schools and high streets to help dramatically reduce toxic pollution emissions.
"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."
Neighbourhoods of the Future form part of London's £13 million Go Ultra Low Cities scheme, the Government-funded drive to encourage the switch to electric cars and vans.
You can read more about Go Ultra Low Cities here.
March 5, 2018