News Articles Archive - Cross River Partnership

CRP is pleased to be featured in Green Fleet magazine, highlighting our practical, real world approach to transforming urban freight. The article Reinventing urban delivery through realworld practice showcases how CRP works with boroughs, BIDs and businesses to deliver cleaner, more efficient freight solutions across London.

The article spotlights a range of CRP’s freight pilots including the Pimlico Micro Logistics Hub with Westminster City Council. This real world trial demonstrated the value of zero emission deliveries, with e-cargo bikes travelling 22,578 km and helping avoid an estimated 4,186 kg of CO₂; evidence of both operational and environmental benefits.

We encourage partners to read the full feature and explore how these proven models can support healthier, more sustainable deliveries citywide – GREENFLEET 163 | GREENFLEET

CRP are continuing to champion freight on the Thames and other waterways to support more efficient and sustainable freight.

The past few months has seen CRP attend the Sustainable Construction Partners Reception at the House of Commons Terrace Pavilion, hosted on behalf of Kevin McKenna MP. This brought together leaders from across the construction, infrastructure, and logistics sectors to discuss the future of UK construction and the vital role ports can play in enabling more efficient and sustainable project delivery.

CRP have also contributed to discussions around The staggering state of freight in London through the London Assembly’s Transport Committee, providing expertise through delivering innovative, sustainable logistics projects on the river including transporting parcels and construction tool hire using the river as part of the London Light Freight River Trial.

The discussions have all highlighted how collaboration between across public and private sectors, incorporating ports, couriers and logistics operators, construction partners, local authorities, strategic agencies, central government and infrastructure projects will be essential in delivering lower carbon supply chains and resilient logistics routes across the UK.

If you’d like to hear more about how CRP can support you to make deliveries by river, reach out to CRP Senior Programme Manager Fiona Coull.

The Greater London Authority has launched two major tools to help shape a greener, more climate resilient city: the London Green Infrastructure Framework (LGIF) and London’s first Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). Together, these spatial tools provide a powerful evidence base to guide how we plan, invest in, and manage London’s green and blue spaces.

What is the LGIF?

The London Green Infrastructure Framework is an interactive, map based tool that brings key London-wide data on green infrastructure (GI) into one place. It helps users:

Identify where new or improved GI can deliver the greatest benefits

Understand opportunities for climate resilience, nature recovery and community wellbeing

Pinpoint priority areas for creating or enhancing green and blue features

What is the LNRS?

London’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy includes a written plan and a mapped set of opportunities for restoring nature. Developed with input from Londoners and local organisations, it:

Highlights the areas where nature most needs support

Sets out priority actions for recovery

Identifies opportunity zones where interventions can have the biggest impact

How can these tools support you?

For local authority planners:
Use the LGIF and LNRS to shape local plans, assess development proposals, and target GI investment where it’s most needed.

For community groups:
Explore local opportunities for nature recovery, design meaningful projects, and use the evidence base to strengthen funding bids.

For landowners and site managers:
Inform land management decisions, design greener developments, and create spaces that support nature, climate resilience and local communities.

Find out more on the GLA website here!

CRP is delighted to launch our brand‑new Wider Networks webpage, a dynamic showcase of the organisations and experts who power and enhance our work. While our long‑standing CRP partners remain central to everything we do, this new page celebrates the growing networks across London, the UK and internationally that help us amplify our impact.

Collaboration is at the heart of CRP’s mission, and our expanding wider networks reflect the diverse and innovative organisations working with us to deliver sustainable, community‑focused solutions for places and people.

Our academic partners, including University College London, Imperial College, Kings College London and University of Westminster., provide vital research and insight.

We engage with major landowners such as The Portman Estate and British Land to create greener, people‑focused spaces, and maintain strong links with Department for Transport, Defra and Department for Business & Trade to align our work with national sustainability and transport priorities.

Internationally, partnerships with organisations such as C40 Cities and ALICE Logistics enable valuable knowledge exchange and help extend CRP’s impact beyond the UK.

We collaborate with leading healthcare institutions including Great Ormond Street Hospital and Guys and St Thomas Hospital to support healthier communities.

Our work with tech innovators like Grid Smarter Cities and Vivacity brings digital tools and data‑driven insights into our projects, while logistics partners, from EVRI to Delivery Mates, help us trial cleaner, smarter delivery solutions.

We also continue to grow our network of businesses, charities and community groups, helping shape more inclusive and thriving neighbourhoods.

👉 Visit the new CRP Wider Networks page to explore the full picture and discover how collaboration shapes our mission.

Transport for London has released a new collection of case studies highlighting pioneering approaches to sustainable logistics across the capital and we’re delighted that our London Light Freight Walking Trial has been featured.

Completed in 2024, this project explored whether walking freight couriers using electric assisted trolleys (e-walkers) could provide a cleaner, more efficient last-mile delivery option in busy, pedestrian areas.

Led by Cross River Partnership (CRP), the 10-month Defra funded trial was delivered in collaboration with The Fitzrovia Partnership, Camden Council, UPS and Heal’s.

TfL’s case study highlights several important insights, including:

Walking freight offers a practical supplement to traditional delivery vehicles.

E-walkers provide a low-emission, cost effective solution for short, local delivery routes.

Couriers reported that e-walkers were easier, quicker and more practical when delivering in dense or challenging urban environments.

We’re proud to see this innovative CRP project recognised by TfL as part of London’s growing body of evidence on sustainable logistics.

Read the full case study here: Walking freight trial case study

CRP has a strong track record in bringing innovative, sustainable urban logistics to life — from pioneering walking freight and rolling out parcel locker networks, to testing logistics hubs and trialling river freight solutions. If you’re looking to make your organisation’s deliveries cleaner, smarter and more efficient, we’d love to hear from you.

Contact CRP’s Fiona Coull to explore what we can achieve together!

We are delighted to share some fantastic news from our partners at Islington Council, who have successfully secured £932,500 in government funding to supercharge the borough’s electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure. Part of a wider £1.86 million pot shared with Camden Council, this investment from the Department for Transport’s Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund will be matched by significant private investment to create a cleaner, healthier transport network.

Islington has already delivered over 600 publicly accessible charge points, but this additional capital will allow for a massive expansion. Between 2026 and 2030, the council plans to install at least 840 new points, including 600 lamp column chargers and 240 fast charge points. This boost supports the council’s ambitious goal of providing more than 1,400 on-street EV charge points across the borough by 2030.

Councillor Rowena Champion, Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality and Transport, noted that by putting this infrastructure in place now, the council is making it easier for drivers to ditch petrol and diesel, ultimately improving local air quality.

With procurement strategies expected to be finalised in spring 2026, this project perfectly aligns with Cross River Partnership’s mission to support sustainable logistics and cleaner air across London. We look forward to seeing these chargers hit the streets soon!

Read the full press release here: https://www.islington.media/news/powering-forward-with-nearly-gbp-1m-funding-for-electric-vehicle-charging

CRP is proud to have expanded our Consultancy Services offering this year, with five completely new consultancy client commissions, from Better Bankside BID, Guys and St. Thomas’ Trust and UCL.

We have been very pleased to bring our knowledge, expertise, skills and experience gained from up-to-the-minute grant-funded project delivery to bear on our consultancy commissions. This lends real strength and depth to the services and advice that we are able to offer, across topics including:

Decarbonisation and Sustainability

Placemaking and Greening

Strategy Planning

Monitoring and Data Analysis

Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement

For further information please contact CRP Senior Programme Manager Fiona Coull.

Westminster Extra recently published an article outlining the new plans for the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street.

From this summer traffic is set to be banned within a mile of oxford street, the Mayor of London has confirmed. He has outlined new plans to turn the landmark shopping area into a hub for “world‑class events”.

Sadiq Khan announced that he has directed his team to accelerate work on fully pedestrianizing the stretch between Oxford Circus and Orchard Street. The move was enabled after the Mayor secured government approval to take over local planning powers for the site.

Once implemented, the scheme will block access for all motor vehicles including buses, taxis, private‑hire cars, and pedicabs, as well as bicycles and scooters. The redesign will also introduce a dedicated events space intended to generate additional income.

Westminster Council had previously advanced its own proposals for improvements along Oxford Street.

The Mayor said that 2,700 people took part in the public consultation, with most respondents supporting the plan to remove traffic. “Following strong support from Londoners and businesses, I’ve asked the team to move at pace with plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street this summer so we can deliver a vibrant, world-class, accessible destination,” Sir Sadiq said.

Clearly the devil will be in the detail, but no one doubts the need to re-establish Oxford Street as the jewel in central London’s crown.

For more information on this see the Mayor gets his way on Oxford Street! | Westminster Extra from Westminster Extra.

Our recent visit to British Land’s new multi-storey Southwark Urban Logistics site with Aver PR offered a fantastic look at how London’s logistics spaces are evolving.

The site features a range of potential units, designed with high ceilings and key infrastructure like three-phase power to support modern e-cargo bike and EV logistics operations. It was encouraging to see practical additions such as blue roofs alongside improved staff facilities like a kitchen and office spaces, which are becoming vital for the next generation of urban logistics hubs.

We spent time discussing the operational side of these developments, from tenant vetting to the integration of large-scale couriers with sustainable last-mile solutions.

If you are currently navigating site feasibility or looking for ways to implement low-emission delivery strategies, we are here to help you make sense of these options. We have the network and the expertise to help you find the right fit for your operations, so please do get in touch if you’d like to chat about a specific project!

Cross River Partnership (CRP) joined transport, planning and sustainability leaders in Birmingham last month for the inaugural Pathways to Net Zero conference, hosted by Landor Links. The event brought together experts from across the UK to explore how the transport sector can accelerate progress towards achieving a net zero network by 2050.

The conference delivered a packed agenda of forward‑thinking discussions and practical case studies on policies, partnerships and innovations required to cut emissions at scale. A key takeaway was the recognition that achieving net zero requires a whole‑system approach, balancing technology, behaviour change, integrated planning, and long‑term investment – particularly as demand on the transport network continues to grow.

It was also encouraging to see discussions around the future of freight, which plays a critical role in decarbonisation but faces complex challenges across roads, logistics, and last‑mile delivery. There was recognition of the vital role rail freight can play in cutting transport emissions.

At CRP, we’re proud to be part of that shift through our innovative work and ambitions for Waterloo Freight Hub, showcasing how low‑carbon urban freight solutions can be transformative!

Read more about our work to deliver the award-winning Waterloo Freight Hub trial, and future ambitions here: The Waterloo Freight Hub – Cross River Partnership

Archives: News Articles

CRP Featured in Green Fleet: Reinventing Urban Delivery

Freight on the Thames

Exciting news for London’s environment and future resilience!

Explore CRP’s New Wider Networks Page!

TfL Spotlights CRP’s London Light Freight Walking Trial

Partner Spotlight: Islington’s Electric Future

CRP Consultancy Services

Oxford Street Pedestrianisation

CRP’s Visit to the Southwark Urban Logistics Site

CRP Shares Insights from the First Pathways to Net Zero Conference