News Articles Archive - Cross River Partnership

London Rivers Week will take place between Saturday 23rd May and Sunday 31st May 2026 and is a week-long annual campaign inspiring the public to celebrate all of London’s rivers and the many projects taking place to protect them. The theme for 2026 is ‘Know Your Local River’ and aims to encourage Londoners to identify, explore and connect with their nearest river.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of London Rivers Week – a decade of celebrating, protecting and improving London’s incredible network of rivers and waterways

There are a range of exciting events taking place across the week including:

Guided walks

Public art

Community workshops

Educational events

Find out more information here: https://www.thames21.org.uk/joinacampaign/london-rivers-week-2026/

 The event is organised by the London Rivers Week Steering Group on behalf of River Partnerships in London (RiPL), including the Environment Agency, Thames21, South East Rivers Trust, London Wildlife Trust, ZSL, CPRE London, and the Thames Estuary Partnership. 

Through our partnership-led approach, CRP has delivered a range of projects connected to the Thames, including retrofitting for London’s first fully electric workboat and the London Light Freight River Trial.

Contact CRP Senior Programme Manager Fiona Coull to find out more about CRP’s work on the Thames.

We’re really pleased to share the news that the South Bank & Waterloo Sustains Us Delivery Plan 2026-2030 has officially launched, marking an exciting new chapter for the South Bank and Waterloo area.

This plan serves as a practical roadmap for creating a fairer and greener neighbourhood over the next four years. It’s fantastic to see that the goals are based directly on local feedback gathered at the Shaping our Future event and the Wonderful Waterloo and South Bank Fun Day. It’s a great example of how community insights can shape a long-term vision.

We are thrilled to see our work featured as a case study, specifically the CRP Waterloo Freight Hub as well as the improvements at Hercules Road, delivered through our Healthy Streets Everyday II (HSEII) programme. These projects show exactly how sustainable freight and improved public spaces contribute to the plan’s wider goals.

The plan breaks down the Sustains Us vision into clear actions across four main programme goals. It highlights projects already on the ground and sets out specific priorities through to 2030. By acting as a shared resource for residents, businesses, and partners, the plan makes it much easier for everyone to stay coordinated and work together.

You can read the full plan and see the CRP case study (pages 16-18) here: Sustains Us Delivery Plan 2026 – 2030.

The Port of London Authority has launched this year’s Thames Environment Fund with a great range of opportunities to support environmental work along the tidal Thames.

There are three funding routes this year:

£100k to support environmental improvement programmes that can make a strategic difference to the tidal Thames.

£50k to empower community groups making a difference to their local environment.

£25k for groups dedicated to caring for tributaries of the tidal Thames.

The deadline is Tuesday 30 June, so there is still time to explore the opportunities and apply! You can find full details on the PLA website (Thames Environment Fund) or get in touch with them directly at environment@pla.co.uk.

Over the last couple of months CRP have been delighted to attend a variety of events across the sector, helping us stay connected to the latest developments and the ideas driving our work forward. These opportunities allow us to engage directly with peers across the industry, share ideas and stay informed on emerging priorities.

Being actively involved in our networks is an important part of what we do at CRP. It helps us build strong relationships and ensures we’re bringing relevant insights back into our projects.

Events that CRP has had the opportunity to attend include:

The Centre of Ageing Resilience in a Changing Environment (CARICE) Science and Networking Conference at King’s College London, focused on lifestyle, health span and resilience. It was a valuable experience hearing insights from leading researchers and practitioners to explore how nutrition, physical activity and the microbiome can support healthy, ageing and resilient communities.

Innovation Zero 2026 was an insightful event that highlighted both the opportunities and the urgency behind delivering a resilient, low carbon London. The key takeaways were that delivering true climate progress requires deeper decarbonisation of energy supply alongside infrastructure changes, stronger policies on increasingly local and urgent climate risks, and more joined-up, collaborative approaches across interconnected policy areas.

The Transport Planning Society’s Designing Equitable Communities event was a thoughtful and energising session on how transport and place design can work better for everyone. The focus on designing with women and girls in mind was particularly powerful, with clear links to improved safety, accessibility and confidence for all users.

CRP were also delighted to be welcomed to E.ON to take a tour around Citigen, a hidden power station buried in the heart of London which supplies decentralised district energy, a lower carbon and cost-efficient source of energy. It was a great opportunity to better understand how district energy systems operate in practice and the role they can play in supporting lower carbon energy solutions.

These events have provided valuable opportunities for CRP to connect, share insights and stay informed on key issues.

This month CRP have launched our latest Healthy Streets Everyday II campaign Walk This May, helping you to discover cleaner, healthier walking routes that you can use to get around London on foot.

We’ve curated four leisure walking routes that prioritise lower air pollution, quieter streets and more pleasant environments, making it easier for you to explore your streets in London. The routes cover:

Camden to Regents Park

Vauxhall to Oval

America Street to Hercules Road

Somerset House to Senate House

Why do these routes matter? Well, choosing to walk for shorter journeys, instead of drive, will improve your physical and mental health and reduce pollution, helping everyone to breathe cleaner air in London.

The campaign coincides with Living Streets’ National Walking Month, that this year prioritises the benefits of walking or wheeling for women, coinciding with a celebratory mass walking event across the UK on Friday 29th May.

CRP routes mean you get to explore new neighbourhoods and discover new parts of London, including initiatives delivered through our Healthy Streets Everyday II programme, supported by the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund!

For more information on our Healthy Streets Everyday II programme, please contact CRP Sustainable Transport Manager Ross Phillips.

The CRP Team is as excited as everyone else about the new opportunities for collaboration following the recent Local Government Election Results.

CRP has seen many different Elections over its 30 year history and each one throws up the chance to check in, re-prioritise, refresh and innovate what we are all doing in London, as well as how we are doing it.

Huge congratulations to all the Councillors who have gained or held seats!

We look forward to continuing to work closely with London Boroughs led by a range of different parties to deliver projects that make good sense to all.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the CRP Team if you would like a briefing about the #Project Delivery work we can do for you.

Here’s to continuing to work together in partnership across London’s Boroughs and Business Improvement Districts for better outcomes for Londoners, businesses and visitors. We can do it!

Last month’s CRP Board meeting took place in-person at Tower Bridge North Lounge. 

It was a truly spectacular setting at which to formally thank Simon Pitkeathley for his 15 years Co-Chairing the CRP Board.

We really appreciate the City of London Corporation’s Simon Duckworth (CRP Board Public Sector Co-Chair) arranging special access to this venue for us.

Please see a short video showing all CRP Partners collaborating: https://youtube.com/shorts/-2ooCRWDlsk?feature=share

At the meeting the CRP Team launched the final version CRP Annual Report & Business Plan 2025-27 – Cross River Partnership.

Westminster City Council’s Richard Cressey is leading the recruitment process to select a new Director for CRP.  The application closing date was 17th May 2026. Thank you very much to Simon Duckworth, Nadia Broccardo, Hasanul Hoque, James Crosbie and Natalie Monaghan for sitting on interview panels. Watch this space for an announcement in due course!

The next meeting of the CRP Board will be in-person at Team London Bridge‘s offices, on 8th October 2026 – thank you very much to CRP Board Private Sector Co-Chair Nadia Broccardo for hosting this.

Cross River Partnership (CRP) is proud to partner with Westminster City Council (WCC) to support delivery of the Westminster Sustainable City Charter Innovation Challenge. The project is being led by Westminster’s Economic Growth and Green Economy teams and funded through WCC’s Westminster Climate Fund.

Designed to support Sustainable City Charter signatories and local innovators, the Challenge will identify local SMEs with low carbon solutions and products and match them with signatories to trial these in real-world commercial settings.

Through these collaborative pilot projects, the Challenge will help reduce signatories’ emissions, as well as drive the growth of the low carbon industry across the borough.

For SMEs, it is an opportunity to demonstrate impact, learn from ambitious pilots, and pitch their solutions to wider audiences. For signatories, it is a chance to trial new approaches.

CRP will be leading Stage 1 of the Challenge as a trusted delivery partner, including leading engagement with Sustainable City Charter signatories and Westminster Business Improvement Districts to understand the barriers that slow the adoption or expansion of decarbonisation solutions in Westminster to inform the design of the Challenge before its launch in Summer 2026.

The initiative aligns with key WCC strategies, including the Westminster Plan for a Fairer Economy, the Local Area Energy Plan for Westminster, the Climate Emergency Action Plan 2025–2030, and the Zero Carbon City 2040 Action Plan.

Read our press release to find out more: https://crossriverpartnership.org/?publications=press-release-crp-supports-westminster-city-councils-sustainable-city-charter-innovation-challenge.

Explore CRP’s newly launched project page here: Westminster Sustainable City Charter Innovation Challenge

For more information on the Challenge please contact CRP Project Manager Katherine Fairfax.

We’re pleased to share the launch of CRP’s Annual Report and Business Plan for 2025–27, showcasing a year of strong progress and setting out an ambitious roadmap for the years ahead.

Over the past year, CRP has continued to grow its reach, influence and impact. We welcomed two new Board Co‑Chairs, marking an exciting new chapter in our leadership, and strengthened collaboration by expanding our partnership network across a wider range of sectors. Our consultancy services also grew, delivering new projects with partners including UCL and Better Bankside, alongside other key clients.

It was also a standout year for delivery and recognition. We secured two major award wins for the Waterloo Freight Hub, underlining the real‑world impact of our work. Alongside this, we continued to collaborate closely with partners to deliver activity under our Healthy Streets Everyday II and Just Streets programmes, while developing a pipeline of exciting new projects for the future.

Together, these achievements position CRP well as we continue to deliver meaningful change and create lasting impact. We would like to extend a huge thank you to our partners, clients, Board and team, whose commitment and collaboration have made this progress possible.

🔗 Read the CRP Annual Report and Business Plan 2025–27 to find out more: https://crossriverpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/CRP-ARBP-2025-2026-FINAl.pdf

If you’re interested in learning more about our work or exploring new opportunities to collaborate, we’d love to hear from you.

CRP are delighted to welcome Maisha Anam to the team! Maisha will be joining CRP for a 6-month graduate placement as part of Westminster City Council’s Graduate Programme. Hear from Maisha on what inspired her to join CRP.

“Having been born and raised in London, as well as completing my studies here, I’ve always felt a strong connection to the city. After completing my undergraduate degree at King’s College London in International Development, with a key focus in environmental development, it has become even more important to me to play a part in helping London become the best it can be.

I’m really looking forward to the next 6 months with CRP, as their initiatives align closely with my passion for creating a greener and more sustainable city for everyone. I’m excited to work in a collaborative environment with the team and to get involved in meaningful projects that help drive positive change across London!”

Archives: News Articles

Celebrating 10 Years of London Rivers Week

South Bank & Waterloo Sustains Us Delivery Plan 2026-2030

The Port of London Authority’s Environment Fund is Open for Applications

CRP in Action: Highlights from Recent Events

Walk This May for National Walking Month

Local Government Elections

CRP Board Holds In-Person Meeting at Iconic Tower Bridge Venue

CRP to Deliver First Stage of Westminster’s Sustainable City Charter Innovation Challenge

CRP Launches its Annual Report and Business Plan 2025–27

CRP Welcomes New Team Member