News Articles Archive - Cross River Partnership

Dalston Square is buzzing with excitement as a new eco-friendly initiative takes centre stage! CRP’s Smarter Greener Logistics case study spotlights an innovative electric cargo bike sharing scheme brought to life by OurBike, a community-focused project empowering businesses and residents to rethink how they transport goods.

Here’s how it works: local businesses host the bikes, keeping them charged and secure on nearby cycle stands. The bikes can be rented by the minute, providing an eco-friendly alternative to delivery vans.

This scheme isn’t just about convenience; it’s about cutting congestion, improving air quality️, and creating a cleaner, healthier Hackney. Running for 6–12 months, it’s a game-changer for local businesses looking to make a positive impact.

But that’s not all – London Borough of Hackney is using this trial to assess the potential for a permanent Cargo Bike Share Hub as part of Dalston Square’s redevelopment. ️ If successful, it could be a model for sustainable transport across London!

With every e-cargo bike trip, we’re moving closer to reducing pollution, easing traffic, and building a brighter, greener future.

Let’s ride toward a better tomorrow—one cargo bike at a time!

On behalf of the whole Cross River Partnership team, we would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2024 has been a jam-packed year full of exciting new programme launches, 30th anniversary celebrations, and lots of partnership working here at CRP!

Here are some highlights from the past 12 months:

Successfully completed the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs funded Smarter Greener Logistics programme

Launched the Mayor of London funded Healthy Streets Everyday II programme, working with 14 partners to deliver more Healthy Streets across London!

Successfully secured our first European funding bid since Brexit, working with 17 partners across 30 countries on the Just Streets project

Officially launched CRP’s Consultancy Services offering support across the following themes: Decarbonisation & Sustainability, Placemaking & Greening, Strategy Planning, Monitoring & Data Analysis & Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement

Delivered 12 #CRP30Years campaigns, as well as hosting our Celebrating 30 Years of CRP event.

London Light Freight River and Pimlico Micro-logistics Hub trials shortlisted for awards!

And the list goes on!

Huge thank you goes to our partners, collaborators and funders for your continued support and partnership. Here’s to 2025!

As we come to the end of another incredible year, and one where we celebrated such a major milestone for CRP, we want to say a huge thank you to all of our partners, funders and collaborators!

Thank you for supporting us!

Thank you for collaborating with us!

Thank you for funding us!

Thank you for celebrating with us!

A special Thank you also goes to Westminster City Council and its Leader Councillor Adam Hug, for playing the lead body role for Cross River Partnership so willingly, on behalf of all of the partners.

It was fantastic to welcome so many of you to our 30 Years of CRP Event last month, and to hear so many kind words about your experiences of working with us.

We’re already looking forward to 2025 and another amazing year of innovation, energy, delivery and positivity!

For any ideas or new collaborations, please feel free to contact Susannah Wilks, CRP Director.

Our Defra-funded Smarter Greener Logistics Kerbside Management Trial is here to keep your deliveries efficient, sustainable, and on time this Christmas! 

Grid Smarter Cities VLB’s are available in: 

City of London Corporation

London Borough of Camden

London Borough of Lambeth

London Borough of Richmond

If you deliver in these areas, find out more here: https://gridsmartercities.com/smarter-greener-logistics-crp/ 

VLBs provide dedicated spaces at the kerbside that can be pre-booked by participating operators and make deliveries more efficient, safe and sustainable whilst improving congestion and air quality in the local area. 

We will be working on evaluation of the trial in early 2025 to capture learnings from project partners including local authorities, businesses and operators.

For more information, contact CRP Project Manager Katherine Fairfax.

As we approach the end of 2024, we wanted to reflect on all the incredible achievements of CRP’s Smarter Greener Logistics Programme.

Over the past 18 months, CRP has worked with our partners to:

Receive approval for a Freight Hub Trial at Waterloo Station

Launch 7 Virtual Loading Bays as part of our SGL Kerbside Management Trial

Install 4 OurBikes across various partner boroughs

Progress a micro-logistics hub trial in Islington

Install noise and air quality sensors

Enable parcel locker installations in various partner boroughs

Develop several learning resources and reports.

CRP would like to thank all our partners who have been involved in the SGL programme, as without you we wouldn’t have been able to achieve so much!

If you have any questions on CRP’s Smarter Greener Logistics (SGL) Programme or how we could support you with any of the initiatives above, please contact CRP Senior Programme Manager Fiona Coull

Cross River Partnership recently had the privilege of hosting researchers from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Chuo Fukken Consultants Co., Ltd. for a site visit to the undercroft of Waterloo Station, where we showcased the space and shared our vision for the Waterloo Freight Hub.

The visit was a valuable opportunity to exchange insights on how under-used spaces can be repurposed to support the logistics sector in the context of growing demand, limited space in cities for goods consolidation and the need to create more sustainable alternatives to freight movements.

The visit highlighted the shared pressures on the logistics sector in both London and Japanese cities, emphasising the importance of sharing innovative ideas to implement more efficient and sustainable solutions.

CRP’s Waterloo Freight Hub trial is part of Smarter Greener Logistics (SGL), a Defra-funded project led by Westminster City Council in collaboration with 25 project partners. The project aims to minimise the impact of freight on noise, air quality, traffic and pavement space in London by making improvements across 14 London boroughs and two London Business Improvement Districts (BIDs).

CRP is pleased to share that we are a year into our Horizon EU-funded project, Just Streets, which aims to create more people-friendly urban environments.

This year has been both dynamic and fruitful, and we would like to highlight our key achievements:

Partnerships Established: We’ve partnered with Camden Town Unlimited to enhance walking and cycling, Harley Street BID for a new parklet, and the London Borough of Lambeth to improve school streets.

Stakeholder Engagement: We held partner meetings that included valuable site visits to Turin and Amsterdam. We and our technical partner, University of Westminster, recently welcomed more than 30 European visitors from the project to London to better understand our interventions.

Communication Campaigns: We launched three campaigns to promote actions for street justice, walking low-pollution routes, and child-friendly streets.

Community Solutions: Our delivery partners have begun co-creation sessions with local stakeholders to ensure solutions meet community needs.

Impact Monitoring: We established baseline monitoring at intervention sites to measure the future impact of our initiatives.

We look forward to launching the completed projects in the first half of 2025, making strides toward transforming our streets into spaces for everyone.

On 14th November, CRP attended the Pathways to Zero Emission Freight event hosted by the Clean Cities Campaign. The session delved into London’s potential to transition to zero-emission freight, featuring insights from their newly published report.

UK van emissions have risen by 63% since 1990, with an additional 1 million vans on the road in the last decade. To drive change, Clean Cities Campaign suggests zero-emission zones could be a key catalyst for electric vehicle (EV) uptake.

A lively panel discussion highlighted the need for innovative solutions:

Incentives: Just Economics suggests second-hand EV subsidies and targeted scrappage schemes to reduce upfront costs.

Infrastructure: Accessible charging points, especially in disadvantaged areas, are crucial. Bookable options were also discussed.

Policy Clarity: Clear timelines and regulations will help businesses plan and invest confidently.

CRP continues to champion low-emission freight initiatives and is ready to collaborate with partners to achieve sustainable solutions for London. Reach out to learn more!

Last week, CRP hosted our final Healthy Streets Everyday II (HSE II) Steering Group Meeting of the calendar year, with BID and local authority partners from the Mayor’s Air Quality Funded 3-year programme.

This was a chance to celebrate all of the excellent work that has been happening through the first 9 months of the programme, and all the ways that our partners have been supporting healthier, greener, more pedestrian and cycle-friendly streets. CRP were also able to share details about upcoming HSE II campaigns and developments to the Healthy Streets Everyday map, which we will be sharing more about in the new year.

We were joined by Holly Smith, Project Manager from the Greater London Authority’s Climate Adaptation Team, who provided an excellent overview of resources, case studies and support available to embed climate adaptation practices in public realm and transport scheme design. This will help our partners to create resilient, green and healthy streets across London, and we hope our partners found this helpful!

Thank you to all partners for joining us. As HSE II develops, we’re thrilled about the innovative projects and collaborations that lie ahead! 

For more information contact CRP Project Lead for Healthy Streets Everyday II, Ross Phillips rossphillips@crossriverpartnership.org. 

It’s been a super start to the Healthy Streets Everyday II (HSE II) programme, CRP’s Mayor’s Air Quality Funded 3-year programme. HSE II will address the issue of over-dependence on private vehicles, and the associated issues of poor Air Quality, Environment, Safety, Health, and Wellbeing. 

We are already seeing some exciting outputs from our partners, who are delivering schemes across London to improve cycling, walking routes, implement school streets, create low emission transport infrastructure and provide more green space.

Some of the outputs that have been delivered already include:

6 School Streets that have been installed, including 2 exemplar school streets, creating safer and more pleasant environments outside of schools by prioritising children, while reducing road danger and improving air quality.

3 new walking routes created across London, to improve pedestrian connectivity and shift more people to walking

Over 150 sq m of green space provided, to reduce pollution exposure of residents and visitors along London’s busy road network and create more vibrant, colourful streets

3 resident focussed shared cargo bikes, to support more people to shift from cars and vans to cycling journeys for journeys to the shops, school or work

Our HSE II partners have already engaged with over 4,000 people as part of initiatives being delivered through the programme.

A huge well done and congratulations to our partners for delivering so much so quickly! As HSE II develops, we’re thrilled about the innovative projects and collaborations that lie ahead! 

For more information contact CRP Project Lead for Healthy Streets Everyday II, Ross Phillips rossphillips@crossriverpartnership.org. 

Archives: News Articles

SGL Case Study – Dalston Square Cargo Bike

Merry Christmas from CRP! A look back at 2024!

CRP 30 Years – Thank You!

Smarter Greener Logistics Kerbside Management Trial

Nearing the Completion of Smarter Greener Logistics

November Waterloo Freight Hub Site Visit – Japan Delegation

Making Streets More People-Friendly: One Year into Just Streets

Pathways to Zero-Emission Freight: Can London Lead the Way?

Ending the Year with our Healthy Streets Everyday II Partners

Celebrating Healthy Streets Success in 2024