FREVUE Final Conference

26th June 2017 / Posted by CRP Team

Kindly hosted by the City of London Corporation at Guildhall, the FREVUE Final Conference took place on 21 June. Over 200 people attended from London, the UK and our European partner countries in a clear sign of the rising interest in electric freight vehicles. The event provided an opportunity for the FREVUE results to be presented and for the whole range of stakeholders, i.e. freight operators/fleet managers, local authorities, vehicle suppliers, electricity network operators, academia and research institutes to discuss their impact and future steps.

The display of four fully electric freight vehicles in the Guildhall Courtyard provided attendees with real-life examples: A Nissan eNV-200 of 2.2 tonnes gross vehicle weight, a BD Auto eDucato of 3.5 tonnes, an EFA-S Mercedes P80E (UPS) of 7.5 tonnes, and an Emoss truck of 14 tonnes.

FREVUE Final Conference

The FREVUE city leads also presented first results of the Declaration of Intent, signed by freight operators, fleet managers and public authorities to highlight their demand for electric freight vehicles. The high number of vans and trucks already represented by the signatories sends an important indication of actual demand to vehicle suppliers.  The more organisations state their intent to electrify their fleet, the clearer the message and we therefore call on all relevant stakeholders to sign and return the Declaration over the summer.

As Wendy Hyde, elected Councillor at the City of London Corporation and CRP Co-chair noted, “It is only in close cooperation and by joint working that we will make polluting diesel vans and trucks in central London a thing of the past.” The FREVUE Final Conference offered an important opportunity to build and strengthen these links.

For more information, please see www.frevue.eu or contact CRP’s FREVUE Coordinator Tanja Dalle-Muenchmeyer on tanjadallemuenchmeyer@crossriverpartnership.org.  FREVUE has also produced a short promotional video here.

Walkable London a best practice guide for a walkable city

23rd June 2017 / Posted by CRP Team

Cross River Partnership (CRP) alongside the Mayor of London has launched Walkable London: Best practice guide for a walkable city showcasing the innovative hot-off-the-press case studies of our central London Business Improvement District and borough partners.

With an introduction by Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman, the best practice guide, demonstrates how walking offers an affordable solution to some of our most complex urban challenges. Walking not only brings health benefits, it makes us happier, it helps bring communities together, it boosts local economies and above all it’s a fun way to explore our great city.

The best practice guide demonstrates how a range of local interventions such as greening, lighting and seating can have a big impact on our walking experience. Promoting walking need not require a big budget and a range of small interventions over time can have a huge benefit.

The toolkit was launched last week to coincide with National Clean Air Action Day and CRP’s Clean Air Walking Routes initiative.

For more information please contact Jane Overington at janeoverington@crossriverpartnership.org.

Heart of London BID Update

23rd June 2017 / Posted by CRP Team

Heart of London CEO Pledge

 

Leading by example, the Heart of London team got behind the first National Clean Air Day by pledging to improve their commutes, behaviours or share tips to others on improving air quality. Heart of London are so keen to go green that they even used a tablet for their pledges, saving on paper printouts! You can find more on twitter @HOLBID.

Following on from the success of Heart of London’s clean air launch event we are really pleased to have so many businesses already keen to join in the movement of improving air quality. Capital Arches Group, Swarovski and Bespoke Hotels are the first to sign up. Find out more at heartoflondonbid.london/air/

For more information please contact CRP officer Christina Wells.

Construction and Social Value

20th June 2017 / Posted by CRP Team

In accordance to the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012; an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that calls for all public sector commissioning to factor in social value, Westminster Employment Service in conjunction with Recruit London are leading the way working with the services the Council commissions and procures for contracts over £100k.

The businesses have been tasked to help improve the socioeconomic and environmental well- being of the borough.  Part of this is to take part in helping Westminster’s unemployed residents, especially residents with long term, disabled and managed health issues, back into meaningful employment by facilitating work placements, shadowing, assisting with mock interviews, delivering sector or employer talks,  and ultimately permanent employment.

An example of how this is taking effect is the work that CRP are doing with ISG Fit Out who are refurbishing Westminster City Hall.  Recruit London and Westminster’s Local Employment Services Team are working closely with ISG on the anticipated roles that the entire renovation will need. The re-fit is expected to last just over 68 weeks and we hope to generate in excess of 30 jobs including admin staff, labourers, caterers, security and roles aligned to construction. Recruit London has already successfully assisted with the recruitment  of an ISG Office Manager and we are looking forward to doing more with ISG and other contractors to help more Westminster residents into work.

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For further information about Recruit London please contact the team: recruitlondon@crossriverpartnership.org

Oxford Street West Report

19th June 2017 / Posted by CRP Team

CRP has completed a piece of research, on behalf of Westminster City Council, New West End Company and TfL, on delivery and servicing activities in the Oxford Street West (OSW) district.   This research report is set against the backdrop of growing concerns about poor air quality, traffic congestion and the impact of freight vehicles. Based on our extensive first-hand research it suggests a cornucopia of policy and practical recommendations to direct London’s future freight patterns.

The objective was to understand how delivery and servicing to businesses currently operates and to identify actions that stakeholders can take to ensure the OSW district remains great for businesses, visitors and residents. On-street observations alongside discussions with hundreds of businesses led to CRP gathering detailed information on current behaviours.  It enabled us to identify a number of recommendations which are being fed in to consultation on the Oxford Street Transformation.

The recommendations range from implementation of shared supplier schemes such as the West End Buyers Club; and use of Click. Collect. Clean Air. to help redirect personal deliveries outside the city.   CRP have also recommended actions that will reduce the negative impacts of freight including education on anti-idling, particular in cold weather when particulate filters are less efficient.

For more information contact Amandeep Kellay amandeepkellay@crossriverpartnership.org or Vicky Keeble vickykeeble@crossriverpartnership.org

CRP is recruiting!

14th June 2017 / Posted by CRP Team

We are looking for an organised and proactive Transport Project Officer to join our team to assist in delivering a range of ground-breaking projects.

To find out more about this role and to apply, please click on link below:

https://jobs.westminster.gov.uk/vacancy/transport-project-officer-317196.html

CRP Board Meeting

25th May 2017 / Posted by CRP Team

10th May 2017 was the most recent of CRP’s twice-yearly Board meetings of its 30 formal public and private sector partners, kindly hosted by the City of London Corporation at its magnificent Guildhall Art Gallery.

The meeting heard about upcoming funding opportunities from the GLA’s Senior Manager Jamie Izzard.  CRP’s Brendon Harper launched the new CRP service deliverBEST to partners.

In terms of formal decisions made: 1. CRP to continue to resource communications functions internally. 2. Simon Pitkeathley to remain CRP Co-Chair until at least after the next CRP Board meeting on 10th October 2017. 3. CRP Annual Report and Business Plan 2016/17/18 approved.

The next CRP Board meeting will be hosted by Westminster City Council – many thanks to Councillor David Harvey for making the offer.

For any further information please contact CRP’s Susannah Wilks.

CRP moves offices!

25th May 2017 / Posted by CRP Team

CRP has moved offices and is now based with its accountable body Westminster City Council at:

5 Strand, London WC2N 5HR

CRP telephone numbers remain unchanged.

Thank you very much to Westminster City Council for continuing to host us. CRP now exists within its partner Northbank BID area!

CRP is also very grateful for its desk space at offices including CAPCO, DWP South London District, HOLBA, NWEC and The Crown Estate.

We look forward to seeing you at our 5 Strand offices soon!

For further information please contact CRP Director Susannah Wilks.

Groundwork London Wage Costs Offer

25th May 2017 / Posted by CRP Team

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As part of Westminster’s Employment Service, Recruit London are working with Groundwork London to offer tailored one to one support and specialist advice, matching and preparing people for appropriate and suitable employment and providing in‐work support to help participants settle into their new roles.

The service also provides direct support to employers, helping them to identify and adapt vacancies within their organisations and ensure that capable, prepared and well-suited candidates make the most of and succeed in these roles. Groundwork London’s grant helpfully supports employers with the wage costs of participants in the first few months.

To find out more, please contact in the first instance CRP’s Specialist Workplace Coordinator Sylvia Kankasa.

This service is funded by ESF and the Big Lottery Fund through the Building Better Opportunities programme.

Recruit London in Camden

25th May 2017 / Posted by CRP Team

CamdenAbility is an innovative disability employment initiative. Funded by the London Borough of Camden, CRP is working with a network of local businesses to support Camden residents with disabilities or long term health conditions into work.

This month saw CamdenAbility host its first Business Network Meeting Event.The Network heard from CamdenAbility members University College London (UCL), Royal Free Hospital Trust, City Lit and London Borough of Camden on their initiatives to improve disability awareness within their organisations. CRP’s Specialist Workplace Coordinator, Parma Sira, and Adrian Ward, a Senior Disability Consultant with our project partners Business Disability Forum, hosted a Q&A session at the event, providing members with an opportunity to receive specialist support and advice on specific challenges they might be experiencing.

It was great to hear so many of our members taking a proactive approach to disability inclusiveness, such as UCL working closely with CamdenAbility to recruit local residents with disabilities onto their apprenticeship schemes.

The meeting was part of a series of free CamdenAbility Employer Network Events taking place throughout 2017. The next event, hosted by City Lit, brings the network together for training session on neurodiversity.

To find out more about the project, please contact Parma Sira.

Business Disability Forum Conference