News Articles Archive - Page 2 of 153 - Cross River Partnership

Just Streets Update: Camden’s Streets Get a Splash of History

Camden’s Streets have been turned into a living museum!

Last week, CRP Partner, Camden Town Unlimited, hosted a plaque reveal walk to explore the brightly coloured plaques have popped up across the area, each one telling a unique story from Camden’s rich industrial past. These vibrant markers are designed to spark curiosity and get people walking, exploring, and connecting with their surroundings.

It’s all part of Tracking the Heritage, an educational programme by Urban Learners and Camden Highline. Through interactive walking tours and creative workshops, people can dive into Camden’s history and imagine its future. The plaques act as storytelling waypoints, bringing the past to life with every step.

This initiative marks the first step in project delivery for CRP’s Just Streets project, a Horizon Europe-funded project promoting active travel and inclusive public spaces. By making heritage visible and accessible, Camden Town Unlimited is helping build stronger ties between people and place.

Discover the route here: http://www.tth.town/

Last month, we had the pleasure of welcoming Year 11 Student Zahra Saleem-Sheikh to Cross River Partnership (CRP) for a week of work experience following her GCSEs. Zahra joined us to explore career pathways in sustainability – an area she’s deeply passionate about, especially through her interest in geography. Read Zahra’s reflective piece on her week with CRP!

“The team was incredibly welcoming and open to me shadowing them throughout the week. I was fortunate enough to accompany a team member to observe some of the current projects they’re working on, including Healthy Streets Everyday II (School Streets). For example, we visited a primary school in Kennington where the road had been closed to encourage residents to walk or cycle to school. This initiative helps keep children safe during the school run and improves air quality. The roads were also painted, and seating areas were installed to encourage locals to take pride in the area and dispose of rubbish properly. This experience gave me a real insight into the dedication and hard work CRP puts into improving road safety and air quality in London.

While shadowing a team member, I had the privilege of attending a Westminster council meeting, where we were introduced to the new Lord Mayor, Paul Dimoldenberg. I also sat in on a CRP team meeting. The company is relatively small compared to many others, so it was fascinating to see how the team’s dynamic influences their collaboration. Over the week, I noticed how closely the team supports one another – checking in regularly, sharing tasks, and helping each other meet deadlines. Their mutual respect is admirable and clearly contributes to the success of projects like the Waterloo Freight Hub, where miscommunication is minimal. They are not only efficient but also incredibly friendly.

My week with Cross River Partnership was both insightful and educational. It gave me a glimpse into what a career in sustainability might look like. CRP is leading major projects that require time, effort, and commitment, all to improve the health, safety, and quality of life for Londoners.”

Throughout August, Londoners can enjoy free unlimited 60-minute rides on Santander Cycles every Sunday as part of TfL’s Cycle Sundays campaign.

Designed to support new and returning cyclists, the initiative features beginner-friendly routes through scenic areas such as Hyde Park, Primrose Hill, and Tower Hamlets, along with cycling tips and training guidance. Fitness apps like Strava and Komoot have partnered with TfL to provide real-time route tracking, including distance, elevation, road busyness, and difficulty.

Santander e-bikes must be hired via the Santander Cycles app or with a membership key and are only available to registered members, TfL added.

Rides longer than 60 minutes will incur standard additional charges. The initiative aims to make cycling more accessible, promote active travel, and encourage people of all experience levels to explore London by bike this summer.

So grab a bike, discover new routes, and let’s cycle London!

CRP is very excited to share that its collaborative application to the European Commission’s Horizon ‘Driving Urban Transitions’ fund has been successful. The project is called Streets-15 and will work with organisations including University of Westminster, London School of Economics, University of Naples, Western Norway University, Westminster City Council, London Borough of Lambeth and others. The project will co-create with young people approaches to street design and management that support the 15-minute city policy of communities being able to access services close to where they live.

We look forward to working with project partners and the funder to set up excellent implementation arrangements. Assuming all formal processes are successfully completed in time, delivery will start in January 2026. Watch this space!

For further information please contact CRP’s Susannah Wilks or Katherine Fairfax.

CRP’s Healthy Streets Everyday II (HSE II) programme is now into it’s second year. It’s been brilliant to see all of the initiatives that the partners are working on through the 3-year Mayor of London’s Air Quality Funded-programme, aimed at reducing private vehicle dependency and switching Londoners to walking, wheeling, scooting and cycling.

Throughout the summer, the HSE II programme has seen the launch of 3 campaigns focussed on Clean Air Day, Heat Resilience & Air Quality and Spring Into Action

We’ve also seen the launch of We Are Waterloo’s Transforming Hercules Road scheme, which is providing more space for pedestrians, cyclists, with places to stop and rest, green infrastructure, and local facts through signage about the local area.

This is in addition to a number of school streets, planting schemes, public realm improvements, shared cargo bikes for the public and social media campaigns that were delivered in Year 1.

Thank you to all of our partners for their exciting delivery taking place in Year 1 – subscribe to CRP’s newsletter to hear more updates throughout Year 2 and 3 of the programme

For more information about the HSE II , please contact Ross Phillips, Sustainable Transport Manager at CRP.

The Healthy Air Coalition has published a new blueprint calling for urgent, coordinated action across government departments to tackle air pollution and secure the right to clean air for all.

Key recommendations include:

A comprehensive Clean Air Act
Legally binding targets aligned with WHO guidelines
Investment in clean, zero-tailpipe emission transport alongside measures to support active travel
Action on indoor air quality in homes, schools, and workplaces
Adequate funding and powers for local authorities
A national strategy for air quality that integrates health, environment, and climate objectives, with transparent accountability and reporting mechanisms

The blueprint emphasises that tackling air pollution requires a comprehensive and integrated approach addressing emissions both outdoors and indoors, while prioritising environmental justice by ensuring cleaner air for vulnerable and marginalised communities disproportionately impacted by pollution.

CRP continues to support the mission to reduce London’s air pollution and protect the health of Londoners through it’s various initiative and programmes. CRP’s Mayor of London funded Healthy Streets Everyday II programme is achieving this through the delivery of further walking routes, school streets, low emission transport infrastructure, and green infrastructure. 🍃

You can download the full report here.

CRP recently co-hosted a workshop with University College London’s (UCL) Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, bringing together experts from academia, local authorities, and the freight sector. The workshop aimed to explore how express rail freight, and last-mile delivery solutions can work together to support cleaner, more efficient urban logistics.

The workshop provided a platform for attendees to deeper dive into the barriers and challenges to integrating express rail freight operations with last mile logistics, as well as exploring ideas to overcome these.

The sessions sparked productive discussions on how to accelerate the shift to achieving rail to road integration through better coordination, smarter infrastructure, supportive policy and much more!

A huge thank you to our fantastic speakers for their time, expertise, and engaging presentations all supporting to set the scene for the workshop sessions:

Dr Kamal Achuthan, Director, Centre for Urban Sustainability and Resilience and Dr Manu Sasidharan, Assistant Professor in Infrastructure Asset Management, UCL Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering – sharing their latest transport and logistics research, offering vital academic perspectives on freight transport challenges and solutions.

Dan Fredriksson, Freight Development Manager, Network Rail – showcasing the rail freight ambitions and the major potential of express rail freight to support these.

Kevin Savage, CEO Delivery Mates – sharing real-world experiences delivering zero-emission last-mile logistics across London.

Ross Phillips, Sustainable Transport Manager, CRP – showcasing the innovative Waterloo Freight Hub trial.

A huge thank you to our partners at UCL and everyone who joined the session. Your insights are helping move the conversation forward.

We’re grateful to UCL Public Policy and Research England QR-PSF funding for supporting funding this workshop, allowing us to bring together cross-sector audiences to learn, connect, and grow.

CRP looks forward to continuing this collaborative work and developing practical steps toward a greener, more efficient freight system benefiting all Londoners.

To keep up to date with CRP’s latest work on freight and logistics, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn.

Westminster City Council has launched a new pilot to tackle air pollution from restaurant kitchens. The latter is a major but often overlooked source of PM2.5 emissions in London. Commercial kitchens are estimated to produce 59% of London’s PM2.5 emissions, from both fuel use and cooking methods like frying and grilling. The council is an official supporter of the Global Cooksafe Coalition. 

Five local restaurants are testing an air purification system and air quality monitors to better understand pollution levels and how to reduce them. This project is free of charge for participating businesses.

Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Westminster City Council Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development said: “What we learn from this pilot could help us shape future policies and ensure cleaner air for all those who live, work and visit the city.”

Head Chef at Apricity, Eve Seemann, added: “It’s important research in terms of health for myself and the staff, as well as anyone visiting Mayfair and central London.”

The three-month trial aims to raise awareness and explore practical ways to reduce kitchen-based pollution.

Read the full article here.

Last weekend, 9- to 12-year-olds and their adults gathered at Camden Collective for “Tracking the Heritage: Family Trail,” an interactive event that combined history, creativity, and exploration. Led by Camden Highline and Urban Learners as part of the London Festival of Architecture, the trail is supported by CRP through our Horizon Europe-funded Just Streets project, aiming to promote active travel in Camden Town.

The pleasant weather made the newly installed panels on the Collective’s fence showcasing Camden’s heritage look vibrant in the sunlight. Participants learned about Camden Town’s history through old photographs and explored the concept of heritage in both the built environment and their own families. The group then visited The Roving Bridge to observe the canal’s locks, Eggcup House, and Camden Gardens to discuss the planned Highline before returning to Camden Collective to conclude the day.

Engagement and co-creation are central to Just Streets, and it’s encouraging to see Camden Town Unlimited helping young people feel invested in their community and the future of urban development.

Natural England has marked the second anniversary of its Green Infrastructure (GI) Framework with a refreshed website, inspiring success stories, and ambitious plans for the future.

Natural England highlight how integrating nature into planning and design can create healthier, more resilient communities. They remain committed to working with partners to embed green infrastructure at the heart of development – delivering benefits for both people and the environment.

Key achievements over the past two years, which Natural England have also highlighted on their blog, include:

Two GI Standards now incorporated into the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

A GI Framework case study showcased at the G7 meeting in Rome

Local authorities like Nottingham and Portsmouth embedding GI principles into their strategic plans and local policies following targeted training

Natural England also spotlights CRP’s greening work in Marylebone, where rain gardens, trees and planting are helping to create healthier, low-emission streets.

A major update to the GI website has also been launched, offering improved navigation, a quick start guide, and clearer access to resources tailored to different user needs. Feedback from users helped shape the site, and Natural England continues to welcome suggestions for future improvements.

Looking ahead, GI Mapping Version 2.2 is on track for phased release in 2025/26, with new features including Naturalness Maps, updated greenspace and habitat data, and insights from the People and Nature Survey.

The Nature Towns and Cities accreditation scheme is also now open, helping places across England to recognise and enhance their commitments to nature-first urban design.

🔗 Explore the new GI Framework website and learn more here!

Archives: News Articles

Bright Plaques, Bold Stories: Camden’s Heritage Comes Alive

My Week at CRP

Free Sunday Rides on Santander Cycles This August

CRP’s Successful Driving Urban Transitions Collaborative Bid

Healthy Streets Everyday II – Y1 Updates and Summer 2025

Healthy Air Coalition Publish Policy Blueprint Report

Driving Change Together: CRP and UCL’s Workshop on Urban Freight Solutions

Westminster Pilots Cleaner Air in Restaurant Kitchens

Just Streets Update – Kids Connect with Camden

Natural England Celebrates GI Framework Milestones