London Rivers Week

25th June 2024 / Posted by Katherine Fairfax

London Rivers Week 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.  

London Rivers Week 2024 is celebrating its eighth year and is taking place from 22nd June to 30th June. This year’s theme is ‘London is a river city’, with a focus on health and well-being and cultural activities. 

A variety of events will be taking place throughout the week to celebrate and support London Rivers Week. Find out more: https://www.thames21.org.uk/london-rivers-week-2024/ 

CRP are at the Sustainable Supply Chain Conference!

25th June 2024 / Posted by Fiona Coull

CRP’s Fiona Coull will be speaking at the Sustainable Supply Chain Conference on Tuesday 25th June.  

The conference (which is being held at 30 Euston Square, London, NW1 2FB) aims to highlight the untapped opportunity of supply chain decarbonisation. As part of this, Fiona will be sharing learnings from CRP’s London Light Freight Walking Trial, which was the first electrically assisted walking freight trial on public land. 

As part of CRP’s Clean Air Logistics for London and Smarter Greener Logistics Programmes, CRP worked with The Fitzrovia Partnership, London Borough of Camden, UPS and Heal’s to bring the London Light Freight Walking Trial to life. The trial supported the next day delivery market, helping to reduce emissions and congestion on the streets of Fitzrovia.  

Read more about the trial here. Or sign up to attend the conference: The Sustainable Supply Chain Conference 2024 – Register  

We hope to see some of you there! 

Virtual Loading Bay Launches in City of London

30th May 2024 / Posted by Katie Smith

Cross River Partnership (CRP), a non-profit and impartial partnership organisation, are excited to announce that the Watling Street Virtual Loading Bay is now live in the City of London Corporation. The Virtual Loading Bay is located outside of the Ye Olde Watling pub and will be available to book, free of charge, for a trial period of 6 months.

Virtual Loading Bays allow registered delivery drivers to pre-book dedicated space at the kerbside to load and unload using Grid Kerb Delivery booking application. The trial will focus on the servicing of Ye Olde Watling and Williamson Tavern as a specific use case and will also be available to local businesses in the Watling Street area.

The Watling Street Virtual Loading Bay forms part of CRP’s Kerbside Management Trial and is being delivered in partnership between City of London Corporation, Grid Smarter Cities and Cross River Partnership. The trial uses Grid’s Virtual Loading Bay technology to dynamically manage the kerbside and aims to improve congestion and air quality in the local area.

Find out more about the trial and how to book the Virtual Loading Bays here: https://gridsmartercities.com/smarter-greener-logistics-crp/

The Kerbside Management 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).

Project Partner Testimonials:

 

Chairman of the City of London Corporation Streets and Walkways Committee, Graham Packham, said:

“We are pleased to be working in partnership with colleagues at Cross River Partnership and Grid Smarter Cities to deliver this 6-month trial of a Virtual Loading Bay. We hope that freight operators being able to book a slot for loading will minimise conflicts between vehicles, provide air quality benefits, and enable more efficient servicing for businesses in the vicinity of Watling Street, and look forward to the results of the trial.”

 

Grid Smarter Cities Commercial Development Manager, Laura Jacklin said:

“This location in particular will help to see how deliveries interact around times of pedestrianisation of streets, ensuring that businesses still get their deliveries before the street closes to vehicles. We look forward to seeing how the Virtual Loading Bay can help different sectors still have space to deliver and help businesses continue to flourish.”

 

Cross River Partnership Project Manager, Katherine Fairfax said:

“Cross River Partnership are delighted to launch the Watling Street Virtual Loading Bay in collaboration with the City of London Corporation and Grid Smarter Cities. The trial provides an exciting opportunity to test an innovative kerbside solution and understand the impact on congestion and air pollution in London.”

CRP’s Just Streets Springs Into Action Campaign

13th May 2024 / Posted by Sefinat Otaru

We are excited to have launched the first of five campaigns to raise awareness about fairer, safer and more accessible street. 

These awareness campaigns are part of our remit for JUST STREETS, our latest European project funded by Horizon EU and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).  The project aims to create streets that are sustainable and inclusive by increasing active travel and prioritising the needs of vulnerable groups. 

Our first campaign, Spring into Action, is now live. Throughout this month, we’re sharing useful information to help you get started creating safer, people-friendly streets and outdoor spaces. 

For more information, please contact Project Manager, Sefinat Otaru, or Communications and Business Development Officer, Katie Smith. 

CRP Attends Solar and Storage Live London 2024

13th May 2024 / Posted by Sobastian Frazer

CRP attended Solar and Storage Live London 2024, the UK’s largest renewable energy exhibition, held at London Excel on Tuesday 30th of April. The event was held over two days and included over 450 exhibitors from across the globe with the opportunity to showcase innovation within EV and EV charging as well as solutions to energy transition.  

With sessions hosted by leading industry experts, academics, and engineers, the event reiterated the importance of decarbonisation and discovering more efficient methods of renewable energy.  

Solar energy is a clear frontrunner, and can help re-design the electricity market, with the support of artificial intelligence systems. Solar can already produce as much as 30% of UK electricity at different points in the year, and there is a need to rapidly scale up to help meet net zero goals by 2050.  

As innovation within space and renewable energy further develops, artificial intelligence and machine learning can play a huge part in detecting potential issues with renewable energy resources.  

Amongst many mitigations across industries, our pathway to net zero by 2050 is a commitment to delivering decarbonisation across Britain and can be achieved through continued innovation and acceleration.  

Solar and Storage Live London will be returning in 2025, find out more here: Solar & Storage Live London 2025 | London (terrapinn.com) 

CRP Board Meeting – April 2024

13th May 2024 / Posted by Susannah Wilks

CRP held its twice-yearly CRP Board meeting with all of its public, private, strategic and voluntary partners on 18th April 2024.   

The CRP Board partners approved CRP’s 2024-25 Annual Report and Business Plan, supported their ongoing UK and European fundraising plans, and agreed to pay their 2024-25 CRP membership fees in order to contribute to the ongoing smooth running of the partnership. 

The CRP Board endorsed all of CRP’s delivery activity via its externally-funded Smarter Greener Logistics, Healthy Streets Everyday II and JUST STREETS programmes.   

A huge thank you to all of the CRP partners and the CRP team for all of the brilliant work being undertaken! 

For further information please contact CRP Director susannahwilks@crossriverpartnership.org 

CRP 30 Years – 30 Shapers of CRP Campaign

13th May 2024 / Posted by Susannah Wilks

CRP is very happy to be running its 30 Shapers of CRP campaign this month, celebrating some of the individuals who have made such amazing contributions to its delivery activity over its 30 year history. 

We would like to thank all 30 Shapers for participating in this campaign so willingly!  We have had contributions from across the globe, including as far afield as New Zealand and Australia.  

Do follow the campaign on Linked In and Twitter – see who you can recognise! 

For further information please contact CRP’s Communications and Business Development Officer katiesmith@crossriverpartnership.org or CRP Director susannahwilks@crossriverpartnerhip.org 

Smarter Greener Logistics May Update

13th May 2024 / Posted by Fiona Coull

May is looking like an exciting month for CRP’s Smarter Greener Logistics (SGL) programme. Here’s a quick look at some of the things we’re doing to help minimise the impact of freight and improve air quality:  

  • We’re addressing feedback from low emission couriers following our recent ‘open day’ at a potential urban logistics hub site in London Borough of Islington. This will ensure that the site is fit for purpose. 
  • We’ve identified locations in London Borough of Camden and The City of London for 4 virtual loading bays which will be trialled as part of the SGL Digital Kerbside Management Trial.  
  • We’ll be publishing a detailed Electric Vehicle (EV) information flyer for SGL partners to share with residents and businesses to encourage EV uptake. 
  • We’ll also be hosting out next SGL Task Force Meeting at Spitalfields City Farm, which will involve showcasing the City Soil Lab pilot – a circular waste scheme in and around Bethnal Green that we have been supporting with LB of Tower Hamlets. 

Make sure to look out for even more SGL developments in June! 

To find out more contact CRP Senior Programme Manager Fiona Coull fionacoull@crossriverpartnership.org  

CRP Annual Report & Business Plan 23-25

13th May 2024 / Posted by Katie Smith

CRP is pleased to publish its Annual Report and Business Plan 2023 – 2025. This was signed off by the CRP Board at its most recent meeting in April 2024.  

This year, CRP launch a special 30th anniversary edition Annual Report and Business Plan, with dedicated pages reflecting on CRP’s many achievements over its lifetime as well as hearing from individuals who have been a crucial part of CRP’s journey.

Reflecting on the past year, highlights include the retrofitting of Alb-E, the first electric workboat on the River Thames, the continued development of the Waterloo Freight Hub project and the long-term adoption of the Pimlico Micro-Logistics Hub, following a successful trial period!

This year, CRP will be continuing to deliver its Defra-funded Smarter Greener Logistics programme. Plus April saw the launch of CRP’s new Healthy Streets Everyday II programme, to deliver more Healthy Streets across London.

CRP is also excited to have secured Horizon Group Europe funding for the first time since Brexit to support delivery of the JUST STREETS project. 

A huge thank you to Westminster City Council for playing the accountable body role for Cross River Partnership. 

Launch of City Plan 2040

13th May 2024 / Posted by Katherine Fairfax

CRP were delighted to attend the launch of the City of London Corporation’s City Plan 2040. The launch event was hosted by New London Architecture and took place at The London Centre in the City of London. 

The City Plan 2040 is a plan for the development of the Square Mile, setting the City Corporation’s priorities for development up to 2040, together with policies that will guide future decisions on planning applications for its communities, businesses and places.  

The current consultation will focus on assessing whether the plan is sound, legally compliant and prepared in accordance with the duty to co-operate and will run from April 18 to May 31.  

Visit the City Plan 2040 Commonplace page for further information: https://cityplan2040.commonplace.is/