News Articles Archive - Page 51 of 146 - Cross River Partnership

The CRP team is full steam ahead on the Defra-funded Clean Air Villages 4 (CAV4) programme, where we are excited to build on the successes of the Clean Air Villages 3 programme and continue improving London’s air quality.

Now, two months in, the team have been collaborating with CAV4’s 26 partners, comprising of local authorities, BIDs, plus Port of London Authority and a Landowner, all with the collective aim of implementing dynamic freight solutions to reduce local air pollution.

The CAV4 programme will focus and deliver the following five Freight Solutions: Distribution, Consolidation, Mode, Policy and Technology, with a combination of interventions to support businesses, communities and hospitals across the 26 locations.

For more information, please contact CRP Project Officer Anusha Rajamani.

Earlier this year, CRP commissioned Centre for London to undertake research into the future of London’s town centres, forming a Central London Sub-Regional Transport Partnership (CLSRTP) study. Town Centre Futures is now available to read and download:

Summary document
Town Centre Futures: Evidence and ideas for recovery (main report)

This report was commissioned to enable the CLSRTP group and CRP partners to plan on how to respond to the potential impact of the pandemic on London. As we come out of the pandemic, it is hoped that the thematic evidence reviews, case studies and recommendations will offer practical steps that partners can take to improve London’s town centres in 2021 and 2022.

Whilst the longer term impact of subsequent lockdowns is uncertain, there are now opportunities to rethink London’s high streets and respond to the city’s longstanding challenges, so we hope that you find these reports a useful and informative resource!

For more information, please contact CRP Project Officer Rachael Aldridge.

CRP is delighted to invite you to the next Lunchtime Launch in the series, which will be all about the upcoming Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion by the Mayor of London.

We will be joined by expert speakers Taryn Ferguson and Stephen Inch, Greater London Authority, who will be answering questions about the ULEZ with useful information for authorities, businesses and residents alike.

CRP’s Kate Fenton will also be launching our new Clean Air Tool, which has been developed as part of the Defra-funded Clean Air Villages programme. The Clean Air Tool is an innovative calculator, developed using methodologies in collaboration with researchers at Imperial College London. The tool will give diesel vehicle drivers the chance to not only calculate their emissions (CO2, NOx and PM2.5), but also clearly see examples of how switching to an electric vehicle, bike, and walking can equate to positive impacts on human health, the environment, and the economy.

Sign up to ‘The ULEZ Expansion: Your options for a cleaner, cheaper, greener London’, taking place at 13:15 – 14:00, Thursday 24th June.

This Lunchtime Launch marks the half way point of our monthly programme of Lunchtime Launches for 2021. Since January 2021, CRP’s Lunchtime Launches have attracted 536 attendees collectively!

Our previous Lunchtime Launch, which attracted 121 attendees, covered Spatial Mapping for Sustainable Urban Logistics, with CRP’s Laura Jacklin and University of Westminster‘s Dr Rachel Aldred. Please see the slides from the session, the Q&A sheet and recording.

For further information about Lunchtime Launches please contact CRP’s Rachael Aldridge or Susannah Wilks. We’re always looking out for speakers and to hear which topics audiences would find most useful!

Westminster City Council (WCC) have launched the third wave of their business survey.

In wave 2 of the pandemic, WCC asked respondents what the Council could lobby for. One in three identified the need for initiatives to help bring customers back to the City safely. In response, the Council launched the successful Sightsee Crowd Free campaign to encourage visitors to experience Westminster like never before, which increased footfall by 38%.

Please do take part in the survey, which takes less than 10 minutes to complete!

An Open Call for Designing London’s Recovery – the Mayor’s latest open innovation challenge, was recently launched on 16th March 2021 and will remain open until midday (12:00 GMT) 30th June 2021. You can find out further information by contacting the GLA’s lead on technology and innovation Sandy Tung.

CRP has already been briefed about the opportunity. If any organisations or individuals would like to collaborate on any potential submission/s, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with CRP Project Manger Sefinat Otaru or CRP Director Susannah Wilks.

This week we are featuring CRP Project Manager Sefinat Otaru.

My role at CRP as a Project Manager is dynamic. I’ve worked on projects ranging from researching socioeconomic issues for local authorities to developing a 10-year stewardship strategy for a prominent London landowner. Currently, I’m developing technical solutions for the Clean Air Villages 4 project, coordinating operators on the Thames to clean up their vessels’ exhaust, and leading on communications for a smart-charging project with UPS.

I appreciate the challenges each day brings as I’m pushed to find creative solutions with the CRP Team and our partners. It’s also gratifying to be able to walk around the city see those solutions in action!

The CRP Clean Air Villages Directory launched on 20th May 2019, encouraging customers to consider the vehicle type used when ordering goods for delivery. When given a choice, it would be better for items to be delivered by, for example, bike or electric vehicle, compared with a diesel vehicle. CRP also wanted to promote businesses and suppliers who used such modes of transport.

Check it out for yourself: there’s everything from bread, champagne and cheese to stationery and cargo bike providers!

The website lists businesses providing their services using fully-electric, ultra-low emission vehicles, cargo bikes or by foot. The directory also lists suppliers who manufacture or lease ultra-low and zero emission vehicles. The distance from vehicle dispatch point to village centre is highlighted to support local businesses and reduce congestion. Partners of the recently launched Clean Air Villages 4 programme will all receive a tailored, local site of their own.

For further information, please contact CRP Project Manager Kate Fenton.

Walking to School Week is taking place 17th – 21st May!

Living Streets’ five-day walking challenge is an annual celebration of the walk to school. This year’s theme is ‘Walking Superpowers’, focusing on benefits of walking for individuals, communities and the planet. Walking increases concentration and creativity, in addition to creating safer, less polluted and more welcoming streets. Each pupil is challenged to travel sustainably (walk, scoot, cycle or Park and Stride) to school every day for one week.

The week supports pupils with special educational needs and disabilities to enjoy walking, including travel by wheelchair or mobility scooter. Encouraging parents to park even a little way from the school reduces congestion and air pollution at the school gates and improves road safety.

CRP’s Clean Air Route Finder is the perfect tool to plot a cleaner, greener route to and from school, helping you to avoid polluted main roads and discover quieter back streets free from congested traffic.

School Streets are a beneficial temporary intervention to support cleaner air around school premises and encourage more active travel. As part of CRP’s Healthy Streets Everyday project, we delivered the Hackney School Streets Hotline, a free telephone service aimed at helping partners and London boroughs to design and implement more successful School Streets.

Putting pedestrians first is a key focus of delivering Healthy Streets for all to enjoy. Watch our webinar, ‘Pedestrian Priority Streets: Benefits for Schools, Businesses and Your Health’, in collaboration with Westminster City Council and Global Action Plan. Our handy Pedestrian Priority Toolkit accompanying the event has lots of useful resources, guidance and links to external support.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, with this year’s theme being Nature.

There are times in all our lives when things can feel too much. Nature is something so simple that can support good mental health. More than half of UK adults say that being close to nature improved their mental health and almost two thirds of people said that being close to nature meant they experience positive emotions. Nature can help to put things in perspective and bring calm to our lives.

Get off the beaten track and discover nature in London with CRP’s Clean Air Route Finder for quiet, clean air routes which reduce your exposure to air pollution!

Photo Credit: The Illuminated River Foundation

This year’s International Day of Light is on 16th May 2021. This global initiative focuses on the continued appreciation of light and the role it plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development, as well as in fields as diverse as medicine, communications and energy.

CRP has long-advocated the role that light can play in London, stretching back to its Light at the End of the Tunnel project that used artistic lighting interventions to make the railway viaduct and its arches and tunnels much less of an economic, community and physical barrier across the London South Central area.

More recently, CRP was one of the funding partners supporting Centre for London’s Seeing Clearly: A Lighting Vision for London report, which aims to inspire collaborative action by Local Authorities, communities, landowners, Business Improvement Districts and others to maximise the positive benefits to be accrued from sensitively-delivered lighting schemes.

The most recent and impressive light art scheme to land in London is The Illuminated River. This free and permanent installation has now been completed for 9 of the central London bridges over the River Thames. This includes the Golden Jubilee footbridges that CRP originally delivered using Single Regeneration Budget money with its partners City of Westminster, London Borough of Lambeth and others.

Huge congratulations to Sarah Gaventa and her team on The Illuminated River project!

Archives: News Articles

Clean Air Villages 4: May Update

Town Centre Futures Final Report and Summary

CRP’s Next Lunchtime Launch

Westminster Unit Business Survey

Open Innovation Challenge

CRP’s Staff Spotlight On: Sefinat Otaru

Happy Two Year Anniversary to the CRP Clean Air Villages Directory!

Walking to School Week

Mental Health Awareness Week

International Day of Light