£6 million to help London boroughs target air quality

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has encouraged London boroughs to bid for a share of £6 million to help target local pollution hot spots and further improve air quality in the capital.

Part of the £20 million Mayor’s Air Quality Fund, the funding will be used to establish four more Low Emission Neighbourhoods (LENs), create car-free and low-emission streets, and support people and businesses to start using ultra-low emission vehicles.

The fund has already helped 29 boroughs introduce new measures, including electrifying Hackney Council’s vehicle fleet, fitting low-cost electric charging points onto lampposts across Hounslow, and establishing a green courier service in Waltham Forest.

Khan said: “Our filthy toxic air is a national health crisis, contributing to tens of thousands of premature deaths in the UK every year. The bold action we’ve already delivered such as establishing Low Emission Bus Zones, cleaning up the bus and taxi fleets and delivering the T-Charge in central London, are starting to have a positive impact. This funding will help boroughs to deliver targeted action to complement these strong measures and improve their local areas for the benefit of all Londoners.

“Despite all that I’m doing here in London, we can’t win this battle until the government provides extra resources and delivers a national scrappage fund to get the dirtiest vehicles off our streets and a new Clean Air Act fit for the 21st century.”

Khan is currently supporting five LENs with £1 million each, to be delivered by April 2019. They are to be delivered by Westminster Council, Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets Councils, City of London, Greenwich Council and Redbridge and Newham Councils.