Mayor offers £1 million to improve air quality

The Mayor of London encouraged community groups to apply for his £1 million Greener City Fund when he visited the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in Richmond recently.

The fund will help to deliver more air quality improving trees, plants and green play areas in every neighbourhood.

Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to protect London’s Green Belt and help make the capital the world’s first National Park City. His £1 million Greener City community fund is part of his wider £9 million funding to help schools, boroughs and local groups improve their local environments.

Grants of £5,000 to £50,000 are available for groups to apply for. They can be used for a range of projects, from line walking routes to schools with air quality boosting trees, to creating mini play spaces and community gardens in built-up areas.

As part of his plans to make more than 50 per cent of London green by 2050, the Mayor wants to help fund thousands more trees and improvements to community green spaces, and help London’s boroughs invest in parks, playing fields and woodland.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: “In London we are battling a toxic air health crisis which is contributing to over 9,000 premature deaths every year and damaging our children’s lungs. That’s why the scientific research being done at Kew is so important in helping us look after our environment. Kew’s amazing work is further evidence for why it’s so important to invest in and protect our parks and woodlands, as well as help support this world-class research.

“Kew Gardens and its 14,000 trees, tropical plants and palms is one of the many outstanding green spaces in London and highlights why we should become the world’s first National Park City.

“We need more greenery across all of our communities and I want everyone - young and old - to be able to get involved in helping make local areas greener. That’s why I’m announcing £1 million in green grants for local groups to help create the community gardens, play areas and allotments needed to improve our air and enrich our daily lives.”