New Clean Air Villages will improve London’s air quality

Cross River Partnership has secured funding from the Department of environment, food & rural affairs (Defra) to install a number of Clean Air Villages 4 (CAV4) across London. 

The CAV4 projects will be led by Westminster City Council and will aim to deliver various sustainable freight solutions in order to achieve a clean air recovery from Covid-19. 

The solutions will cover all aspects of business operations, from the consolidation and distribution of goods to the zero-emission modes of transport, the technology to support them, and the policy elements to ensure they remain fit for the future.

The solutions will be targeted at areas that have been identified by the Greater London Authority as being areas of high human exposure to poor air quality.

The project will also build on the success of the first three phases of the Clean Air Villages project, which was led by the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham and the City of Westminster.

These projects delivered various improvements, from shared electric van schemes for local businesses and charities, zero-emission cargo bike schemes to dedicated Clean Air Routes between high footfall destinations.

Kate Fenton, project manager at Cross River Partnership, said: ‘Cross River Partnership is really pleased to successfully receive the Defra Air Quality fund, once again to deliver the Clean Air Villages project with 23 partners.

‘At times, the pandemic has given us a glimpse of what quieter, cleaner roads can look like for our health and our communities. For those businesses and organisations out there that have been fortunate enough to survive, there is a genuine opportunity to build back better. This includes committing to and implementing solutions that will result in fewer polluting emissions. We are keen to work on both a local and cross-borough level in London on freight solutions that will result in better air quality.’

Photo Credit – Cross River Partnership