Mayor’s office say Wandsworth Council’s bid not good enough

Putney High Street . Picture: Google Street View

Despite being recorded as one of the most polluted areas in the capital Putney High Street has not been included in a new round of funds for Air Quality Hot Spots.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, has increased funding by £11 million to create a number of ‘Low Emissions Neighbourhoods’ which would a number of new penalties for polluting vehicles, as well as the introduction of car-free days, green taxi ranks for zero emission-capable cabs and parking spaces reserved for the cleanest vehicles.

The five new neighbourhoods to be created will cover eight of the boroughs in London but no part of Wandsworth is included. Putney High Street was the first street in London to breach the number of allowed exceedances of NOx levels again this year.

When asked why Putney was not included the Mayors office told this website:
"All London boroughs were invited to apply for £25,000 in seed funding in order to develop their Low Emission Neighbourhood proposals. The Greater London Authority received 17 applications, including one from the London Borough of Wandsworth. These applications were scored against a published criteria. Unfortunately, when compared with the other applications for seed funding, the Wandsworth bid did not include enough comprehensive and feasible proposals for the council to deliver. Therefore, they were not awarded seed funding in order to take their proposal forward."

When announcing the scheme, Sadiq Khan said:
“The previous Mayor committed to funding two local projects, but I don’t think this goes far enough.

“So I’m delighted to announce that we will now be funding five key areas across London – helping to tackle air pollution and transforming neighbourhoods.

“The action we are taking in the capital is vital, but it’s imperative that our ambition is matched by Ministers.

“That’s why I’m also calling on Government Ministers to put in place incentives for people to switch to low-emission vehicles, as well as providing London with additional powers and funding to help tackle this public health crisis.”

The schemes which are being funded are in Westminster, Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets, the City of London, Greenwich, Redbridge and Newham. The Barbican Low Emission Neighbourhood proposal includes no-idling zones where stationary vehicles must turn off their engines, restricted access to certain streets for all but the cleanest vehicles and green taxi ranks. The City Fringe Low Emissions Neighbourhood proposal includes tree planting, an emphasis on walking and cycling with improved pavements and cycle routes, and parking spaces for the sole use of the cleanest vehicles.

It was recently announced that a new Ultra Low Emission Zone would cut Putney in half with some motorists have to pay a charge to drive from one part of SW15 to another.

We asked the Council for a comment on the lack of funding for Putney and the bid.

July 22, 2016