New £85 million London scheme to encourage greener transport and improve air quality is announced

A new scheme which aims to make London a ‘fairer, greener, healthier’ city by encouraging the use of alternative transport modes has been announced by mayor, Sadiq Khan.

The £85.9 million Liveable Neighbourhoods programme aims to give boroughs the opportunity to bid for funding for long-term schemes that encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport, in line with the Mayor’s Healthy Streets approach.

The programme will provide grants of between £1 million and £10 million for a wide range of community-supported projects, potentially including the creation of green spaces, new cycling infrastructure, and redesigned junctions.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’ve set out bold plans to transform the way Londoners move around our city to improve our health, air quality and future prosperity.

“London’s boroughs are key partners in delivering this vision and through this new funding we can make a real difference by supporting the projects that local people want to see. This will ensure that the improvements really work for our local communities, transforming our town centres and successfully encouraging many more Londoners to walk, cycle or use public transport for the good of their health and our environment.”

Cllr Julian Bell, chair of London councils’ Transport and Environment Committee, said: “London’s boroughs work hard to transform neighbourhoods and provide additional facilities for local people and visitors to enjoy. We welcome this funding, which will help us create beautiful and – crucially - functional spaces where we can promote sustainable methods of transport, such as walking and cycling, and reduce the impact of pollution.”