How to clean up London’s polluted air 

In January this year air pollution levels in the capital were worse than in Beijing – one of the globe’s most contaminated cities. In order to clean up the city’s air, the property industry needs to come up with innovative ideas for land use and development – such as consolidation centres – to reduce the amount of traffic on the roads. Landlords also need to install electric charging points for occupiers and delivery drivers. Most of London’s pollution comes from vehicles – diesel vehicles emit close to 40% of the capital’s airborne oxides of nitrogen, and petrol vehicles emit 16%, according to a report by IPPR, King’s College London and Greenpeace. Of these, delivery and freight vehicles account for 25% of London traffic, according to TfL. Why it is bad and getting worse E-commerce and consumer demand for faster deliveries – both personal and commercial – is set to increase. London’s population is predicted to reach 10m by 2030, meaning that the challenges for freight vehicles in the city are likely to increase. The growth of e-commerce has made it difficult for high street retailers in particular because of the number of available delivery options including click and collect, home delivery and delivery to workspace. Bridget Outtrim, director of Savills’ logistics team, said: “The price that we are paying for convenience and the bespoke deliveries across London will create great inefficiencies in the long term. “It is neither environmentally friendly nor good for congestion and it will have a huge impact on air quality.” Retailers have until now kept their stock on site, in storage space, which requires infrequent freight deliveries. However, the rise of e-commerce means that retailers are under pressure to update their stock selection much more regularly, which requires many more deliveries. Steven Medway, managing director, trading environment, New West End Company, said: “A world-class retail district needs world-class air. We are dedicated to liaising with our partners to ensure that the air quality of Oxford Street and its surrounding areas improves. By working closely with all our members to drive business-led change, we are helping to improve the environment on this iconic street.” The hotel, restaurant and catering sector is similarly putting strain on the roads and the atmosphere. According to JLL, food and drink is the second-largest source of heavy goods vehicle traffic in London after construction materials. Consolidating deliveries and using more electric vehicles would reduce this traffic and improve air quality Encouraging more landlords and freight companies to use electric cars is another way to improve air quality. David Hirst, head of operations, UK, at UBS Asset management, said this was something UBS was looking to implement across its portfolio. He said: “We encourage the use of electric cars. Our main landlord-led initiatives to date include installing charging points and providing occupiers with electric cars to share. We also offer shared cycle services.” Who is doing what about it and what else can we do? In 2009 the Crown Estate introduced a consolidation scheme for Regent Street, W1, to try to cut deliveries to retailers in a bid to improve air quality. Electric lorries now service 40 participating retailers and deliveries to these stores have been reduced by 85%. The Mayor’s Air Quality Fund, launched in 2013, has £20m to support projects across London boroughs to help improve air quality. Projects launched in 2015 to clean up logistics operations include fitting low-cost electric vehicle charging points onto lamp columns across Hounslow, and in Waltham Forest, establishing a green courier service that provides same-day deliveries using cargo bikes and electric vehicles. In 2014 former London mayor Boris Johnson and TfL launched the Future Streets Project Fund, which also targets logistics issues and how to improve them. TfL has now funded plans to create a central platform for ordering everyday items such as milk and newspapers in central London, which will then be delivered using electric vehicles or cargo bikes. Air pollution and health statistics ■ According to London’s Air Quality Network, the number of times emissions breached EU guidelines in 2015 was 135. This number fell to 86 in 2016 – a 36% year-on-year reduction. ■ Urban freight in Europe is responsible for 25% of urban transport-related CO2 emissions and 30-50% of other transport related pollutants ■ High concentrations of airborne particulates, as high as 2.5 parts per million, were estimated to be responsible for about 467,000 premature deaths across Europe in 2013 ■ 16% of London’s CO2 emissions is from freight traffic Benefits gained from the Crown Estate’s initiatives ■ 32% reduction in delivery mileage ■ 10 fewer tonnes of CO2 emissions per year – the equivalent of two households’ total annual output ■ 7kg reduction of particle matter a year ■ 15 tonnes of CO2 per year emitted through the use of electric vehicles ■ 77% reduction in vehicle movement ■ 74% fewer trips by car, on average, equivalent to a reduction of 75,412 miles a year TfL’s future streets project: Inmidtown delivery consolidation service ■ Inmidtown estimates that congestion and CO2 emissions in Holborn, Bloomsbury and St Giles will fall by an estimated 60% through the implementation of this service ■ Vehicle miles will fall by 81% per year as the number of deliveries in the Inmidtown area shrinks from more than 5,000 per day to around 1,000 ■ The service is expected to reduce congestion in Holborn by more than 60% To send feedback, e-mail amber.rolt@egi.co.uk or tweet @AmberRoltEG or @estatesgazette See also: ■ Developers join in the challenge to clean up London’s air ■ Open windows or sealed – the great air policy debate