Research highlights failings in outer London transport infrastructure

‘Moving with the Times’ is a programme of research from independent think tank Centre for London designed to address the future of transport around the capital. In their latest report they look at how to support more sustainable travel in outer London.

The headline findings of the research is that more people in outer London are compelled to own cars by the lack of reliable public transport or active travel infrastructure. This is obviously timely information given the forthcoming expansion of the city’s Low Emission Zone.

In the foreword Sak Gill, VicePresident and General Manager South East England, Enterprise Holdings says: ‘Outer London is, by definition, different to inner London. How residents across outer London move around is very different too. A lot of journeys are local and don’t head into or terminate in central London.’

69% of households in outer London have access to a car, compared to 42% in inner London and 77% in England as a whole.

38% of journeys in outer London are made by car – exactly double the number in inner London – and half of these journeys are less than two miles long. The report identifies three areas in which change is needed: the cycle network needs greater coverage, public transport routes need connecting to new developments at a much earlier stage and shared transport should be delivered more consistently.

Claire Harding, Interim Chief

Executive of Centre for London said: ‘There are 5.4 million people in outer London – as many as live in Scotland. But many of these people don’t have access to the transport options that their inner London counterparts enjoy.

‘Improving the options people have to travel sustainably for local trips, not just commuting, is at the heart of making London a more liveable city.’

Air quality monitoring stations discovered to be collecting biodiversity data

In a remarkable turn of events, a group of scientists have discovered that air quality monitoring stations around the world are doing more than taking air samples, they are also collecting biodiversity data in the form of environmental DNA. It has previously been accepted that worldwide biodiversity monitoring simply didn’t exist.

information, an experiment was devised.

An air quality station was set up in a large London park, collecting samples for an hour, a day and a week, and these were compared to eight-month-old samples from a public station in Scotland.

The discovery came about after researchers Joanne Littlefair of Queen Mary University of London and York University Assistant Professor Elizabeth Clare, proved that the presence of individual species can be detected by eDNA in the air. That would have been the end of the story, had Dr James Allerton and Dr Andrew Brown, two scientists at the UK’s National

Physical Laboratory (NTL) not seen that research.

Allerton said: ‘We were routinely collecting particulate matter looking to measure pollutants in air but when we saw the work, we realised maybe we were sitting on something much more valuable.’

After contacting Littlefair and Clare to ask if it was possible their monitors were collecting this

Elizabeth Clare: ‘We were surprised by the diversity of life we were able to survey with one approach, almost unheard in this field of science. In these two locations, we simultaneously detected the eDNA of 34 bird and 24 mammal species, a wide variety of insects, crops, pathogenic fungus, lovely wildflowers, ornamental garden plants and grasses.

‘We found species of interest, such as hedgehogs, along with badgers, deer, dormice, little owls, smooth newts, songbirds and 80 different kinds of woodland trees and plants – oak, linden, ash, pine – it was all there collected on these tiny filters. It’s unbelievably exciting.’

UK's Electricity System Operator announce plans to speed up connections to the electricity grid

Following the revelation that some renewable energy projects are facing waits of up to 15 years to be connected to the grid, barely a week goes by without a new initiative being announced to reduce these delays.

The milestones that projects will have to meet are points such as raising finance, buying land, getting planning permission and breaking ground.

Whitbread to remove mains gas connection from across its estate

At the same time as announcing that its net zero target has been validated by the ScienceBased Targets initiative (SBTi), Whitbread, owners of Premier Inn have said they aim to remove all mains gas connection from their estate by 2040.

The news has been announced by the UK's Electricity System Operator in a document titled ‘Get on, get back or get out of the energy queue'. In a move they hope will reduce the current queues by 10 years, the ESO have written to parties involved in projects which will require grid connection, asking for updates and 'project milestones,' so future progress can be monitored. Projects that are progressing slowly will be able to choose to move backwards or leave the queue in order to make way for punctual projects wanting to connect. The ESO say these reforms will mean that projects will be able to connect up to ten years earlier.

Putting the current situation into context, the ESO point out that there are approximately 220 projects due to connect to the national transmission system before 2026, totalling around 40GW but only half of these have got planning consent at this stage and some have moved their connection dates back by over 14 years.

It was also announced that the connection of battery storage projects, which make up 34% of the current projects in the queue, would be accelerated and that the ESO are looking at ways to enable developers to build their own connections into the grid beyond the current 2km limit.

Large planning applications must now consult Active Travel England

Active Travel England will help deliver walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure on all future large developments, having been officially confirmed as a statutory consultee on all planning applications for developments exceeding 150 housing units, 7,500 m2 of floorspace or 5 hectares in area.

Active Travel England will now be involved in guiding planning authorities towards making active travel a significant element of future developments.

It is predicted that this will see ATE reviewing around 3,100 applications a year, roughly 60% of new homes. It will be their role to ensure that such developments enjoy active travel connectivity with nearby schools and amenities.

This announcement follows a pilot project during which ATE worked with 30 local authorities to assess more than 60 developments over the nine months up until November 2022.

Feedback from a survey at the start of the pilot saw 80% of respondents agree ATE should have a role in the planning system.

Active Travel Commissioner

Chris Boardman said: ‘Designing activity back into our neighbourhoods and creating places where children have transport independence is achievable – it just needs smart planning.

‘As a statutory consultee ATE will work with planning authorities and developers to help them ensure new estates give people what they need to get fresh air and exercise, save money on petrol and help fight climate change.’ Following the announcement, active travel charity Sustrans tweeted: ‘Too many new housing developments force people to depend on cars for their everyday journeys, due to a lack of local amenities and poor (or non-existent) active travel and public transport links. It’s encouraging to see steps towards changing this’

Their Net Zero Transition includes a commitment to remove mains gas from its existing estate where possible, including over 800 Premier Inn hotels, using a wide range of initiatives such as the installation of air source heat pumps, solar panels, only using renewable energy and the installation of more energy efficient kitchen equipment.

Later this year the first all-electric Premier Inn will open in Swindon. Designed without a gas connection, the hotel will be fully heated and powered by grid energy generated from renewable sources and by on-site solar.

European Respiratory Society demands ‘decisive action’ to achieve clean air in Europe for all

At the Clean Air in Europe for All conference in Brussels, the European Respiratory Society's Professor Zorana J Andersen called for the European Union to take 'decisive action' to achieve clean air in Europe: ‘Air pollution and climate change are inseparable issues,' she said. 'Reducing air pollution and mitigating climate change should be dealt with together to help protect our health.'

The conference discussed proposed revisions to EU’s Ambient Air Quality Directive which has set a target of zero air pollution by 2050, with an interim target of 2030 to meet WHO standards.

The ERS called for swift adoption of the Directive, observing that by aligning the Directive with the WHO air quality standards and improving on existing interventions to tackle air pollution, Europe can take significant steps towards achieving the zero-pollution target and safeguarding public health.

The WHO’s Dr Maria Neira said: ‘We know that those are ambitious, but how can you not be ambitious when you are talking about protecting people’s health?'