Sadiq Khan updating six low-traffic neighbourhoods across London with rain gardens in £4m eco project

The mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced £4million of funding to deliver green projects such as tree pits and rain gardens to help tackle climate change.

The Green and Healthy Streets fund will also develop six low-traffic neighbourhoods in the boroughs of Camden, Hackney, Kingston, Lambeth and Newham.

The project will deliver 10 new pocket parks and green spaces and hundreds more street trees to help provide shade, reduce the risk of flooding and combat air pollution in the capital.

This follows the announcement of a further £3.1 million tree planting package for the capital in the wake of the recent unprecedented heatwave and devastating wildfires.

City Hall said the new funding would be targeted at London boroughs with low numbers of existing trees and where people are most vulnerable to climate change – generally meaning areas with higher numbers of people from minority groups.

Tree pits, rain gardens and pocket parks will be introduced into the following low traffic neighbourhoods:

• Camden Square, Camden
• Wayland Avenue, Hackney
• Albert Road, Kingston
• Dalyell Road/Combermere Road, Lambeth
• Landor Road/Stockwell Green/Lingham, Lambeth
• Maryland/ Odessa/Atherton/Manbey/Woodgrange, Newham

Experts have long hailed greener cities as being better prepared for extreme heat, because they provide shade and reduce the amount of warmth stored up by concrete.

Scientists have also suggested that surface temperatures can be reduced by as much as 12°C by good tree coverage.

Last month, temperatures in London hit 40C for the first time, as the London Fire Brigade had its busiest day since the Second World War.

A further 11 boroughs will receive £2.85m of funding which will enable the development of green walking routes.

And £1m will be awarded to TfL for greening projects on the TfL Road Network, which includes transforming the Joe Strummer pedestrian subway at Edgware Road into rain gardens.

Rain gardens and tree pits reduce flood risk by absorbing surface water run-off from hard surfaces, while creating a more attractive environment for pedestrians and a habitat for wildlife.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The climate emergency is the biggest global threat we face today and its effects are on our doorstep.

“The flash flooding we experienced last year and the extreme heat waves last month risk becoming more common as we deal with the impacts of the climate crisis.

“This funding will help boroughs across London and TfL invest in projects that will improve climate resilience so we are more prepared to respond to and recover from extreme weather incidents, they will also make the local area greener and more pleasant to be in.

“As mayor I am determined to invest in more green spaces for all. We need to act now to adapt our city and build a better London for everyone – a safer, fairer, greener and more prosperous city for all.”

Penny Rees, TfL Head of Healthy Streets said: “There is a big opportunity to incorporate climate change adaptation measures into our Healthy Streets projects, especially as we convert many of the temporary changes made during the pandemic to permanent.

“This fund will help to demonstrate what’s possible through delivering exemplary projects.

“We are excited to work with our borough partners to deliver these important projects on behalf of the mayor that will make a real impact on local areas across London.”