Low Emission Strategies

LES in action

Greenwich

first group bus The London Borough of Greenwich pioneered the use of Section 106 agreements to mitigate the effects of transport pollution arising from new developments, giving rise to the concept of Low Emission Strategies. Developers are required to contribute the following rates towards air quality and waste management measures:

£100 per residential dwelling towards both AQ and Waste
£10 per sqm commercial development towards AQ and Waste

The council routinely uses their model Section 106 agreement for major new developments to secure contributions towards a variety of initiatives to reduce emissions and incentivise low emission fuels and technologies. Case studies are listed in the annex to the LES/Defra Planning Guidance.

Low emission measures in the borough include the installation of twelve publicly accessible electric vehicle charging points, and a trial of two gas powered vehicles in the council’s fleet. Greenwich has also provided Section 106 funding towards the development of the Low Emission Toolkit.

October 2011

Greenwich Council Logo Defra has given initial approval for award funding for Greenwich Council to develop a national methane/biomethane vehicle and infrastructure database, in partnership with the ADBA and FTA, with input from Coca Cola, Tenens, Waitrose and DfT. The database will highlight the availability of public and third party access to refuelling facilities across the UK, encouraging the development of public private partnerships and highlighting the potential NO_X and PM₁₀ reduction arising from gas vehicle use.