The need to improve air quality is an issue faced across London, and most major cities. As it is a great concern to the Estate, we were one of the leading partners in developing the Marylebone Low Emissions Neighbourhood (LEN), working alongside Westminster City Council, Transport for London (TfL), Baker Street Quarter Partnership, Marble Arch London and others to identify and implement initiatives to improve air quality in Marylebone.
As a key partner in the LEN, The Portman Estate developed and led the Marylebone Green Club, a programme which offers free air quality emissions audits to buildings in the area, with a view to identifying interventions which owners and occupiers could implement to reduce the emissions of their buildings. To date the Green Club has facilitated five audits of major buildings across the Estate with recommendations currently being implemented.
This programme of work is especially important because buildings are the largest contributor to local poor air quality. Identifying interventions that can be made (and demonstrating a business case for their implementation) therefore has the potential to create significant benefits for air quality in the area.
The Marylebone Low Emission Neighbourhood (LEN) was established in July 2016 and ran for three years, completing in July 2019. The programme was funded by the Mayor of London. Key successes included the LEN’s anti-idling campaign, which saw Air Quality Marshalls dealing successfully with c. 900 idling cars each month, and the introduction of emissions-based parking charges for older diesel cars achieving a 16% reduction in these vehicles in the neighbourhood.
The Green Club project identified a number of innovative interventions that will help reduce emissions and therefore improve air quality. Since the completion of the LEN we are committed to continuing to support and develop the Green Club, expanding its remit across other buildings on our Estate.
Reducing localised transport-related air pollution levels is a key goal within our Sustainability Action Plan, addressing One Planet Living principle 7 (Travel and Transport).
