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:
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.
Royal Borough of Greenwich has partnered with the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) and the Transport Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), to develop the ‘Gas Vehicle Hub’. The website provides information on the location of gas powered fleets and refuelling infrastructure, case studies and vehicles available in the UK.
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 NOX and PM10 reduction arising from gas vehicle use.
LES / Defra Planning Guidance - PDF Document (421kb)
Case Study on Technology Funding and Deployment - PDF Document (62kb)
National AssessmentThe benefits case for stronger local action.
Low Emission HubAction Database - implementation, impacts and benefits.
Planning GuidanceReducing the transport emissions associated with development.
Low Emission ToolkitQuantify transport emissions for managed fleets and development sites.