• New 200 tree pocket forest planted
• Newham’s pledge for a greener future is taking leafy shape
Attending a planting event of 200 new trees in North Woolwich Road, Silvertown, Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE said it is so important that work towards cleaner air continues for the sake of all who live, work, and visit Newham.
The Mayor said: “Greener streets are healthier streets, improving the quality of the air we breathe means longer, healthier lives for our residents, but especially that of our children.
“Right now, Newham residents are exposed to some of the highest levels of toxic pollution caused by traffic. As a result we have the highest number of deaths in England - that’s 96 people dying prematurely each year.
“We also have the highest number of our children admitted to hospital due to asthma-related conditions.
“Part of the reason is because many of our more established neighbourhoods are by busy main roads, but we also have high rates of ‘through-traffic’ vehicles from out of the borough using our residential roads as rat-runs.
“While air pollution doesn’t respect borough boundaries and there are many factors contributing to poor air quality which can be beyond the control of the Council, we must do everything we can to address this crisis situation.
“That is why I believe in our commitment to create a zero carbon future for our borough.
“This project has seen us plant nearly 200 trees as part of our pocket forest, helping to reduce pollution in the air and making our streets more pleasant.
“So not only is this good for the environment it is good for the well-being of our residents across our borough; and also help reduce the health inequalities in the capital.”
She was speaking after she joined the teams from Bluesky landscaping company, and Kenson Highways at Silvertown for the latest tree planting project.
These new trees are part of the Royal Docks Corridor, a project being delivered by Newham Council in partnership with the Royal Docks Team (a joint initiative from the Mayor of London and the Mayor of Newham) to improve the road layout and street environment on North Woolwich Road and Silvertown Way between Canning Town and Connaught Bridge.
The work, part of our Street Tree planting programme part funded through the Urban Tree Challenge with the Forestry Commission, is just one of the green projects that have taken place within the borough over the past few months.
Others have included:
- Investing £500,000 in pocket forest planting across eight schools, Gooseley playing fields and Newham hospital
- Confirmed Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grants to three maintained schools with a commitment to remove gas on site at all our schools and libraries
- Funded supported Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Healthy School Streets and Zero Emission Neighbourhoods from our Carbon Offset Fund
- Planted 100s of new street trees across the borough to brighten up our highways and reduce pollution
- Formally opened Beckton Meadows, featuring over two acres of resident-planted wildflowers and grasses, a Butterfly Garden and the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Pathway
The Mayor added: “This isn’t the end, as part of our Air Quality Action Plan we will be making more announcements on how we aim to tackle air pollution and improve green spaces in Newham soon.”
