Hammersmith consolidation hub will reduce freight journeys, says TfL

TfL has put up £50,000 towards a new freight hub in Hammersmith, which is intended to reduce traffic and congestion in the capital.

The investment is one of a raft of measures TfL is funding to ease congestion and improve air quality. It is intended that the various initiatives will be match-funded by the individual businesses involved in the projects.

In Hammersmith, TfL said the aim was for 50% of companies involved in the area's Business Improvement District (BID) – a partnership between the local authority and local businesses – to contribute financially. That would be around 200 businesses.

The freight hub would enable businesses to receive and sort more deliveries at a single location and reduce freight vehicles in the area, particularly at peak times.

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A TfL spokesman told motortransport.co.uk: “They hope to move a significant number of diesel vehicles miles to their zero emissions vehicles. All deliveries made from the centre will be by electric vehicle or cargo bike, and a similar scheme for waste in Bankside was able to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 98%.”

In total, £170,000 is being spent on initiatives. These include reducing the number of freight vehicle movements in Hatton Garden by installing a waste consolidation centre and appointing a preferred supplier for collection, as well as installing waste compactor machines at a single collection point in Aldgate to cut freight movements.

Patricia Bench, Hammersmith BID director, said the funding will “help us achieve our objectives to reduce the number of, and emissions from, freight and goods vehicles in our town centre”.

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