Update from Leonie Cooper, Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth

Leonie Cooper, Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth, provided any update on the work of the London Assembly. The role of Assembly is primarily to hold the Mayor of London to account. There are 25 Assembly Members, 14 geographical, 11 from a top-up list. At the moment five parties are represented Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, UKIP and Green parties.

There are a series of cross party committees. Leonie is currently Deputy Chair of the Environment Committee, and Chair of Economy Committee. The committees look at range of projects for example single use plastics, which resulted in roll out of water fountains; biodiversity and housing, which has been integrated into new London Plan. The Economy Committee has looked at the condition high streets, which included evidence from Love Wimbledon, and creating new jobs in a low carbon economy.

The final version of the London Plan is currently with the Secretary of State for approval. The plan includes requirements for net-biodiversity improvement on developments and for urban green space.

The Mayor has recently announced data that shows the impact of the introduction of the ULEZ and Low Emission Bus Zones has already had on improving Air Quality. This is at

https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/data-shows-mayors-action-cleaning-up-londons-air with more details at

https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment-publications/air-pollution-monitoring-data-london-2016-2020

A resident asked about improving access on public transport. Leonie said she has visited a number of stations as part of the Transport Committee along with London Travelwatch to look at access. The intension is to upgrade all the stations on the northern line but some are listed so this is more challenging. There is a budget of £200m to achieve this but the work has to be phased. The Mayor does not have power over rail stations and the many different operators of these stations make the situation more complicated.

A resident asked how the central London ULEZ had benefited Merton. Leonie replied that the evidence showed people had changed their behaviour for their whole journey, reducing the number of the most polluting vehicles travelling towards the zone. Merton has also benefited from the Low Emission Bus Zone at Putney High Street and the conversion of black cabs to electric vehicles. The ULEZ will be extended to the South Circular in 2021, but Leonie would like to extend this further. There is a budget of £864m to transform the bus fleet, with the whole fleet moving to electric or hydrogen vehicles.

A resident felt the increase in public hire and delivery vehicles was having a negative impact on Air Quality. Leonie agreed and said that since the introduction of Uber the number of public hire vehicles has increase from c80,000 to more than 600,000 and the Mayor has called for additional powers to regulate these vehicles. The Mayor is also working with delivery companies to explore alternatives like cargo bikes, logistics planning and electric vehicle. Data on vehicle use can be found in the London Data Store. 

The Mayor has announced that 20 September will be car free day with communities holding events and street parties to encourage people to switch from car use. The target is to have 80% of journeys by walking, cycling or public transport.