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The Low Emission Zone comes into force in London

From today, construction site managers in London will be required to retrofit or replace old, polluting machinery in an attempt to clean up the capital’s air and reduce damaging emissions from onsite equipment.

Led by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, The Low Emission Zone is part of a plan to reduce emissions from transport and precedes the introduction of an Ultra-Low Emission Zone in central London from 2020.

Under the new rules, all construction sites in the centre of London and sites building more than ten homes or larger than 1,000 square feet in Greater London will have to replace or retrofit polluting equipment which is more than 10 years old.

Currently, it is estimated up to 12 per cent of nitrogen oxide and 15 per cent of particulate pollution in London come from construction and demolition activity.

The new Low Emission Zone for construction machinery is expected to cut particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions by nearly 50 per cent by 2020, improving the health and wellbeing of Londoners.

Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy Matthew Pencharz said: “Dust and fumes from construction sites are a nuisance to people who live close by but they also impact on London’s wider air quality. That’s why it’s so important for these new emission standards to come in to address the problem, which together with our efforts on transport emissions will make a significant difference to the air Londoners breathe.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .