Pollution can return to London street as zero-emissions trial ends

Beech Street, which runs under the Barbican, saw pollution cut by 58%

The UK's first zero-emissions street trial in London has ended, allowing pollution levels to soar.

A ban on polluting vehicles on Beech Street, which runs under the Barbican, cut pollution by 58%.

But, despite plans to consult on making the scheme permanent, the pilot has timed out by running for the maximum 18 months.

Oliver Lord, UK head of Clean Cities Campaign, said he feared London's clean air "crown is slipping".

In 2020, a coroner found toxic air in London contributed to the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, aged nine, in 2013

The £1.8m trial, funded with £1m from the Mayor of London's Clean Air Fund, cut vehicle traffic by 90%, leaving the street for electric vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.

Traffic enforcement began on 27 July 2020 and stopped on 18 September 2021, having been supported by a High Court review in August.

A City of London Corporation report on the conclusion of the trial labelled it a "qualified success" and stated it would be "necessary to remove a significant majority of traffic" to improve air quality in future.

A spokeswoman for the corporation, the local authority for the square mile, said the trial ended "because, as with all experimental traffic orders, it had a maximum duration of 18 months".

She added a public consultation on a permanent scheme would open later this year, and officers had concluded pollution was reduced below legal limits by the experiment.

But campaigner Mr Lord said the commitment was "vague" and lacked a delivery date, despite approving the scheme in 2019 after consultation.

"There is no time to waste," he said. "If experiments are proven effective then they should be followed up in haste and especially when it affects people's health.

"The greater the delay then the greater the risk of enabling illegal levels of air pollution to return - a precarious spot I wouldn't wish for any local authority.

"London has been the posterchild for clean air and climate innovation for years but I fear the crown is slipping."

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