The January meeting was briefer but also involved big money, and a major success. The Council has had two bids accepted from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund. These are in respect of Fifteen Minute Neighbourhoods and Connecting Communities.

Fifteen Minute Neighbourhoods

The aim of this programme is to sup- port residents to have a journey time of no more than fifteen minutes from their homes to reach key services.

The benefits are claimed to be: Less use of cars, with car free zones, and so less pollution; more walking and cycling leading to better health; more sociability, as people are more likely to stop and socialise with each other as well as more shop sales. Among the projects are

Delivery of four low traffic neighbourhoods.
Delivery of three pedestrianised streets
Delivery of cycle way and bus priority measures along Romford Road
Making narrow alleyways safer.

Connecting Communities

These include:

1. Project East Docks Eco; Around Beckton and London City Airport there are plans:

• To bring four disused buildings back into use in particular for workspaces for green enterprises and cycle repairs.

To provide 4.7 km of new walking and cycling routes.

2. Project Custom House Heritage and Creative Enterprise
The plan is to develop the old Canning Town Library into cultural and learning spaces with partnerships with higher education colleges, and with cultural institutions such as Sadlers Well and London College of Fashion.

3. Project Leaway Link

The main schemes are:

For a new bridge over the RiverLea
For improvements to the LeawayRiverside WalkThrough all employment develop- ment initiatives, there is an emphasis on IT innovation.

For more detail please email mayor@newham.gov.uk To see the video of the meeting contact: Adrian.May@newham.gov.uk

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