Moor Lane: London’s first low-emission street

City of London authorities unveil first public details of plan to make city centre street a hub for clean air

Moor Lane, tucked behind Moorgate tube station in central London, is a narrow city street lined with glass and concrete. It’s probably most famous for hosting the £89m Heron Tower, a residential skyscraper in the heart of London’s financial district.

But Moor Lane is about to hit the headlines for a different reason – it is set to become London’s first low-emission street.

According to plans set out today by the City of London Corporation, the local authority for the capital’s Square Mile, Moor Lane will be the site of a pilot project that will see only the cleanest vehicles admitted access from April 2019.

The plans, released for consultation this morning, form part of the City of London’s Low Emissions Neighbourhood project, which is jointly funded by City Hall.

Only ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) will be allowed to enter the southern end of Moor Lane under the trial. The City of London is consulting on whether to implement the rules all day, every day, or just during Monday to Friday.

If the trial goes well, the system could be rolled out to other streets in the Square Mile in a bid to encourage more drivers to switch to electric or hybrid technology, City of London said.

“This trial is an important step towards cleaner air,” said Jeremy Simons, chair of the City of London Corporation’s environment committee. “We are determined to see a major improvement in the City’s air quality.”

“It will deliver the results we need when considering radical targeted action to drastically reduce air pollution on our streets,” he added. “Nobody should have to breathe in dirty air, and we will continue to take bold and ambitious steps to ensure that the health of Londoners is protected.”

The City of London said it would put signs up for a month before the trial starts, to warn drivers of the impending restrictions. For the first four weeks of the trial, non-ULEVs which enter the trial zone will only receive a warning letter, but after that Penalty Charge Notices will be issued.

The City of London is currently considering a longer term ambition of turning parts of the Square Mile into zero-emission zones by 2022, and this summer unveiled emissions-based charges for on-street parking in the area.