Boris Johnson announces London's 10 'low-carbon zones'

Ten boroughs awarded £200,000 to develop energy efficient neighbourhoods of 13,000 homes and 1,000 businesses
Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 3 September 2009 10.35 BST
Ten London boroughs have won funding to develop "low-carbon zones" with schemes ranging from "energy doctors" to solar panels for schools and electric car charging points, London Mayor Boris Johnson said today.
Each borough will be awarded at least £200,000 to pioneer energy efficiency and carbon reduction measures in the capital. The low-carbon neighbourhoods cover 13,000 homes, around 1,000 shops and businesses, 20 schools, a hospital, places of worship and community centres, and each has a target to deliver emissions savings of 20.12% on current levels by 2012.
Schemes to reduce emissions include low-cost offers of insulation and heating to low-income families, working with a major retailer to install solar panels on its roof to power local homes, and supplying low-carbon heating from Kings College Hospital to nearby residents.
Several "energy doctor" programmes will train residents to become advisers on how people can make their homes more energy efficient and save money, while one borough will be helping householders monitor their power use with smart meters.
The winning zones, and the boroughs they are in, are: Barking town centre (Barking and Dagenham), Muswell Hill (Haringey), Archway (Islington), Brixton (Lambeth), Lewisham town centre (Lewisham), Wandle Valley (Merton), Ham and Petersham (Richmond-upon-Thames), Peckham (Southwark), Hackbridge (Sutton) and Queen's Park (Westminster).
The £3m plan for the low-carbon zones was announced in May, and boroughs were invited to apply. Johnson said: "There was a high calibre of bids from across the boroughs and it was a difficult choice, but the winning entries are championing the latest technologies, which will help us become a leading low-carbon city."
Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said: "The initiative is a great way to champion new technologies and new ideas to pave the way for other communities to do their bit to reduce carbon dioxide emissions."
But the Green Party said while it welcomed the plan, the level of investment was not enough. Jean Lambert, London MEP for the Green Party, said: "To tackle climate change and cut energy bills across London every street must be tackled in a systematic way, with a plan to work through every ward in London. To secure the necessary investment the mayor must negotiate with government and use some of the £13m that he failed to spend on emissions reductions in his first year in office."
The funding for the scheme comes from the London Development Agency's budget for climate change measures and the zones will showcase how new technology can help meet the mayor's target to cut London's emissions by 60% by 2025.