Background
Newham Council is committed to making every school (where possible) in the borough a Healthy School Street by 2026, as part of their Air Quality Action Plan and Health & Wellbeing Strategy. Newham’s Healthy School Streets Programme is a vital tool to deliver the long-term sustained health and safety improvements needed in the borough, creating a more pleasant and safer environment for students, staff and residents. The Council’s objectives are to:
- Improve air quality
- Increase road safety
- Promote active travel
Project Centre was responsible for providing support to Newham’s Healthy School Street project. This included planning from inception, through to design and implementation.
Newham Council Healthy School Streets Process
Project Centre liaised with stakeholders, including various teams within the Council, and engaged with schools and councillors. This facilitated communication between the community and created an open forum for collecting information we could build into the designs. We reviewed road collision and traffic data. As well as the schools’ air quality records to select areas for Healthy School Streets 2024/25.
We developed a comprehensive programme of work to manage and track progress at each stage and provided support with the designs. This helped us create conceptual maps and accessible designs suitable for all users.
As part of this project, we also supported the development of graduate engineers, helping them build their experience and knowledge.
Outcome
We have successfully delivered nine Healthy School Streets since 2022 while managing and monitoring the existing ten already in the borough. Our teams continuously work on any mitigation measures that arise from resident feedback.
In this ongoing project, we supported the project management design, engagement and implementation. The next 40 Healthy School Streets in Newham are planned to be implemented by 2026.
Traffic Management, Road Safety & Parking Design Principal Officer at Newham Council, Charles Mapundu said “Project Centre has been key in delivering Newham Council’s Healthy School Streets Programme, ensuring our goals of improved air quality, road safety, and active travel are met. Their expertise in stakeholder engagement, innovative design, and project management has led to the successful implementation and management of multiple Healthy School Streets across the borough. Additionally, their commitment to developing our graduate engineers has strengthened our team’s capabilities, positioning us well for future success.”
