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The Green Party’s candidate for Mayor of London has used a visit to Paddington Station to highlight the lack of work being done to prepare the capital for the impacts of extreme weather linked to ‘climate breakdown’.
The Green Party candidate has once again called out the current Mayor of London’s track record on environmental issues and highlighted the recent flooding incident as proof more needs to be done to prepare the city from the impacts of extreme weather incidents.
This follows the latest floods last month, when both the Hammersmith and City and Circle lines were disrupted and Paddington Underground Station was closed following flooding linked to heavy rain. [1]
Speaking outside Paddington Station, Zoë Garbett says:
“What happened in Paddington is a recent example of the spiralling trend: extreme weather is impacting Londoners’ lives more and more. London needs a mayor that is serious about tackling this.
“What is clear is that the current Labour Mayor is just not taking this seriously, we are still sleep-walking into avoidable disasters. Earlier this year he announced that he was only willing to commit an extra £3 million to try and address this [2]. We all know what that will buy you in Central London and it just isn’t anywhere near good enough. The time to act is now.
“Londoners know that a Green Mayor would do what is necessary to avoid worsening the climate crisis. But we also need a serious plan to build resilience in our transport and housing infrastructure.
“As Mayor, I would invest in drainage in our streets, introducing the equivalent of 980 football pitches – 700 hectares – of sustainable systems across the city. In practical terms this means creating safe, green places to be in, walking around and take children to school through. This win-win solution is yet another example of how Greens find solutions for both people and planet.”
Zoë noted that reports from Greens in the London Assembly have demonstrated just how unprepared London is: a 2023 report from Zack Polanski found more than 200,000 London homes and businesses are at risk from flash flooding. [3] Another report from Caroline Russell AM in 2019 found nearly a third of all underground stations are at high or significant risk of flooding. [4]
Zoë’s plans are to upgrade London’s infrastructure with sustainable urban drainage into our streets, and restore and re-wild London’s rivers. This will be done by utilising transport funding, alongside councils and integrating this into planning processes. The Greens’ goal is to introduce 700 hectares of sustainable drainage systems in London by 2038, with an emphasis on encouraging people to create rain gardens and similar features in private gardens.
Zoë Garbett is running for London Mayor alongside a slate of Green candidates for the London Assembly.
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Notes:
Zoë Garbett is available for interview.
[1] London’s Paddington Station forced to shut down amid heavy flooding | The Independent
[3] https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-01/London%20Under%20Water.pdf