Streetcar
At Berkeley, one of our key priorities is to reduce the amount of carbon associated with our developments. We already lead the industry in encouraging ecologically sustainable build techniques and bringing new technologies and approaches to our construction projects to minimise their impact on the surrounding areas, now and in the future.
We install energy efficient products as standard to limit the lifetime emissions of our homes once they are passed to our residents. Not only does this reduce energy bills, but also helps to reduce the impact that our homes have on the environment.
When looking at the carbon footprints, we have been able to reduce the emissions of our buildings by around a third compared to the existing building stock. With these savings in mind we looked at other areas where we could make further reductions, and established that a large proportion of carbon emissions across the lifetime of the communities we create, come from cars.
We have found from experience that reducing car parking spaces and creating car free environments is not the only solution to this problem. We actively encourage our residents at Royal Arsenal Riverside to lower their level of dependence on private cars.
Studies undertaken as part of our site wide Green Travel Plan have shown that the majority of our residents rely on their cars mainly for weekly shopping visits or for weekend day trips. Very few people use their cars for the commute to work due to the local transport links to Central London such as Woolwich Arsenal railway and DLR stations and the Thames Clipper Fast Ferry Service.
Having spoken with Greenwich Council they facilitated our introduction to Streetcar, following which we agreed to work together to provide a facility in Woolwich to offer a dynamic alternative to owning a car.
Three 5-door Volkswagen Golfs and a van are available for use by residents at Royal Arsenal Riverside and members of the public. Once someone registers their details with Streetcar and pays a deposit, they get a swipe card that allows them to book the cars parked on site.
