New pollution-blocking ivy screens have been installed at two schools in Stoke Newington, as part of a programme to improve air quality inside the school gates.

St Mary’s Church of England School on Stoke Newington Church Street and Grasmere School on Albion Road have reopened this week with the 3m tall ivy fences installed at their boundary.

The screens are designed to create a natural barrier between each school and nearby main roads, reducing childrens’ exposure to air pollution, and helping to reduce the chances of respiratory issues associated with pollution.  As part of the work, the Council last year commissioned a report from engineering and environmental consultants Arup with the aim of creating the UK’s first green screen technical specification, to establish a benchmark design for green screens that can be used across the borough.

Three other schools - Queensbridge School, William Patten School and St Dominic’s Catholic School - are part of the green screens programme.

In Stoke Newington, the Council has also recently introduced a number of measures to improve road safety and support people to walk, cycle and shop locally.

At Clissold Crescent, it has introduced a type of road closure, known as a traffic filter - where planters on the road prevent motor vehicles from passing through.

Following a consultation last year, it has also introduced a series of traffic filters in the Walford Road area, which are designed to reduce traffic and improve road safety in several streets in the area.

The Council is waiting on the outcome of a bid to the Department for Transport to close Stoke Newington Church Street to through-traffic, which would drastically reduce traffic on Church Street and Albion Road, which forms part of the same B-road. 

To have your say on the Council’s plans to rebuild a greener Hackney, visit: https://rebuildingagreenerhackney.commonplace.is/ 

To have your say on measures to restrict through-traffic in the Walford Road area, visit: https://walfordroadhackney.commonplace.is/