The eyes of the world will be on Glasgow over the next few weeks, as global leaders meet for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aka COP26.

And as sustainability, climate change, and humankind’s efforts to reach net zero carbon are all in the news, we’re taking a look at how the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration programme is playing its part in preserving the planet.

Read on to find out how we’re going #OneStepGreener for a sustainable future.

We’ve pledged that Brent Cross Town will be a net zero carbon town by 2030 at the latest

• Brent Cross Town has pledged to be net zero carbon by 2030. That is a more ambitious target than the government’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.
• Everything that is produced from the demolition to build Brent Cross Town has been crushed and used elsewhere on site, with concrete and brickwork from the first demolition in 2019 now having been re-used three times.
• By re-using material instead of disposing and importing, this has saved an estimated 15,000 lorry journeys.
• Low-carbon materials are being employed where possible too, from glulam timber at the eastern entrance of Brent Cross West train station, to cross-laminated timber at Brent Cross Town’s Visitor Pavilion.
• The new town will be home to the largest installation of heat pumps in the UK. We have partnered with Swedish clean energy pioneers Vattenfall to supply over 80% of the town’s total heat requirements from this 8MW network, alongside other low and zero carbon heat sources.

Brent Cross Town will be London’s biggest 15-minute town, providing key amenities within a short walking distance

• Brent Cross Town will also reduce its carbon footprint by virtue of being London’s biggest 15-minute town, providing with key amenities within a short walking distance.
• When polled, people have said that the key amenities that they want to be able to walk to are supermarkets, train and bus stations, natural green spaces, parks, and restaurants – and all five are being built in Brent Cross Town. Other new facilities will include a cinema, community centre, and improvements to local schools.

We will promote sustainable and environmentally friendly modes of travel, with a new station for Barnet

• When Brent Cross West station opens next year it will be one of the first completed projects on the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration programme.
• It will offer journeys to central London in just 12 minutes, as well as links north to Bedfordshire and south to Brighton.
• A Transport Interchange will integrate the station with other forms of sustainable transport, from buses to bicycles.
• Improved bus and cycle routes were agreed as part of planning application for the new town.

We promote and support localism, from local businesses to good causes from our area

• Another way of reducing transport pollution is by reducing journey times to work.
• Our ambition is that over 20% of the people working to build the new station are residents of Barnet or the neighbouring boroughs of Brent and Camden.
• We are promoting these new opportunities to local people too, from apprenticeships and Kickstart roles to the new jobs running our Visitor Pavilion.

We support, enhance, and celebrate, nature and the natural environment

• Brent Cross Town will be a part of the wider Barnet community, making it part of London’s leafiest borough.
• More than a quarter of the development – 50 acres – will be parks and green spaces.
• Our goal is to make Clitterhouse Playing Fields into one of north London’s most significant public parks, where people can relax, grab a coffee, and meet with friends.
• Upwards of 700 new, mature trees will be planted across the town in parks, the town centre, and in the completed Claremont Park.

Find out more about what we’re doing for the environment by visiting our sustainability page here.