Waltham Forest most improved borough in London for 'healthy streets'

The borough’s ranking in the Healthy Streets Scorecard rose from twelfth to eighth place this year, making it the best performing Outer London authority

Waltham Forest has achieved its highest ever placing in the Healthy Streets Scorecard, reaching eighth overall in London, with a score of 5.85 out of 10.

The ranking confirms Waltham Forest as the strongest Outer London borough in this year’s scorecard, and the local authority with the biggest improvement, increasing its score by 0.30.

Healthy Streets Scorecard is calculated via a variety of metrics including the percentage of streets with Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), percentage of schools with traffic-free school streets, percentage of controlled parking zones, percentage of the boroughs managed roads with a 20mph speed limit, number of cars registered per 100 households, percentage of polluting diesel cars and the percentage of bus routes with bus priority.

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are residential areas where access for motor vehicles is largely reduced using filters or barriers such as gates, planters or bollards. Just over half (50.7%) of Waltham Forest’s streets are part of an LTN, according to the 2026 Healthy Streets Scorecard (HSS).

In their review, HSS praised the borough’s “effectively complete” 20mph coverage, and the “best protected cycle track record of any borough bar the City of London”, at 12.2%.

CPZ coverage also increased slightly to 47.2% following the addition of further zones, while sustainable modeshare rose from 65.9% to 68.1%, one of only five boroughs to record an increase of more than two percentage points.

The proportion of adults walking regularly rose to 36.0%, cycling participation increased to 15.0%, and Waltham Forest now has the lowest cyclist casualty rate in London.

The main gaps are bus priority, which remains unchanged at 14.1%, and School Street coverage.

HSS said: “Overall, Waltham Forest shows what stronger outer London performance can look like – a performance will hopefully now be built on even further by the new administration.”

Labour councillor Clyde Loakes, who until May served as the cabinet member for climate and air quality, said: “First and foremost, I’d like to thank and pay tribute to the campaigners, residents, council officers and politicians who all played a key role in helping Labour-led Waltham Forest Council continue to be one of London’s leading boroughs and the top Outer London borough for delivering Healthy Streets.

“During our twelve years of delivering Healthy Streets, we welcomed visitors from across the UK and around the world to see what can be achieved through a clear vision and a relentless focus on working with and for residents. We are incredibly proud of our record on climate leadership, environmental behaviour change, and investment in local infrastructure that has enabled and encouraged countless active and sustainable journeys for people of all ages and abilities.

“We hope the new administration will protect and build on this strong legacy, continuing to make bold decisions that benefit residents across the borough and meet the urgency of the climate emergency. The progress made over the past twelve years has shown what is possible when local government is prepared to lead, and we want to see Waltham Forest remain at the forefront of creating healthier, greener and safer neighbourhoods for everyone.”

The award comes as the new Green-run council has announced a consultation on two traffic calming schemes that it says will reduce traffic between Fulbourne Road, Forest Road and Waltham Forest Town Hall.

You can read the full results here

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