There have been calls on the Mayor of London to make the movement of goods through the capital more environmentally friendly.

These calls came from the London Assembly transport committee, which wrote to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan with recommendations to make the movement of freight across the capital safer, cleaner and more efficient.

The recommendations include using rivers, railways or canals to move building materials for major Transport for London (TfL) projects and getting TfL to carrying out research into light goods vehicles – vehicles weighing less the 3.5 tonnes – in the capital.

Caroline Pidgeon, the chairman of the transport committee, said: “The efficient movement of freight around London is an important part of London’s economy.

“However, there is a fine balance between economic benefit and environmental impacts.

“Many deliveries, particularly over the last mile, contribute to congestion on the capital’s roads.

“It’s important that other modes of transport such as the river or rail are used far more to move freight across the capital .”

The committee also recommended creating more ‘click and collect’ points at stations where people can collect their own deliveries, so lorries travel less.

Other recommendations include creating a team specifically to deal with freight at TfL as well as working with councils to give freight vehicles more freedom to work outside of peak hours.