london in short - London Communications Agency

Transcription

LONDON IN SHORT
APRIL 2014
SPECIAL FEATURE
ELECTIONS
SPECIAL - BATTLE
BOROUGHS
LDN | APR 2014
INSIDE LDN
INSIGHT
POLITICS
DEVELOPMENT
Chris Madel considers how supply, height
and density are affecting the housing debate
in light of a recent study by the NLA and
publication of the Mayor’s housing strategy.
Bob Crow has passed away at the age of 52,
the Budget has seen a number of important
announcements for London and Labour has
taken the first party political seat in the City of
London for 800 years.
The 25th MIPIM was a great success,
Elizabeth House has seen off a legal
challenge and the London Assembly has
called for better guidance on Mayoral
call-ins. A new survey claims the number of
skyscrapers in the capital is set to double.
TRANSPORT
HEALTH
CULTURE
Two HS2 reports have progressed the debate
about the new line, cycling has received a
funding boost and the capital’s congestion
has got worse – just as new electric ‘Boris
cars’ are announced.
A controversial clause in the Care Bill has
stayed intact, a pay freeze has angered
NHS employees and changes are afoot at
St Thomas’ Hospital and Central Middlesex
Hospital.
London Live is now on air, Mayfair’s
galleries face closure, London’s attractions
report a bumper year and debate has
raged over the fate of a West End landmark.
POLICING
PEOPLE
CALENDAR
Two landmark FGM prosecutions have been
made, politicians have joined together in
resistance to the water cannon proposals
and a high profile report looks into
allegations of police corruption.
All three main parties have lost London
councillors to defections, two health trusts
have seen changes to their leadership and
Harrow’s director of children’s services has
resigned.
The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park opens
to the public, the Thames will play host to
the boat race, and the marathon returns to
London’s streets.
London Communications Agency
LDN | APR 2014
INSIDE LDN | 3
INSIGHT
The debate over housing and development has
intensified around two semi-conflicting issues – the
very real need to build more homes and the question
of whether there are now too many tall buildings
proposed or built in London.
On the former, the Mayor finalised his long awaited housing strategy which sets out
an ‘ambition’ to increase supply to at least 42,000 new homes per annum (17,000
affordable and 5,000 long-term market rent). We can’t really judge until we see if
housing numbers go up in the next 10–15 years but its success will certainly depend
on his negotiating skills, particularly in the development of public land, a cornerstone
of the strategy.
On height, a recent NLA study has generated a new campaign that claims the skyline
of London is ‘out of control’. The supporters, which include Dame Tessa Jowell and MP
David Lammy – two potential Labour mayoral candidates in 2016 – call for a more
rigorous scrutiny process and the refusal of tall buildings in inappropriate locations.
Five years ago, the Mayor clashed with the Labour government over the same issue,
albeit property values were lower and Boris could claim that any development was a
good thing. With values now soaring the rationale is that taller buildings are part of a
solution to the housing shortage. And of course if you look at other leading world cities,
high density, shared block living is much more the norm. New York, for example, has a
population density of 27k per sq m compared to 12k in London.
So how might this impact on London politics? Will Labour groups in some boroughs use
housing delivery and building heights as campaigning tools and will this resonate at
the local and European election ballot box on 22 May? Will any of the parties seek to
address these issues in their manifestos for the General Election next year? And are we
seeing battle lines drawn for the 2016 Mayoral election with both Labour frontrunners
opposing tall buildings?
Chris Madel
Board Director
Middlesex House, 34-42 Cleveland St, London W1T 4JE
020 7612 8480 londoncommunications.co.uk
[email protected] @ldncomms
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LDN | APR 2014
POLITICS SPECIAL FEATURE
BUDGET SPECIAL
House prices are soaring and supply is dwindling in the face of
a growing population – this much has been widely accepted by
Londoners and their political representatives alike. The last month
has seen the publication of both the Chancellor’s Spring Budget
and the Mayor’s Housing Strategy. So how has our national and
regional government responded to the challenge?
LONDON IN THE BUDGET
•
An extension to the Government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme until 2020, with
mortgage guarantee measures lasting until 2016 will continue to boost home
ownership levels.
•
Meanwhile, the £500m Builders Finance Fund will help to kick-start building of
around 15,000 new homes on smaller developments that have stalled.
•
Perhaps most notably for London, the Budget outlined a £150m fund to begin
the regeneration of large housing estates – Aylesbury Estate, Blackwall Reach
and Grahame Park – plus an extension to the Gospel Oak to Barking rail line to
Barking Riverside. Osborne also pledged support for the 11,000 homes, 6,000 jobs
and five new schools set to be created at Barking Riverside.
•
The Chancellor also stated the Government’s intention to collaborate with the
Greater London Authority and the London Borough of Barnet on the proposals for
Brent Cross Cricklewood where 7,500 homes are already planned.
•
The Mayor of London subsequently put out more detail on this, noting that the
GLA will bring forward plans for a tax incremental financing (TIF) scheme to help
fund the proposed new rail station at Brent Cross on the Thameslink line.
Continued on next page
INSIDE LDN | 4
LDN | APR 2014 | POLITICS
INSIDE LDN | 5
will allow 400 more patients to be
reached each year.
Continued from previous page
•
•
•
In response to concerns about the
number of homes being left empty, the
tax on company-owned residential
properties worth more than £2m will
be extended to those worth more than
£500,000.
The widely trailed news of a new
Garden City for Ebbsfleet may not
be a London announcement, but it
should help alleviate some pressure
on the capital’s housebuilding need
as it sits within commutable distance.
This announcement did come in for
some criticism though as the same
Government’s 2012 announcement about
constructing a new town at Ebbsfleet
actually proposed 20,000 new homes –
5,000 more than this time around.
Despite cross-party support and lobbying
from London Councils and the London
Chamber of Commerce and Industry the
local authority housing revenue account
borrowing limit remains in place.
•
The annual investment allowance for
SMEs has been doubled to £500,000 from
April 2014 until the end of 2015.
•
Business investment schemes including
business rate discounts and enhanced
capital allowances have been extended
for three years, which will benefit
London’s Royal Docks Enterprise Zone
until March 2020.
•
The Chancellor promised £1m to
London’s second air ambulance, which
•
Finally, 10 combined heat and power
plants in London will be eligible for an
exemption from the carbon price floor
(a tax on fossil fuels), which means on
average these plants will save around
£115k by 2019-20.
“It is disappointing that the
Chancellor did not take this
opportunity to scrap the Treasury’s
block on councils investing
in building new homes, when
backed up by a stable funding
stream. Lifting this Housing
Borrowing Cap would create
60,000 new homes and 19,000
new jobs, adding 0.6% to GDP,
and further stimulate competition
in the construction market.”
MAYOR JULES PIPE
CHAIR OF LONDON COUNCILS
THE MAYOR’S HOUSING STRATEGY
The Mayor of London’s now ratified Housing
Strategy - Homes for London - confirms that
42,000 new homes should be built each
year. This figure also features in the revised
London Plan and must be signed off by the
Planning Inspectorate as conforming to the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
before it can be fully confirmed. However,
there are those who believe London’s need
is greater than 50,000 new homes per year.
With just over 18,000 built in 2012-13, even the
lower figure seems somewhat aspirational.
This strategy is almost identical to the draft
published in November except perhaps that
the pressure is even greater now to deliver
new homes for London.
For more detail on any of this get in
touch with the research team via
Stefan Swift on 020 7612 8480 or
[email protected]
A SECTOR ON THE RISE
With consistently rising house prices and the Budget last month
failing to lift the local authority Housing Borrowing Cap - thereby
continuing to limit the number of new homes councils can build
- there is now more focus than ever on delivering homes through
the private rented sector (PRS).
The housing market has seen a distinct shift from owner occupation to renting in recent years
and the PRS has grown to reflect this. Is it time to consider the PRS model as a sustainable
solution to the intractable housing crisis? If so, how can we make it palatable to those who
have always aspired to own?
As referenced in the Mayor’s Housing Strategy, with simpler and stricter regulation, both
tenants and landlords will be made fully aware of their rights and responsibilities, forging the
way for more respectful, mutually beneficial relationships. Tighter rent controls, advocated
by a number of Labour politicians, might warrant greater consideration as the PRS
proportionately accounts for more of London’s property in future.
Following in the footsteps of Newham last year and the Mayor’s London Rental Standard,
Enfield Council recently closed a consultation on whether to introduce a compulsory
landlord licensing scheme to the borough and we may see greater adoption of this scheme
in future. Additionally, with institutional investors and housing associations moving into the
rental market, longer tenancy offers will serve to make the sector more attractive to families.
Meanwhile, the Housing Strategy includes an aspiration to ensure that private developers
and registered providers build at least 5,000 long-term private rented homes a year and that
all multi-phase schemes include a PRS offer.
PRS now houses 25% of households in London, exceeding the number in social rent for the first
time since the early 1970s. Joining the ranks of cities like New York and Paris it seems like the
time has come for PRS in London and there are some good models out there both in terms of
regulation and supply. The question is, can we get our heads around the culture shift involved
and accept that home ownership may not be the holy grail of life in London after all?
BUY-TO-LEAVE INVESTORS
Islington Council is considering levying
substantial fines on investors that leave
homes empty in the borough. Owners
must prove that their property is regularly
occupied and enforcement action will be
taken against those who fail to pay the
resulting fines, up to as much as £60,000, if
they are found in breach. Currently councils
have the power to charge an extra 50% on
council tax only if a home is left empty for
two years. Critics of Islington’s proposals
have suggested that the plan does not ‘add
up’, questioning whether it will apply only
to the first sales of a development – which
are under the control of the developer – or
subsequent sales, which are not.
INSIDE LDN | 7
BOB CROW AND TONY BENN
News of RMT union leader Bob Crow’s
death at the age of 52 prompted tributes
from across the political spectrum. A high
profile figure, many acknowledged that
his views had diverged from their own but
praised him for the commitment he showed
to his members. Crow spent his early career
at London Transport and was elected
general secretary of the Rail Maritime and
Transport Workers union in 2002. In 2009
Crow unsuccessfully stood for election to the
European Parliament and co-founded the
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in 2010.
His death was followed in the same week
by that of 88-year-old former Labour MP
Tony Benn. During his long career in politics
Benn served as Postmaster General, cabinet
minister in two governments and vocal
advocate of constitutional reform. Funerals
for both men took place in London.
“Bob fought tirelessly for his beliefs
and for his members. There can
be absolutely no doubt that he
played a big part in the success of
the Tube, and he shared my goal
to make transport in London an
even greater success.”
MAYOR OF LONDON BORIS JOHNSON
LCA VIEW
THE END OF AN ERA
Bob Crow was one of only a
handful of individuals who could
make London politics immediately
and often frustratingly relevant to
ordinary Londoners. That he did so
from outside City Hall or Whitehall,
is, in part, testament to his political
skill, combative nature and strength
of character.
Crow’s tactics often meant delays
and inconvenience for working
Londoners, as well as causing social
engagements to be cancelled and
football matches to be postponed.
However, the result for his members
is that they are still amongst the best
paid and enjoy greater perks than any
transport workers in any global city.
To read more, visit the LCA blog.
Nabil Hanafi
Account Director
Admired so many things about
Benn: unwavering principles; always
open to new ideas; stellar political
speaker but unfailingly courteous.
Diane Abbott MP
BUSINESS RATES
Some of the biggest retail landlords in the
country, including Land Securities, CBRE
and Jones Lang LeSalle, have joined MPs
on the BIS Select Committee in calling for an
overhaul of business rates as the cross-party
group has said the present tax regime was
not ‘fit for purpose’. A report published by
the MPs has warned that the Government
risks destroying the High Street unless rates
undergo a fundamental reform. It also
accused Ministers ignoring the scale of
the problem.
“The clamour for change would
not have happened if the
Government had kept up the
revaluations. By the time we have
the next revaluation it will be nine
years since last time.”
TIM BEATTIE
HEAD OF RATING AT JONES LANG LASALLE
INSIDE LDN | 8
LABOUR IN THE CITY
A City of London by-election has returned a
party political councillor for the first time in
its history, reportedly dating back to the 12th
century. The City’s councillors are largely
taken from the business community, and up
until this latest twist, all members have been
Independents. It is the smallest area within
the UK considered a local authority and
Labour has only fielded candidates there
since 2008. The victorious candidate won
with just 137 votes and a margin of 39 over
his opposition. William Campbell-Taylor is an
Anglican priest who has previously served
on the City’s Common Council. Until now he
had always done so as an Independent, but
he has recently joined the Labour Party.
BORIS FOR MP?
Prime Minister David Cameron has for the
first time publicly stated that he would like
Mayor of London Boris Johnson to join him
as an MP at the next general election. There
is nothing in the Greater London Authority (GLA) Act of 1999 to prevent a serving
Mayor standing as an MP and indeed, Ken
Livingstone’s first year as Mayor coincided
with his last year as Brent East MP. Many safe
Conservative seats continue to be mooted
for Johnson’s potential return to Parliament,
the latest being the retiring Sir Peter Tapsell’s
South Cambridgeshire constituency. London
seats that have apparently been considered
include Croydon South and Richmond Park.
David Cameron says he wants Boris
Johnson back as an MP, comparing
him to a “great striker you want on the
pitch”.
BBC Politics
“Between now and May next
year only two things matter to
me – delivering for London and
returning David Cameron to
Number 10 as Prime Minister
of a majority Conservative
government. I’ve got a huge job to
do in London but I’ll be doing all I
can to make that happen.”
BORIS JOHNSON
RESPONDS TO THE PRIME MINISTER’S COMMENTS
“While people are worrying about
whether they are keeping their
jobs, whether they will be able to
afford the electricity bill and how
much it costs to fill the car these
days, our commentariat is talking
about Boris. We need to stop
talking about ourselves and talk
about the things that really matter
to people. Otherwise we will be
seen as out of touch, and Labour’s
message will resonate.”
JACKIE DOYLE-PRICE
CONSERVATIVE MP FOR THURROCK WRITING ON
CONSERVATIVEHOME
PANORAMA INVESTIGATION
Lutfur Rahman, directly elected Mayor of
Tower Hamlets, has become the subject of
a Panorama investigation into allegations
of misuse of public funds. The documentary
questioned the extent of faith funding in the
borough, the level of political transparency
and whether the local newspaper East
End Life was being used as a vehicle
for inappropriate political advertising.
According to an ICM poll (to be published
in full next week), 41% of residents rely on
the publication for most of their information.
Rahman has been accused by Communities
Secretary Eric Pickles of engaging in “divisive
community politics” for prioritising services
for the Bangladeshi community. Two thirds
of votes for Rahman in 2010 came from the
Bangladeshi community although it makes
up only one third of the borough. Rahman
is expected to garner a high Bangladeshi
turnout once again in May when he stands
against Labour London Assembly Member
John Biggs.
INSIDE LDN | 9
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
A report by the Children’s Rights Alliance
for England has studied whether London’s
public bodies are fulfilling their duties to
children. It concludes that, despite high
levels of child poverty, mortality, malnutrition
and obesity, London’s treatment of children
can still serve as a model for the rest of
the country. The report finds levels of
educational achievement to be higher in
London than the UK average, although
this fluctuates largely between boroughs.
Findings also show a stark disparity in
relative poverty rates, identifying more
than 45% of children below the poverty
line in Tower Hamlets compared to 10% in
Richmond upon Thames. The report suggests
that with no obvious correlation between
poor outcomes and contributing factors,
local authorities have a large role to play
in increasing general awareness about
children’s rights.
SCHOOL PLACES
Nine in ten London schoolchildren will
receive a place at one of their top three
choices of secondary school and 69% will
attend their first choice. The capital’s schools
have seen a 5% rise in applications as a
baby boom in the capital has led to an
8.2% increase in the school-age population,
compared to a 0.2% reduction nationally.
The GLA’s New Schools for London Unit and
the Department for Education have said they
are both confident of establishing 46 Free
Schools in September to cater for London’s
growing needs.
HIGH COURT
Nine mainly Labour-controlled London
boroughs have failed in their bid against the
Mayor’s affordable housing definition in the
High Court. In line with national Government
and as detailed in his draft London Plan
revisions, Boris Johnson was backed by the
Judge who ruled the term ‘affordable’ in
the context of housing can be set at up to
80% of market rent. Brent, Camden, Enfield,
Greenwich, Hackney, Islington, Lambeth,
Southwark and independently-controlled
Tower Hamlets brought the action to try
and keep affordable rent levels at between
30-40% of market rent. Mrs Justice Lang said
that Johnson offered: ‘Proper consideration
to the inspector’s views and reached a
rational conclusion, even if it was one with
which the claimants disagree.’ This follows
seven London Councils’ failed high court
challenge against the Mayor’s proposed
London Fire Brigade cuts late last year.
COUNCIL PENSIONS
Councillors elected from April 2014 will
no longer be entitled to join the Local
Government Pension Scheme. Existing
councillors will also see their pension
policies terminated once their current terms
in office end. Former leader of Kensington
and Chelsea council and chairman of the
Local Government Association, Sir Merrick
Cockell, has criticised the move, arguing
that councillors often sacrifice working hours
and family life in order to perform the role.
Councillors receive an allowance rather
than a salary in remuneration for their
work and councils argue there is a risk that
phasing out pensions may act as a barrier to
entering local government. Many boroughs
in the capital are considering collaborating
on their pension fund investments to reduce
administration costs.
LONDON BONUSES
City of London bankers have reported higher
bonuses than anywhere else in the world.
According to a survey by eFinancialCareers,
bonuses in the City increased by 49% in
2013, more than Wall Street in New York and
Sydney at 47%. Global results show that
average bonuses have increased by 29% on
last year, which banks argue is necessary
in order to retain top talent. This year,
Barclays and Lloyds Banking Groups have
circumvented EU bonus caps by awarding
their chief executives shares in addition to
their salaries and bonuses.
INSIDE LDN | 10
NEWS IN BRIEF
The Mayor’s London Delivery Board,
established in 2009 to eradicate rough
sleeping, has decided to re-admit
homelessness charities and the Metropolitan
Police to its membership after they were
removed from it in January 2013.
In light of recent unprecedented use of the
Thames Barrier, the Mayor has called for a
full review to look at flood prevention beyond
its 75-year shelf life.
The Mayor of London is reconsidering a
trade and cultural visit to Russia, planned for
October, as a result of the situation in Crimea.
INSIDE LDN | 11
POLITICS SPECIAL FEATURE
ELECTION SPECIAL FEATURE
CURRENT COMPOSITIONS
As we enter the final throes of the 2014 local election
campaign, we take a look at the south west corner of
London – specifically the Royal Borough of Kingston upon
Thames and Merton. Kingston is currently marginally
controlled by a Liberal Democrat administration but the
Conservatives could take control of the council by winning
just two seats from the Lib Dems come 22 May. Labour which
currently has no seats in the borough has little chance of
affecting the outcome.
1
22
25
KINGSTON
There have been six by-elections in Kingston since 2010, more than almost
all other London boroughs, and these offer a better indicator as to where the
power will go in June 2014. In all but one of the six there was a significant
swing from the Lib Dems to the Conservatives, with one resulting in a
staggering 14.6% swing. However, that must be qualified by its context; it was
the former leader, Derek Osborne’s seat, after he was convicted on charges of
possession of child pornography.
14 of the borough’s 16 wards can be considered marginal and even those
other two saw winning thresholds of under 1,000 votes four years ago. With
turnout this year expected to drop significantly from its inflated 2010 level
(when the General Election on the same day boosted turnout), it could all
be very close. There are four mixed wards (either 1 Liberal Democrat and
2 Conservative councillors or vice versa) and it could be in these fickle
environments where the battle for supremacy is won or lost.
Continued on next page
MERTON
22
4
1
3
2
NUMBER OF COUNCILLORS
Conservative
Labour
Liberal Democrat
Independent
UKIP
Others
28
Continued from previous page
There is no doubt that Kingston presents
one of the most interesting election clashes
across the capital this year, and certainly
one of the more intriguing the borough has
seen. However, the Conservatives will be
disappointed if they don’t take
outright control of Kingston for the first
time since 1982.
MERTON
Merton council is currently controlled by a
Labour minority administration. Following
the local elections here in 2010, the
Conservatives had 27 seats but a number of
defections since has left the door open for
Labour to garner an outright majority this
year. Four of the councillors who have left
the Conservatives over the past four years
are now part of a group called the Merton
Coalition, three of whom represent UKIP. It is
expected that Nigel Farage’s party will field
councillors in almost all wards at the local
elections and could make some real
in-roads here.
Merton currently has a political and
geographic divide with Labour councillors
located in the east and the Conservatives
concentrated in the west of the borough in
line with the Parliamentary constituencies of
Mitcham and Morden (Lab) and Wimbledon
(Con). If Labour could pick up a few
councillors in the west – and if UKIP make
a dent in the Conservative vote too – then a
Labour majority is attainable.
INSIDE LDN | 12
Labour last had an outright majority
(albeit a slender one) from 2002–06 whilst
the Conservatives had ruled the council
outright the four years prior to that. Over
the past month of YouGov national polling,
the breakdown of voting intentions for
the London region has shown Labour
consistently on 40% compared to the
Conservatives on 34%. This would be enough
for Labour to control the local authority
outright come 22 May.
LCA VIEW ON UKIP
TIME TO GET SERIOUS
With little to spare between Merton’s
two biggest political parties, and the
European elections as a convenient
campaigning platform, UKIP has an
unprecedented opportunity to sneak
up on the electorate. Television
debates between party leaders,
Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage, have
thrust the party into the spotlight,
further increasing the possibility
that UKIP will make a tangible dent
at local level, not only in Merton
but other outer London boroughs.
It could be here, where the politics
are already idiosyncratic that UKIP
makes its biggest mark and are even
within reach of taking power, but to
galvanise local support long term
the party will have to adopt a more
focused and consistent local strategy.
Rayna Coulson
Research Executive
LDN | APR 2014
INSIDE LDN | 13
DEVELOPMENT
25TH ANNUAL MIPIM
From the would-he-wouldn’t-he visit of Mayor
of London Boris Johnson to the typical
vibrancy of the London Stand, the 25th
MIPIM was buzzing with activity. Over 21,000
participants from 93 countries gathered
to experience the dynamism of the world’s
property market at first hand – an increase
of 5% on 2013. The Mayor’s last minute decision
to attend came amid a flurry of expectation as
to his topic of discussion, with many predicting
that he would address housing in some form. So it
was perhaps no surprise that the Mayor signed a
concordat with prominent developers to market
and sell homes to Londoners first, already signed
by major developers and backed by business
membership organisation London First.
LCA VIEW
MIPIM
MIPIM 2014 was perhaps the first
year that London was represented
in its full glory. By this I mean that it
wasn’t just prime central sites that
were being touted along the Riviera
but previously neglected parts of
Outer London too. Hounslow had its
wares on show, as did Tottenham. As
Deputy Mayor Eddie Lister put it, “the
problem here is not money, it’s land.”
Developers and investors want to get
busy, they just need space to play.
Robert Gordon Clark
Executive Chairman
“MIPIM stands for making
important property investment for
millions of people”
BORIS JOHNSON, MIPIM 2014
The model on the London Stand.
OLD OAK COMMON
Deputy Mayor for Planning, Sir Eddie Lister,
told delegates at MIPIM that the Mayor’s
Office is advancing their second Mayoral
Development Corporation (MDC) and hopes
that it will be up and running by Summer
2015. Following in the footsteps of the London
Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), the
new MDC is planned for Old Oak Common
in West London. It is thought that 24,000 new
homes and over 55,000 jobs could be created
there and City Hall is now in talks with the
three boroughs involved – Brent, Ealing and
Hammersmith and Fulham – who will need to
agree with the Mayor’s draft objectives and
proposed governance structure. The model
for this, the LLDC, was created following the
Localism Act 2011 to promote development in
and around the Olympic Park, taking in land
across four different East London boroughs.
LDN | APR 2014 | DEVELOPMENT
INSIDE LDN | 14
How many square metres will $1m buy you?
LONG-TERM INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
The Mayor has announced that a first
draft of the 2050 Infrastructure Plan will be
published in April 2014. The plan is expected
to be a London equivalent of the National
Infrastructure Plan, designed to look at the
country’s infrastructure needs beyond the
current political cycle. As part of this, the GLA
could re-draw the boundaries of the capital’s
1.2m acres of greenbelt, which accounts for
30% of all greenbelt area land in the country.
Sir Eddie Lister, said that there should
be a sensible debate around the subject
but is confident that London can reach
development targets without necessarily
having to build upon greenbelt land. The
interim report will be made public in April
with the full Long-Term Infrastructure Plan
document due to be published in
the autumn.
KNIGHT FRANK DATA
Knight Frank’s latest Wealth Report
has revealed which cities in the world
contain the most expensive property
according to the number of square metres
$1m will buy. London places an eye-watering
third, offering an average of just 25 sq m for
its prime property, one place behind Hong
Kong at 21 sq m and Monaco at just 15 sq
m. This puts the capital well in the mix of the
priciest real estate on earth, with Singapore,
Geneva, New York and Sydney also making
the top ten.
Cape Town
215m2
Shanghai
46m2
Monaco
15m2
Hong Kong
21m2
London
25m2
Paris
42m2
Singapore
33m2
Sydney
41m 2
Geneva
35m 2
New York
40m2
Source: Knight Frank
Moscow
43m2
find no ‘error of law’, confirming that the
LONDON DEVELOPMENT ORDER
The Mayor of London is seriously considering discretion enjoyed by the Secretary of State
‘is a very wide one’ and stating that “there
whether to introduce local development
orders (LDOs) in a bid to boost housebuilding. is a view which could reasonably be taken
that despite UNESCO’s and the claimants’
LDOs allow certain types of development in
concerns, the impact is not such as would
a particular area to be permitted without the
damage the Westminster World Heritage Site
need for planning approval and have been
or other listed buildings and conservation
used mainly for commercial and industrial
areas’. Developers Chelsfield and London
development to date. Richard Blakeway
and Regional Properties Ltd will now move
believes that LDOs could help deliver
to complete the consent for Elizabeth House,
development in the Mayor’s Housing Zones,
which could create 8,700 jobs and transform
first mooted as part of the Mayor’s Draft
Housing Strategy in November 2013. However, the public realm around Waterloo Station.
Read Jonny Popper’s blog about
he has said that any use of development
judgement here.
orders for housing would only be with
approval from the relevant local authority
Good to see that the High Court has
and central Government.
left planning decision on Lambeth’s
Elizabeth House to council & GLA. Jobs
ELIZABETH HOUSE
& growth for South London.
A legal challenge against the £600m
Elizabeth House development, next to
Peter John (leader of Southwark
Waterloo Station, has been dismissed by
Council)
a High Court judge. Lambeth Council’s
planning committee resolved to grant
consent for the David Chipperfield designed
scheme in November 2012, with the GLA
also backing the plans. However in March
2013 English Heritage and Westminster
City Council launched a judicial review
against Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government, over
his decision not to call in the scheme, citing
his failure to adequately apply policies
on heritage protection in relation to
concerns about the impact on the Palace of
Westminster World Heritage Site. The judge
threw out the challenge stating he could
INSIDE LDN | 15
LORD’S CRICKET GROUND
Lord’s cricket ground has secured planning
permission for phase one of its £200m
redevelopment. Westminster City Council
has approved the Marylebone Cricket Club’s
(MCC) proposals to demolish and redevelop
the Warner Stand with nearly 3,000 new
seats, a restaurant and new facilities for
match officials. The designs by Populous,
the architects of the London 2012 Olympic
Stadium, are subject to the approval of MCC
Members in the summer but construction
could begin at the end of the 2015 season.
ARSENAL FC
Arsenal FC haven’t fared so well as they have
lost an appeal against last year’s High Court
ruling to strip it of planning permission for
a 25-storey student accommodation tower
next to the Emirates Stadium. The London
Borough of Islington won a High Court
ruling preventing the construction of a 255ft
skyscraper. The Council refused planning
permission in October 2011 on the grounds
the building breached its development
plan policy regarding tall buildings in the
area, but the club appealed to a planning
inspector who gave it the green light in
October 2012. Islington came back and
launched a judicial review of the decision
for the Hornsey Road proposal and the judge
quashed the permission, ordering the case
to be reheard. The club asked the Court of
Appeal to overturn that decision and restore
its permission, claiming that the judge failed
to apply the correct significance to the word
‘generally’ in the council’s policy but the
Court of Appeal dismissed
the challenge.
TOTTENHAM UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL
COLLEGE
But North London rivals are doing better, at
least in planning terms, as a new Tottenham
University Technical College is being built
next to the Tottenham Hotspur FC’s stadium.
The college is a key part of the £450m
regeneration of the Northumberland Park
area and will specialise in technology
and science. It is sponsored by Tottenham
Hotspur FC and Middlesex University and
INSIDE LDN | 16
is recruiting students for the 2014–2015
academic year starting in September. This
will rise to a full complement of just under
1,000 students by 2017. Enfield council have
voted unanimously for the club to build a 500
seater stand in the training ground.
MOUNT PLEASANT
Islington and Camden councils have
released a report claiming that the Royal Mail
could afford to fit four times more affordable
homes on its Mount Pleasant sorting office
site than it is currently proposing. The plans
for the site, which have been turned down
by both Islington and Camden Council (both
Labour led) and whose fate now rests with
the Mayor of London, would see just 12%
(81 of 700 homes) affordable housing on the
eight-acre central London site. The Royal Mail
claims that a higher percentage of affordable
homes would render the redevelopment
unviable. The site sits across both authorities
and the councils claim a profit could still be
made if half the homes were affordable –
either for social rented housing or
shared ownership.
before the statutory 16 week period expired
and the Mayor called the scheme in at
the request of the developer. The Mayor
granted planning permission at a City Hall
hearing, subject to a Section 106 agreement
requiring the developer, City Hall planners
and Lewisham Council to come up with a
workable alternative scheme for Sayes Court
Garden, a new centre for urban horticulture
at the site.
CALL-IN GUIDANCE
Following this string of controversial
decisions, a London Assembly member
has called on Boris Johnson to produce
guidance for when the Mayor’s Office should
‘call-in’ planning applications. Tabled by
Green Party member, Darren Johnson, the
motion has expressed concern that there
is no definitive guide for applications to
be considered by the Mayor. Johnson has
pointed out how Boris has called in five
applications in the past year having only
considered five applications in the five years
before that. The latest, Mount Pleasant, was
called before they were considered by the
relevant local planning authorities. The
CONVOYS WHARF
motion was agreed by 16 votes to 5, and
Boris Johnson has approved plans to
the Mayor must now consider it at his next
redevelop the Convoys Wharf site in Deptford. meeting with all London Assembly Members.
The proposals from developer Hutchinson
Whampoa with architects Farrells include
3,500 homes as well as shops, restaurants,
a primary school and three new parks. An
application was submitted to Lewisham
Council in May last year but the borough’s
planning committee did not consider it
NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM MAP
In March 2014, alongside the Department for Communities and
Local Government and London First, LCA produced an updated
map of London’s Neighbourhood Forums – community groups
empowered by the Localism Act to set local planning policies
and permit development that meets their criteria.
This map shows the emerging neighbourhood forums – and by extension, neighbourhood
areas – planned for the capital, based on expressions of interest made by resident and
business groups since the Localism Act became law in 2011. Neighbourhood forums are
designed to take forward neighbourhood level planning in those areas without parishes.
This is particularly significant for London as it currently has only one parish council, Queens
Park in Westminster, the first since parish councils were abolished in London in 1963.
As displayed on the map, interest in neighbourhood planning continues to cluster in
central London. The total number of designated neighbourhood forums has now reached
35, with another 14 having submitted their applications to be designated and 16 expressing
an interest. You can find out more on the latest map update by visiting the LCA blog. You can
also download a PDF version of this map from the publications page of our website
where you will find links to more information about each individual forum.
We intend to refresh this map on a quarterly basis so keep an eye on
future issues of LDN – London in short and our website for updated
versions. If you have any comments or questions or if you would like
any further information on neighbourhood planning or the Localism
Act, contact the research team at LCA via Stefan Swift at
[email protected] or 020 7612 8498.
INSIDE LDN | 17
SOUTHBANK UNDERCROFT
Following a review, Lambeth Council has
upheld its earlier decision that the Southbank
Centre’s Undercroft should be registered as
an Asset of Community Value, which means
that under the Localism Act they would be
able to bid to purchase the site if it ever came
up for sale. The Southbank Centre wants to
develop the eastern part of the site where
the Undercroft is located to hugely extend its
arts and cultural programme, and intends to
appeal the decision.
SKYSCRAPERS
Meanwhile, the number of skyscrapers in
London is set to double according to a New
London Architecture (NLA) survey. Detailed
analysis shows that at least 236 buildings
of 20 storeys or more are currently in the
pipeline – the most concentrated spate of
tower building in the capital’s history, with
80% of the new buildings designed for highrise living. Of these, almost 20% are already
under construction and around half have
planning approval.
Great piece of research by
@ipsosMORI for @nlalondon about
views of London’s tall buildings (pun
intended) #NLAtallbuildings
Dan (Property and technology data)
INSIDE LDN | 18
CANARY WHARF
As if to underline the point, Canary
Wharf Group has won consent to build
the area’s first residential tower. Tower
Hamlets approved plans for the 58-storey
Newfoundland skyscraper in Canary Wharf,
designed by Holden Cherry Lee architects,
which will include over 500 flats. They aim to
finish construction by 2018 and at 218m it will
be only slightly shorter than the iconic One
Canada Square. Two buildings of 36 and 42
storeys respectively, by developers Berkeley
Homes, in City Road, Islington have also
been approved by Boris Johnson.
HOUSING LONDON
In the same vein, Prince Charles’s Foundation
for Building Community has published a piece
of research on London’s housing market. The
report, Housing London: A Mid-Rise Solution,
proposes that London returns to the mid-rise
residential block model, stating that buildings
of five to eight storeys would provide the
density of housing the capital needs without
accelerating urban sprawl. It also suggests
more developments with a range of tenures
including private rent and sale, affordable
and social housing. An Ipsos Mori poll,
commissioned by NLA, addressed the density
issue raised in the Prince’s report, showing
that Londoners looking for homes to live in
are fairly evenly split over the need for tall
buildings over the next five years. Londoners
would also overwhelmingly prefer to work in a
skyscraper than live in one.
SKYLINE COMMISSION
Following the NLA poll and survey, almost
80 prominent figures and organisations,
including Dame Tessa Jowell, Tottenham
MP David Lammy and philosopher Alain
de Botton have initiated a debate about
London’s skyline. Alongside calls for
a ‘Skyline Commission’, the campaign in
part objects to proposals for up to 230 tall
buildings planned for the capital. NLA
Chair Peter Murray welcomed the positive
shift towards tall buildings but suggested
that more guidance for developers should
be introduced to the planning system. An
exhibition at New London Architecture
launching this month, London’s Growing Up!
will display the plans for tall buildings in the
capital and the future of London’s growth.
SHEPHERD’S BUSH MARKET
Orion Shepherds Bush, a joint venture set up
by Development Securities and Orion Land
& Leisure to regenerate Shepherd’s Bush
market, has secured £44.1m from Pramerica
Real Estate Investors, Prudential’s US-based
investment arm. The money will help to
kick-start the first phase of the development
and will be used to buy the market site land
from Transport for London. Orion already
has outline planning consent for the £150m
scheme that will see the 100-year-old market
refurbished delivering more stalls for traders
and new seating areas for the public. The
project will also create 211 homes and
underground parking, as well as the
refurbishment of nearby railway arches.
SAVE SAINSBURY’S
Campaigners are hoping that a pioneering eco
supermarket in Greenwich will become a listed
building, preventing bulldozers from moving in
to replace it with an IKEA. Bizarrely, Sainsbury’s
themselves want to demolish the store in order
to build a bigger branch in nearby Charlton
and the Scandinavian furniture chain has been
given the go ahead to demolish the current
‘green’ building only 15 years after it was built.
The building was nominated for the Stirling
Prize in 2000 and is currently being assessed for
listing by English Heritage.
“This multi-award-winning
building is an outstanding
example of innovative retail
design, underwritten by
ecological and sustainability
principles. All now depends on
the listing application. English
Heritage are continuing their
assessment of the building as an
urgent priority case. We strongly
believe it should be listed.”
20TH CENTURY SOCIETY ON THE GREENWICH
SAINSBURY’S
We have now outgrown the
building, which cannot be
enlarged or easily reused, and
those technologies have evolved
significantly.”
SAINSBURY’S SPOKESMAN EXPLAINS THEIR NEED
TO DEMOLISH THEIR OWN AWARD-WINNING STORE
INSIDE LDN | 19
LYMINGTON FIELDS
Work has started on a £78.4m scheme to
transform Lymington Fields in Dagenham
into 418 new homes. The proposals, the result
of a partnership between the GLA, developer
Lovells and affordable housing provider
Home Group, could see the former gravel
pit transformed by 2019. The first phase of
development on the 8.7 hectare brownfield
site will create 83 homes for private sale, 22
homes for affordable rent and 20 shared
ownership homes. The second phase of
around 293 homes is set to start in 2015.
SHAFTESBURY ACQUISITIONS
West End developer Shaftesbury has added
a 50,000 sq ft building on Newport Place
in China Town to its portfolio and plans
to submit proposals to redevelop the site
later this year. The firm has also purchased
the headquarters of fashion brand Jaeger
from Derwent London for £30.75m. Jaeger
House, in Broadwick Street, Soho, has been
the high end label’s HQ since 1970, but their
lease expires next year and it is thought
that Shaftesbury will look at redevelopment
opportunities as the site links their holdings
around Carnaby Street and Soho together.
The two deals take the value of the landlord’s
portfolio in the area to £860m.
CHINESE INVESTMENT GUIDE
The Chinese government has issued a guide
for companies wanting to invest in Britain.
The Chinese Enterprises Investment Guide
to the UK is targeted at Chinese investors
who want to invest in Britain’s infrastructure,
financial services and property and comes
shortly after announcements that Chinese
money will help see the capital’s Royal Albert
Dock transformed into a business district and
fund the reconstruction of south London’s
Victorian Crystal Palace.
FOXTON’S DIVIDEND
Foxtons has announced its first results as a
listed company. The firm has benefited from
a booming London market to boost 2013
pre-tax profits by 57% to £38.9m. The rise
prompted a special dividend of 3.74p alongside a final dividend of 1.7p, meaning Chief
Executive Michael Brown, who sold half his
stake in the firm but still holds 22.7m shares,
made another £1.2m in dividends. Foxtons
plans to open up to 10 branches each year
and has been valued at £1bn.
THE INTERNATIONAL QUARTER
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has
announced that it will move its headquarters
from Canary Wharf to The International
Quarter in Stratford in 2018. Around 3,000
employees will make the move to the
Olympic site and the FCA will become a
tenant of Lend Lease and LCR’s joint venture.
They will take 40,000 sq ft of the 22 acre
scheme.
“This is really positive news for
Stratford and for London as a
whole. It’s a sign that this part of
the capital has arrived and is
delivering on our original vision
for Stratford City as a mixed use
metropolitan centre. Stratford has
developed into an exceptional
new commercial centre based
around world class companies.”
DAVID JOY
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF LCR
INSIDE LDN | 20
THE PLIMSOLL BUILDING
The first apartments in The Plimsoll Building,
the third building at King’s Cross with private
residential homes, went on sale in March.
When completed in late 2015, The Plimsoll
Building will have 255 new apartments as
well as space for two new schools – a twoform entry new London Academy and the
relocated Frank Barnes School for the Deaf.
The building has been named after Samuel
Plimsoll who in 1852, when the Great
Northern Railway was opened, pioneered
the idea that coal could be transported by
train and built the Viaduct behind King’s
Cross to unload his coal on a sliding grill of
his own invention. His coal drops at King’s
Cross were rented by the railway and
it was this income that permitted him to
concentrate his energies on keeping those
at sea safe. His next invention, the Plimsoll
Line became the internationally recognised
marking on the hull of a ship that shows how
low or high the ship is resting in the water.
The Plimsoll Building at King’s Cross, N1C
CAMDEN MARKETS ACQUISITION
A trust managed by entrepreneur and
investor Teddy Sagi has acquired all 100%
of Camden Market Holdings Corp (CMHC).
The £400m purchase was completed by
acquiring a 50% stake from Bebo Kobo,
following the acquisitions of 25% each from
Richard Caring and Elliot Bernerd. CMHC,
which is managed by Stanley Sidings Ltd,
comprises both Hawley Wharf (also known
as Camden Lock Village) and Stables
Market and at the same time as completing
the purchase, Mr Sagi announced that
£200m is available to take forward the
implementation of the existing Camden Lock
Village planning permission and provide
investment for future improvements to
Stables Market.
FUTURE STREETS INCUBATOR FUND
A £1.8m fund will encourage the imaginative
use of London’s streets and public spaces.
Money from Transport for London’s Future
Streets Incubator Fund will be available for
London boroughs, Business Improvement
Districts and community groups. The
initiative aims to find innovative ways
of using the capital’s roads and streets
and Mayor Boris Johnson has said that
‘anything and everything will be considered,
however weird and wonderful’ with the 300ft
waterslide mooted for Bristol town centre
oferred as a good example.
BROMPTON ROAD TUBE STATION
The disused Brompton Road tube station
has been sold for £53m. The complex, which
closed in 1934 and needs a bit more than
cosmetic refurbishment, has been sold by
the Ministry of Defence. Athough there was a
proposal to restore it as a heritage attraction,
it is understood that it has been purchased
by an unnamed developer who intends to
convert it into flats.
HOT WATER
An innovative new water pump system has
been installed in the Thames, supplying hot
water for nearly 150 homes and a 140-room
hotel in Kingston Heights, Richmond Park.
The system, which captures latent heat from
bodies of water via refrigerants, has been
deployed by scientists at Mitsibushi.
GROSVENOR SQUARE
Grosvenor Square will become the most
expensive area in London once the
American Embassy moves and the diplomats
have left, agents have predicted. The
Embassy’s move to Nine Elms in 2017 is
already having an effect on house prices in
the Mayfair enclave with an apartment at
number 18 on the market for a record £18m.
OFFICE LETTINGS
New figures show that technology, media
and telecoms firms took up 23% of all
office space lettings in the City last year,
significantly stepping up their presence in
the Square Mile.
INSIDE LDN | 21
LDN | APR 2014
TRANSPORT
HS2 VISION
There has been some significant movement on plans for
High Speed 2 after both the new chief executive, Sir David
Higgins, and the HS2 Growth Taskforce published reports and
recommendations in March.
Sir David, who served as chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority before
moving to Network Rail and then HS2, has recommended that a new station at Crewe in
Cheshire should be completed by 2027, six years ahead of schedule. This would allow phase
2 – the Y-shape section of line north of Birmingham to North West and North East England – to
be finished by 2030, three years earlier than planned. Key to these recommendations is the
swift construction of the 43-mile stretch of railway from Birmingham to Crewe and a total
integration of the high-speed service with the rest of the country’s rail network.
The Chancellor of the Exchequor has responded favourably to this proposal, noting that
it would help to deliver benefits to the north of the country. Sir David and George Osborne
have also both backed a comprehensive redevelopment of Euston and the scrapping of the
proposed £700m link between HS2 at Euston and HS1 at St Pancras using the North
London Line (as captured by Martin Rowson’s excellent cartoon this month).
Meanwhile, the HS2 Growth Taskforce, an advisory group convened to examine how to
maximise economic growth from HS2, has published their latest report. Get Ready includes a
series of recommendations for how regeneration and development should be coordinated
around station sites, how local and regional transport plans should support the scheme and
how people and businesses can benefit from the project. The Secretary of State for Transport,
Patrick McLoughlin, responded positively to the taskforce’s report and in particular their
recommendation that a regeneration company be set up to support local regeneration plans
for the areas around stations. LCR, the company behind the successful delivery of HS1, will
now develop firmer proposals for this new company with HS2 Ltd.
INSIDE LDN | 22
LDN | APR 2014 | TRANSPORT
FIRST CROSSRAIL CASUALTY
A construction worker on the Crossrail
project has died after sustaining severe
head injuries from falling concrete. The
43-year-old was spraying concrete 10m
below Holborn when the incident occurred.
Ambulance crews and a speciallytrained rescue crew from the London Fire
Service were dispatched but the man was
pronounced dead at the scene. This is the
first fatality on the £15bn scheme since work
started in at the end of 2008. The Health and
Safety Executive has been informed and
is investigating.
CYCLE FUNDING
Enfield, Kingston and Waltham Forest will
all become more cycle friendly as they
have each been awarded around £30m
from the Mayor’s ‘mini-Holland’ cycle
safety fund. Enfield’s town centre will be
completely redesigned, with a network of
new cycle superhighways and greenways
to link key locations. Kingston’s proposals
took advantage of its riverside position with
the suggestion of a Riverside Broadway
delivering a cycle route along the banks of
the Thames and Waltham Forest will focus
on improving cycling in residential areas
and creating ‘Hackney-style’ low-traffic
neighbourhoods. All eight of the outer London
boroughs shortlisted for the funding will be
taking their proposals forward with Transport
for London (TfL) and Newham in particular
was advised to seek major schemes funding
for their proposal to remove the Stratford
gyratory and reshape Stratford town centre.
INSIDE LDN | 23
HAMMERSMITH ‘FLYUNDER’
Boris Johnson has given the go-ahead to
plans to replace the failing Hammersmith
flyover with a road tunnel. London’s
Mayor announced that TfL is now backing
Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s
proposals to create the ‘flyunder’. Possible
options in the report drawn up by Halcrow
for the council include a one-mile ‘cut and
cover’ version costing around £218m and a
two-and-a-half-mile deep tunnel route with
an estimated £1.7bn price tag.
“We’re going to tunnelise the flyover,
the time scale will be three or four
years I expect. Even the hardened
TfL engineers looked through
this, they’ve been pretty sceptical,
and they thought it was a great
scheme.”
BORIS JOHNSON, MAYOR OF LONDON
For the cost of one ‘Hammersmith
Flyunder’ the Outer London boroughs
could each be given £30m of ‘miniHolland’ funding. Twice over.
Boris Watch
CONGESTION WOES
Drivers in the London commuter zone wasted
an average of 82 hours each in traffic in
2013 – a rise of 10 hours on figures from
2012. This makes London the second worst
city in Europe for commuter driving delays –
Brussels took the top spot with 83 hours lost
– and far worse than the UK average which
is 30 hours lost. Moreover, all of the UK’s top
ten most frustrating roads for delays can be
found within the capital. The worst offender
was the A4 between central London and
Junction 3 of the M4 near Heathrow caused
greatest delays, racking up 91 annual delay
hours for each driver. New measures are
to be introduced to combat the gridlock,
including new ‘smart’ pedestrian crossings
that would be able to assess the number of
pedestrians and alter crossing time duration
to allow them to cross safely.
‘GREEN PENINSULA’
One of London’s most infamous gyratory
systems will be replaced with a leafy and
green peninsula, according to the Mayor’s
new plan for the future of London’s roads.
The enormous roundabout at Elephant and
Castle will be transformed into a two-way
traffic system, aimed at smoothing traffic
flows and reducing speeds on what has
become an accident black spot. This echoes
similar schemes at Waterloo’s IMAX theatre
and at Vauxhall Cross, one of the gateways
to the new Battersea Power Station/Nine Elms
development area. To read the latest report
from the Mayor’s Roads Task Force, please
click here.
MAYOR’S PLANS FOR HEATHROW SITE
A major new report from the Mayor of
London has outlined four different ways
in which Heathrow Airport’s site could be
used, were a brand-new hub airport created
in the South East. Among the proposed
uses are a new technology and education
quarter (including two large new campus
universities) a town supporting 76,000
jobs and 48,000 homes, and a residential
quarter of nearly 82,000 homes to support
workers commuting into central London
or the Thames Valley. The fourth scheme,
known as ‘Heathrow City, would serve as a
hybrid, retaining some of the existing airport
buildings for retail, town and convention
centre use with surrounding high-value
manufacture, knowledge parks and office
development. This last proposal could to
provide around 80,000 homes and 90,000
jobs, boosting London’s economy by £7.5bn
a year.
HEATHROW CONSULTATION
Hundreds of Hounslow residents have turned
out to share their views on Heathrow’s
proposals for a third runway. Two public
consultation events were held in Heston
and Brentford, providing people with the
chance to learn more about the plans,
meet the Heathrow team and have their
questions answered. This comes as the
Davies Commission deliberates on its
final recommendations for expanding
airport capacity in the south east. But the
consultation has drawn criticism, with one
Hounslow councillor noting that Heathrow
INSIDE LDN | 24
was only consulting on which of two
proposed sites should be used – not whether
residents actually wanted the airport
expanded.
GATWICK CASE
A second runway at Gatwick could lead to
an ‘Olympic-level’ boost for Croydon and
south London, according to the airport’s
bosses. The launch of the ‘Gatwick Obviously’
campaign at the Shard saw presentations
from architect Sir Terry Farrell and Gatwick
CEO Stewart Wingate, both arguing that
a new runway at the West Sussex airport
would be cheaper and easier to construct
than one at Heathrow. The new runway
would be serviced by a state-of-the-art
terminal. Forecasting shows that the new
runway would mean Gatwick would serve
40m passengers and offer flights to 442
destinations by 2050 – compared to 29m and
415 destinations if Heathrow was expanded.
“The next runway needs to
bring the greatest economic
return for the UK at the lowest
environmental cost. That makes
Gatwick the obvious answer.”
STEWART WINGATE
GATWICK CEO
Image of a two-runway Gatwick
Source: Farrell’s London
NOISE OMBUDSMAN
A special summit on aircraft noise expressed
its unanimous backing for an independent
noise ombudsman to protect people living
under flight paths. Organised by business
group London First, their Let Britain Fly
campaign group and the Heathrow
Association for the Control of Aircraft
Noise at City Hall, the day welcomed
campaigners, politicians and airport bosses
to discuss solutions to the noise issue. The
suggestion for an independent Aircraft Noise
Ombudsman – first floated by London First
in the autumn – is aimed at improving the
welfare of people living near airports and
was enthusiastically received by delegates.
The issue of noise impact has proven a
prominent one in the ongoing debate about
airport capacity expansion, with Gatwick
Airport promising a greatly-expanded noise
mitigation scheme as part of its campaign
for a second runway.
T2 OPENING
The new £2.5bn terminal at Heathrow will
open on 4 June. It will feature common
check-in desks and machines that will allow
passengers to check in anywhere, which
combined with automatic bag tagging
and baggage drops aims to speed up
the pre-flight process. John Lewis and
Heston Blumenthal will open their first
airside ventures there though only one
airline, United, will move in, handling
2,500 passengers on the first day. It has
been projected that the new terminal will
eventually handle up to 20m passengers
per year.
HEATHROW BOSS QUITS
Heathrow Chief Executive Colin Matthews is
to step down from the role after six years. This
comes as the battle over airport expansion
heats up with Gatwick and the Mayor of
London both attacking Heathrow’s proposed
expansion plans. Matthews will stay in post
until a successor is appointed and Terminal
2 is open to ensure a smooth transition,
according to the airport’s Chairman.
CROSSRAIL 2
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin
has indicated that other schemes must
take funding priority before the £12bn
Crossrail 2 line linking Wimbledon and
Tottenham despite the Mayor’s strong support
for it. Speaking in Total Politics magazine
McLoughlin commended the Mayor’s efforts
to lobby ministers on London’s behalf, but
dismissed his recent attacks on the Davies
INSIDE LDN | 25
Commission interim report. The Mayor has
famously been in favour of a new hub
airport in the Thames Estuary – an option the
Commission did not express an interest
in exploring.
CROSSRAIL READING
The multi-billion pound Crossrail scheme will
terminate at Reading from 2019 according to
a written ministerial statement from Stephen
Hammond, the Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State for Transport. The line’s
western terminus was originally planned to
be Maidenhead and quarter-hour Crossrail
services will still serve that station, but two of
those services will then travel on to Reading
via Twyford. This will not affect the existing
First Great Western service pattern from
London to Reading.
BORIS CARS
A French company has outlined proposals
to bring electric rental cars to the streets of
London, following a similar scheme’s success
in Paris. Bolloré, the battery company behind
the French capital’s ‘Autolib’ scheme, will
introduce the first 100 cars next March – each
with a range of 150 miles and available to
hire for £5 per half-hour plus a £5 monthly
membership. Bolloré has also pledged to
extend London’s existing network of 1,300
charging points to 6,000 by 2018. The original
Source London scheme to expand this
network has had a very poor take-up, with
three-quarters of the points unused last year.
NEWS IN BRIEF
101 yellow cycle hire scheme bikes have
been released ahead of this summer’s
arrival of the 101st Tour de France in London,
the first time the world’s most famous cycle
race has been in the capital since it hosted
the Grand Depart in 2007.
British engineering firm Costain has
secured a major £150m contract to provide
infrastructure for Crossrail’s suburban
stations in East London. Starting immediately
and with work expected to continue until
2017, the firm will deliver electrification
equipment and track upgrades to stations
between Stratford and Shenfield in Essex.
From the end of 2016 Eurostar passengers
will be able to reach Amsterdam in four
hours, thanks to a new relationship between
Eurostar and Dutch railways. It is expected
that this will have a radical effect on air
traffic between the two cities; the route is
currently the largest international airline
market in Europe with over 3m business and
leisure passengers annually. This caps a
successful year for Eurostar who announced
this year that they had exceeded 10m
passengers for the first time in 2013.
To mark the launch of their pedestrian safety
report, four London Assembly Members
have recreated the famous Abbey Road
Beatles photo on the zebra crossing. The
report makes recommendations to the Mayor
for how to improve pedestrian safety.
LDN | APR 2014
INSIDE LDN | 26
HEALTH
CARE BILL
A controversial measure that allows changes
at neighbouring NHS hospitals when trying
to improve a Trust facing financial problems,
has been approved in the House of
Commons. Under Clause 119 of the Care Bill,
special administrators now have the power
to review and amend services at hospitals
aside from the one actually in administration.
Despite criticism from the national Labour
Party and a threatened Tory rebellion which
subsequently fizzled out, the Government
pushed ahead and said that the measure
would only be used as a last resort and
insisted any changes would still need to
be consulted on with the local community.
The clause was in part inserted into the
Care Bill after Health Secretary Jeremy
Hunt’s ill-fated decision to change services
at Lewisham Hospital, in order to alleviate
financial pressures on the neighbouring
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich. 297
MPs voted in favour of the clause in the Bill’s
third reading, with 239 in opposition. The
Bill will now need to be approved by Peers
in the House of Lords before it can receive
Royal Assent – the final stage of a Bill before
it becomes part of UK law. Shadow Health
Secretary, Andy Burnham, has claimed that
32 hospital trusts across the country could
be at risk from being closed or downgraded
due to Clause 119.
Thanks for all the enquiries
about the Care Bill clause 119 here
is a statement on why I will not be
supporting it
Nick de Bois MP
“This clause will only come into
play when a hospital goes belly
up and can’t pay its bills. Once
everything else has been done
to try to fix the problem, so when
they’ve special measures, help
from outside management
and more, this clause will be
triggered.”
PAUL BURSTOW
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT MP FOR SUTTON, AND FORMER
CARE MINISTER
LCA VIEW
LEAVE THE POWER WITH
DOCTORS
Although it made for an
uncomfortable few days for them,
ministers’ support of clause 119
should be seen as a good thing.
Much needed changes to hospitals
are too often blocked by a potent
combination of parochial politics and
angry ‘IMBYs’. While this reaction is
understandable, it is patently not the
best way to decide how best to care
for people. Doctors need to make
decisions about how best to provide
care and, though he came under
huge flak for his reforms at the time,
it is becoming clearer that former
Secretary of State Andrew Lansley
did in fact put a lot of power in GPs’
hands. Now with the strengthened
backing of ministers, who have
shown themselves not afraid to make
more unpopular decisions, the NHS
is in a good place to make some
tough choices in the coming months
and years. It will be interesting to
see how the new NHS CEO Simon
Stevens responds to this when he
arrives shortly.
Luke Blair
Board Director
LDN | APR 2014 | HEALTH
NEW NHS CHIEF ARRIVES
New NHS chief executive Simon Stevens
has called for a radical transformation in
the face of financial challenge, as he took
over from Sir David Nicholson this month.
The former chief at one of America’s largest
healthcare providers, adviser to Tony Blair
and one-time Lambeth councillor has said
the traditional split between GPs, hospital
outpatients and A&E departments ‘no longer
makes much sense.’ His previous NHS roles
include a stint at Guy’s and St Thomas’s
Hospital Trust. According to media reports,
Stevens is expected to work from London so
he can join weekly meetings with the
Health Secretary.
PAY FREEZE
NHS staff will not receive a 1% pay rise as
recommended by national pay officials. Dr
Mark Porter, chair of the Council of the British
Medical Association (BMA) described a ‘deep
sense of outrage’ at the move that will see
wages rise below inflation, despite a higher
recommendation which also came from the
NHS Pay Review Body (NHS PRB). In a written
ministerial statement, Secretary of State
Jeremy Hunt, explained that: ‘the NHS PRB’s
recommendations for a 1% consolidated rise
for all staff, on top of automatic increments,
are unaffordable and would risk the quality
of patient care.’ The Unite union is now
planning to ballot members on whether they
should take industrial action.
INSIDE LDN | 27
NHS LAND
NHS land and buildings that are unused
or run down should be used to help the
current housing crisis or to house modern
health and care services, according to the
London Health Commission. Other suggestions include following New York’s example
of taking a regulatory approach to tackling
obesity (for example by making restaurants
publish calorie content) and a stronger
strategic leadership of health and care
services in the capital. The ideas appear in
a summary report of evidence from more
than 250 organisations and individuals who
spoke to the commission in recent sessions.
The commission set up by the Mayor Boris
Johnson is expected to publish a full report
later this year.
“My aim is for London to be the
healthiest big city in the world.
To have received over 250
submissions, many of which
were new voices from outside of
health is a fantastic response. It is
clear that there is a huge desire
to improve not just the health but
also the wellbeing of Londoners. I
want to thank everybody who has
contributed. The message is clear.
This is much bigger than just the
NHS and London needs to do
more to help Londoners.”
PROFESSOR THE LORD ARA DARZI
COMMISSION CHAIR.
LONDON CLINICAL STANDARDS
London hospitals are failing to meet clinical
standards for the capital according to NHS
England figures. Only four in 29 hospitals
with a casualty unit have a consultant
present for 16 hours a day, seven days
per week and not one hospital with a
maternity unit has a consultant obstetrician
available 24/7. Since clinical standards were
introduced in 2012 progress has been made;
there are now longer hours of consultant
cover in acute medicine and every child
inpatient ward has a minimum of two
specialist trained nurses on duty at all times.
“We want patients to receive
consistently high quality
emergency care services seven
days a week, but we know that
is not always happening at the
moment…For all hospitals to
meet all the standards we will
need to change the way some
services are provided … London’s
CCGs are working on five year
plans which will describe how
every hospital will deliver all the
standards. ”
DR ANDY MITCHELL
MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF NHS ENGLAND
PEOPLE’S INQUIRY
Meanwhile, a new report, commissioned by
the union Unite, and called ‘London’s NHS at
the Crossroads’ has painted a particularly
bleak picture of the capital’s healthcare.
As well as making unsurprising calls for
more pay for NHS staff, it has proposed the
establishment of a strategic London-wide
body to organise health services across the
capital – just like the one that was scrapped
as part of the recent health reforms last year.
ST THOMAS’ HOSPITAL
A major redevelopment is underway at
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust’s (GSTT) A&E
department. The hospital was originally
designed for up to 80,000 patients a year
but this figure has now more than doubled,
to over 135,000 patients. Dr Simon Eccles,
emergency medicine consultant at GSTT
explained the difficulty of redeveloping
a working accident and emergency
department by likening it to ‘changing
the wheels on a car without stopping’. The
renovation is expected to be completed by
March 2016, and follows the refurbishment of
the façade of St Thomas’ East Wing, which is
expected to be completed this autumn.
INSIDE LDN | 28
CENTRAL MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL
People in Brent are being asked what
services they would like to see at Central
Middlesex Hospital in future. The hospital is
currently operating at just 38% of capacity,
one of the issues which will be addressed
as part of the Shaping a Healthier Future
proposals for NHS services across North West
London. Mental health, orthopedic and
regional genetics services are expected
to relocate to the site and Brent Clinical
Commissioning Group (CCG) is asking the
public for their views.
BRAIN CANCER
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and
the Brain Tumour Research Campaign (BTRC)
will continue to work collaboratively to
help develop new brain cancer treatments.
Charing Cross, part of London’s largest NHS
Trust, has been selected as the location
for a new research ‘centre of excellence’.
The research and fundraising partnership
comes after two top of the range ultrasound
scanners were installed in Charing Cross
Hospital in November last year thanks to
fundraising organised by BTRC.
“Along with our centre at the
University of Portsmouth, the
Centres will form a new and
powerful network, collaborating
with each other and other
institutes, both within the UK
and internationally, in order to
accelerate progress in brain
tumour research and make a
clinical difference. All involved
share a vision of a sustainable
and secure research environment
for brain tumours in the UK,
ultimately creating better futures
for all those diagnosed and living
with a brain tumour.”
SUE FARRINGTON SMITH
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF BRAIN TUMOUR RESEARCH
PROTON BEAM THERAPY
Advanced radiotherapy which uses proton
beams rather than X-rays is coming to the UK
for the first time. University College London
Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) will
offer a cancer proton beam therapy centre
on Tottenham Court Road and there is also
one planned for Manchester’s Christie
Hospital. Plans for the London centre were
approved by Camden Council’s planning
committee. The building will be designed by
Edward Williams Architects in collaboration
with Scott Tallon Walker Architects and
follows the allocation of £250m funding by
the Government in April 2012.
PATHOLOGY SERVICE
Three NHS Trusts in South West London will
provide 2m people with pathology services
in a new joint partnership recommended
by a London review. The chief executives
at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust,
Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
and St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust have
joined their services together to create the
South West London Pathology partnership.
More than 70% of medical decisions in the
UK are based on a pathology test and the
new service is expected to carry out nearly
16m tests a year. The main hub laboratory
will be at St George’s Hospital, with spoke
laboratories, or ‘hot labs’, at both Croydon
and Kingston to manage urgent local work
from A&E, maternity, acute wards and
theatres. Pathology is the study of disease, its
causes and progression by looking at blood
or tissue samples.
WHITTINGTON HOSPITAL
The chief executive of Whittington Health,
the NHS Trust that runs the hospital in North
London, has announced her resignation. Dr
Yi Mien Koh had been in the role since March
2011 but stood down at the end of March
2014, claiming she had taken the Trust ‘as
far as she can’. As chief executive, Koh came
under significant pressure when Whittington
Health was forced to backtrack on plans
to sell six hospital buildings following
local opposition. Her departure comes just
weeks after it was announced that former
Liberal Democrat leader at the London
borough of Islington, Steve Hitchens, had
been appointed as chair of the Trust. Simon
Pleydell, currently an Associate Director at
the NHS Confederation, is the new interim
chief executive of Whittington Health.
INSIDE LDN | 29
BHRUT CEO
Matthew Hopkins has taken over as
chief executive for Barking, Havering and
Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
(BHRUT). He replaces Averil Dongworth who
retired last month after 40 years’ service
with the NHS. Last year the Care Quality
Commission (CQC) recommended that two
of the Trust’s hospitals, Queen’s Hospital in
Romford and King George Hospital in Ilford,
should be placed under special measures
following an inspection. Mr Hopkins has
joined from Epsom and St Helier University
Hospitals NHS Trust.
“I could not be more delighted. I
know that Matthew is the right
person to lead the Trust through
the next stage of its development
and will be committed to
continuously improving care for
the people that we serve.”
ANY HUMAN HEART
The human heart as captured by a
London researcher appears in this year’s
Wellcome Image Awards. The showcase
celebrates the best in science imaging
talent and techniques with an exhibition
at the Wellcome Library. Sergio Bertazzo,
from Imperial College London, shows how
heart disease develops when clumps of
calcium salts build up on the heart valve.
Over time this hardens the soft tissue and
can eventually stop the valve from working
properly. The image was made using
density-dependent colour scanning electron
microscopy. The orange colour identifies
denser, calcified material, while structures in
green are less dense. Judges included BBC
Medical Correspondent Fergus Walsh.
MAUREEN DALZIEL
BHRUT INTERIM CHAIR
Wellcome Image Awards 2014 , Wellcome Library, London
Human heart (aortic valve) tissue displaying calcification –
Sergio Bertazzo, Imperial College London
TRAFALGAR SQUARE HEALTH LAUNCH
MPs and musicians joined the launch of a
diabetes report by the London Assembly
Health Committee. Members of the Health
Committee were checked for diabetes using
a mobile testing van in Trafalgar Square.
Cases of type 2 diabetes have risen by 75%
in London over the last decade according to
previous reports. Nationally it is estimated that
diabetes accounts for 10% of the NHS budget.
INSIDE LDN | 30
NEWS IN BRIEF
The Department of Health has renewed
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s
partnership with Imperial College University.
Health Minister Dan Poulter used Kingston
Hospital to announce that several London
hospital trusts will benefit from a new £10m
fund for maternity ward improvements.
Despite Chase Farm Hospital’s A&E and
maternity units closing in December 2013,
a North East London Council of Action
organised protest saw 100 campaigners
calling for it to re-open.
The London Health Board (LHB) has called
for an increase in the number of clinical
trials in an attempt to be better at beating
life threatening diseases such as cancer.
LDN | APR 2014
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CULTURE
LONDON LIVE LAUNCHES
The country’s newest TV channel took to
the airwaves on 31 March, promising to
bring Londoners a ‘fresh’ mix of original
entertainment material, London-focussed
news coverage and current affairs. London
Live is the first new TV channel to serve the
capital for 16 years and has taken shape
under the auspices of Independent and
Evening Standard (ES) owners Alexander
and Evgeny Lebedev. The channel has close
links with its sister publication the ES, with
studios built in the paper’s headquarters in
Kensington and its editors sitting in on the ES
news meetings. The channel has also placed
a strong emphasis on local news gathering
and flexibility. As well as journalists being
equipped with iPhones for some location
filming, the news operation is served by a
network of 32 ‘vloggers’ covering each of the
London boroughs.
£15M
LCA VIEW
LONDON LIVE
The launch of London Live was
at times frenetic but the channel
connected well with its target
audience. The London Live content
managed to suitably mirror the
diversity of London, and in its next
day review the Guardian specifically
praised the channel for its ‘stand on
diversity which will shame its rivals’.
BUDGET
London Live’s reported
annual budget is £15m.
1%
However, the risks of live TV and
street-filming understandably led to a
few teething problems. The Telegraph
was not overly sympathetic and its
write-up made reference to the grainy
picture quality and even went as far
as to suggest the channel could have
been produced by a bunch of Media
Studies students.
VIEWING FIGURES
The London Live team would like to
achieve a 1% audience share within
the first three years of launching.
The Lebedev-owned station now
needs to build a real identity, and
use its links with the professional
operations at the Evening Standard
and Independent to its best
advantage.
News bulletins – every half hour
Scheduled news programs
Repeat Content/Ad space
Original Content
18-34
TARGET AUDIENCE
London Live’s target audience is
18-34 year olds.
Zakia Malko
PR Apprentice
BREAKFAST SHOW
3 HOURS
1 AM
2 AM
3 AM
4 AM
5 AM
6 AM
7 AM
8 AM
LUNCHTIME SHOW
1 HOUR
9 AM
10 AM 11 AM
12 PM
1 PM
EVENING SHOW
1.5 HOURS
2 PM
3 PM
4 PM
5 PM
6 PM
7 PM
8 PM
9 PM
10 PM
11 PM
12 AM
LDN | APR 2014 | CULTURE
TOURIST VISITS
London’s outdoor attractions benefited from
a glorious summer in 2013 with places like
Kew Gardens and London Zoo drawing
bumper crowds. Visitor numbers rose by
29% and 26.4% respectively compared to
last year. The figures, from the Association of
Leading Visitor Attractions, also showed that
tourist stalwart the British Museum remained
the most popular attraction in the UK and
a rise in visitor numbers of 20% made 2013
its busiest year on record. Unsurprisingly,
London remains the country’s biggest draw,
with all 12 of the country’s most visited sites
within the city limits.
MUSEUM OF LONDON
Meanwhile, the Museum of London and the
Museum of London Docklands also saw a
record year last year, with over 1m people
passing through their doors in the 12 months
between April 2013 and March 2014. This is
a sharp rise from the same period between
2012 and 2013, during which time 615,000
people visited. The past year has seen some
of the twin museums’ most high-profile
exhibitions, from the ‘Estuary’ exhibition
of contemporary art to the October 2013
display of the entire Cheapside Hoard – the
world’s finest collection of Elizabethan and
Jacobean jewellery. The Museum is hoping
to capitalise on these encouraging figures
with a Sherlock Holmes exhibition in October
and is now aiming to draw 1.5m annual
visitors by 2017/18.
INSIDE LDN | 32
KEW GARDENS JOBS
Despite the high visitor numbers, a £5m
shortfall in revenue for the coming financial
year means that up to 125 jobs might be cut
as part of cost-saving measures at the Royal
Botanic Gardens at Kew. This represents
a fall of a third in income, leaving the
Gardens struggling to find strategies to offset
the loss. Managers insist that compulsory
redundancies would be a last resort.
LONDON TECHNOLOGY WEEK
A new visa that would allow migrants
with exceptional tech talents to enter the
country is part of the preparation for a new
international technology event. The Mayor
has unveiled his plans for a new London
Technology Week which he hopes will grow
to equal the global reach of cultural events
like London Fashion Week and the London
Film Festival. Featuring over 25 events and
including a Bloomberg-hosted conference
the first go this June is expected to draw
around 1,000 technology whizzkids from
around the world. The Mayor also took the
opportunity to announce the creation of a
new posse of tech ambassadors to make the
case for the capital internationally. Gerard
Grech, Chief Executive of Tech City UK and
entreprenuer Sherry Coutu are amongst the
nine ambassadors.
GO FOR VELO
Members of the public can now get a taste
of how it feels to be an Olympian as the Lee
Valley VeloPark, site of a record number of
medals for British cyclists at London 2012,
opened to the public on 31 March. With a
BMX track, mountain bike and road circuit
on site along with the world-class indoor
velodrome, users can try all four disciplines
and prices for visitors start at only £4. The
Aquatics Centre has also thrown open its
doors to become one of the capital’s most
architecturally-acclaimed leisure centres,
with many of the recreational swimmers
no doubt hoping to catch a glimpse of new
professional resident Tom Daley. On 5 April,
the southern part of the Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park opens to the public for the
first time.
The Lee Valley Velo Park
Source: Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
MAIL RAIL
The Royal Mail’s ‘Mail Rail’, London’s ‘secret
Underground’, will be open to the public
for the first time ever after Islington Council
approved plans to restore a section. The
electric, driverless trains were first used in
1927 and shuttled millions of letters under
the capital for almost three-quarters of a
century, until its increasingly uneconomic
nature led to its closure in 2003. Now curious
members of the public will be able to see a
1km stretch for the first time as part of a £20m
postal service museum and archive at the
Mount Pleasant mail centre in Clerkenwell.
It is near the site of the Royal Mail’s planning
application as detailed here.
MAYFAIR GALLERIES
Mayfair’s exclusive art galleries are fighting
to survive as luxury fashion houses drive
up rents in the notoriously expensive area.
The area around Bond Street has been
synonymous with the art trade since the 18th
century but many galleries are now being
forced to move out or to upstairs premises.
Dealers are now calling on Westminster
Council to create a protective ‘zone’ around
them, just as Paris protects its dealers in and
around St. Germain.
INSIDE LDN | 33
FILM OUTREACH
A new £800,000 project aimed at improving
the film offer for Londoners has been
launched by Film London. Film Hub
London will work with community groups,
commercial and independent cinemas and
film clubs to boost film audiences across
the capital by making film more culturally
and socially inclusive through screenings,
training and better audience research.
The scheme has already attracted over 100
partners across 30 of London’s 33 boroughs.
SERPENTINE SPACESHIP
A building described as the result of an alien
visitation to some ancient pagan site will
take pride of place next to the Serpentine
in Kensington Gardens this summer. The
structure is the latest in the Serpentine
Gallery’s series of temporary pavilions
designed by internationally-renowned
architects. This year’s is the brainchild of
Chilean designer Smiljan Radic – one of the
youngest and least-known to have been
selected for the honour. The reaction to the
Gallery’s habit of hiring ‘starchitects’ like
Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel to design the
space has been mixed in the past, though
last year’s cloud of steel rods by Japanese
architect Sou Fujimoto was a hit with both
critics and the public.
External indicative CGI
Copyright 2014 Smilijan Radic Studio
LOW CARBON DRAGONS
Innocent Drinks founder Richard Reed
is the latest judge to be announced for
London’s Low Carbon Entrepreneur 2014
initiative, sponsored by the Mayor. Reed
will join environmentalist Richmond MP Zac
Goldsmith and former BBC Dragon Deborah
Meaden to judge the 10 final entries in a
format that echoes the BBC show. Entrants
must pitch their best idea for reducing
carbon emissions, with a view to the Mayor’s
pledge to slash London’s emissions by 60%
by 2025. The winner will claim the £20,000
prize money with 20 of the best runners up
shortlisted for a chance at one of six paid
internships at awards sponsors Siemens’ The
Crystal, one of the world’s greenest buildings
on the Royal Docks.
FREDDIE STATUE
The closure of West End jukebox staple ‘We
Will Rock You’ has not just broken hearts
around the world – it has also raised the very
real issue of what to do with the Dominion
Theatre’s giant-sized statue of the flamboyant
Queen frontman. Suggestions have proven
varied; from making the sculpture into the
new Fourth Plinth exhibit in Trafalgar Square
to using it for a Wicker Man-style pagan
ritual or donating it to Fulham FC, a club
with a proven fondness for erecting statues
of popstars. The closure of the theatrical
juggernaut that is ‘We Will Rock You’ has
come after a disappointing season for the
West End, with much-anticipated projects
like Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Stephen Ward’
and Tim Rice’s ‘From Here to Eternity’ closing
early. Doubts remain about the prospects of
Harry Hill’s X-factor themed musical ‘I Can’t
Sing’, which has been dogged by production
faults and negative rumours for months.
@Londonist swap it for my golden
flame? Freddy would look pretty
awesome on the top of the monument
The Monument
@Londonist or it could be a
permanent fixture on the 4th plinth at
Trafalgar square. What do you think @
nelsonscolumn ?
The Monument
INSIDE LDN | 34
LONDON MARATHON
LCA’s own Nabil Hanafi won’t be the only bigname Londoner to race through the capital’s
streets for charity on 13 April. Hounslow’s Mo
Farah will be making his marathon debut
in one of the world’s largest and most wellknown street races. Farah’s preparation for
the race has not been without setbacks – he
collapsed and briefly lost consciousness after
finishing the New York Marathon last month.
And he will face some of the world’s biggest
names in long-distance running, such as
last year’s winner Tsegaye Kebede and
Kenya’s Wilson Kipsang, the world-record
holder for the marathon. The Marathon’s 26.2
miles snake across London from Blackheath
through the East End to the Mall and last
year attracted nearly 37,000 runners.
I’m running the @LondonMarathon
for @LDNcomms pro-bono client
@London_cf - sponsor me and support
their amazing work
Nabil Hanafi
EAST END MARKET FUNDING BOOST
Theatre and film legend and star of the
small screen Dame Angela Lansbury will
return to her East End roots to host one of
a series of events aimed at boosting the
profile of a traditional market. Chrisp Street
Market in Poplar will run three weekends of
events aimed at attracting a new generation
of trade by celebrating the history and
culture of the area. Starting with a day
commemorating the area’s boxing heritage
and ending with a celebration of East End
music, the festival will also feature local chefs
using ingredients from the markets’ stalls
to whip up healthy meals. The Mayor has
announced £100,000 of funding to support
the scheme, which will be match-funded by
Tower Hamlets.
LONDON’S BRIDGES ILLUMINATED
London’s bridges will be illuminated as
part of an artist-led scheme to culturally
revitalise the River Thames, according to
the Mayor’s updated Culture Strategy. This
follows a broader effort to make more of the
Thames as a cultural landmark, including
the much-discussed Garden Bridge from the
South Bank to Temple, proposals for a new
lido within the river itself, and the launch of
Totally Thames, a month-long series of river
events in September. The capital’s creative
and cultural sector contributed £21.4bn
to the UK economy in 2012 and the new
Culture Strategy aims to capitalise on this
by removing red tape for artists – making it
easier for them to perform or create.
LDN | APR 2014
INSIDE LDN | 35
POLICING
FGM PROSECUTION
The first ever prosecutions have been
brought against two people under the
Female Genital Mutilation Act. The charges
relate to events that took place at the
Whittington Hospital in November 2012 and
the Crown Prosecution Service is currently
considering pursuing four other cases.
Speaking at a City Hall FGM conference, the
Mayor called for all records of FGM to be
shared between hospitals and the police.
Data suggests that at least 4,000 women
have been treated for FGM at hospitals in
London since 2009. The London Assembly’s
Police and Crime Committee has set out its
intentions to discuss tackling FGM at its next
meeting in June.
@BBCLondon949 thank you BBC
London for devoting proper time today
to really discuss FGM. Stopping it starts
with a conversation
Lynne Featherstone (Lib Dem MP for
Hornsey & Wood Green)
WATER CANNON
Poll results have found two thirds of
Londoners support water cannon use by the
Metropolitan Police. The TNS results,
commissioned by the Mayor’s Office for
Policing and Crime, show 68% of over 4,000
Londoners believe there is a small role for
water cannons in limited circumstances.
Mayor Boris Johnson backed the proposals
in a letter to Home Secretary Theresa May.
However, a group of 55 politicians, union
leaders and human rights campaigners
signed a joint letter to the Telegraph
expressing concern over the direction
of policing in Britain. Signatories
highlighted the 40,000 strong petition
against water cannon.
“I have taken into account both
the professional advice of the
MPSW that water cannon is a
valuable tool, and the broad
public backing for its use, in my
decision to support, subject to
the necessary safeguards, the
request from the police for you
to authorise their use on the UK
mainland, and for me to support
the Commissioner’s request for
funding.”
LETTER TO THE HOME SECRETARY BY BORIS
JOHNSON, MAYOR OF LONDON
OPERATION BIG WING
Some 205 arrests were made in South London
in a sting targeting organised criminal
networks. As part of Operation Big Wing,
which also saw coordinated action across
13 European countries, police rounded up
offenders for crimes including suspicion of
handling stolen goods, robbery, burglary,
theft, drugs and assault in Bexley, Bromley,
Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham
and Southwark. 7,500 officers are involved
in the Big Wing operation, which aims to
tackle a specific crime over a short period
each month. It has completed a number of
pan-London crime crackdowns since it was
first launched by Met police commissioner Sir
Bernard Hogan-Howe in October 2011.
Operation Big Wing taking place
today to tackle mobile phone crime,
theft and the second hand stolen
goods market. 343 arrests so far.
Metropolitan Police
LDN | APR 2014 | POLICING
OPERATION HERNE REPORT
A new report has questioned the tactics
used by undercover police. It opens a
public inquiry into the operation of the
force, compiling a number of allegations
made against the former Special
Demonstration Squad. The claims include
smear attempts on the family and friends
of Stephen Lawrence, the use of deceased
children’s identities and sexual relationships
with activists.
SHREDDED FILES
Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has
appeared in front of the House of Commons
Home Affairs Select Committee to answer
questions as part of the Stephen Lawrence
Independent Review. Committee Chair,
Keith Vaz MP, said during the session that
they plan to launch a full Parliamentary
inquiry into the Metropolitan Police’s
‘structure, governance and culture’. Vaz
had already expressed disbelief at the
lack of detail offered by the Commissioner
about the shredding of key documents in
2001. Sir Bernard told MPs few concrete
details about the decision to destroy
a ‘lorry load’ of documents in 2001 but
insisted a full investigation is not necessary.
During the session, details emerged that
death threats against Baroness Doreen
Lawrence, Stephen’s mother, were not
properly investigated despite assurances
at the time from the Metropolitan Police.
However, Deputy Mayor for Policing Stephen
Greenhalgh questioned the need for a
parliamentary review, accusing MPs of
INSIDE LDN | 36
failing to consult the GLA on its plans
and highlighting that police scrutiny
statutorily lies under the Mayor and
London Assembly’s remit.
POLICE DIVERSITY
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has called for
positive discrimination in the police force to
reflect London’s ethnic diversity. The Scotland
Yard chief wants recruitment laws changed
so that for every white officer employed
in London there must also be one from an
ethnic minority. New ComRes poll results
have found that four fifths of Londoners
regard it as important for the ethnic makeup
of the Met police to reflect that of London.
According to the poll, three quarters of
Londoners believe stop and search is an
effective way of reducing crime, however
half say that it unfairly targets black men.
Levels of trust in the Met have fallen from
85% to 81% since June.
POLICE ADVERTISING
An advertising campaign to inform the
public of local policing activities has now
spread to 11 boroughs since it was first
piloted in Islington, Lewisham and Havering
in November 2013. Posters at bus stops,
phone boxes and other locations aim to let
residents know what actions police have
taken to cut crime and tackle local problems.
WHISTLEBLOWER RESIGNS
PC James Patrick has resigned from the
Metropolitan Police after raising concerns
about how crime statistics are recorded. He
attributed his decision to his treatment by
senior officers after bringing the matter to
light. Patrick had previously given evidence
at a Public Administration Select Committee
which led Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe to admit
crime figures produced by the force may be
unreliable. Patrick had claimed that serious
offences, including rape and child sex abuse,
were being under-reported by up to 25%
whilst a number of techniques were routinely
applied to figures to show them in a more
positive light.
FREE SCHOOLS
The Department for Education has given a
former police station in Hackney to a new
Muslim free school. Hackney Central police
station was sold in July 2013 for over £7m
to the Education Funding Agency. Having
operated out of a mosque and a community
centre to date, the Olive School will move
from its current location in Stoke Newington
to the Grade II listed building next year.
Another former police station in Barnet is
also in line for education use. The site that
previously housed Whetstone police station
has been purchased for a Jewish free school,
Alma Primary, from September 2015.
LDN | APR 2014 | POLICING
STRIP SEARCHES
Data obtained under the Freedom of
Information Act shows that more than 4,500
children have been strip searched by the
Metropolitan Police since 2008. The practice
is performed on those suspected of hiding
class A drugs or objects that could cause
harm. According to the Met there has been
an 18% fall in the number of strip-searches
carried out on children between 10-16 years
old since their peak in 2010.
CITY OF LONDON
The City of London is considering giving the
Metropolitan Police access to its automatic
number plate recognition cameras to help
tackle crime. It is proposed that the video
feeds, which are currently used to enforce
the congestion charge, will be stored for
data mining to detect and prevent criminal
activity. A public consultation on its privacy
implications concludes in April.
INSIDE LDN | 37
NEWS IN BRIEF
The Employer Supported Policing scheme
celebrated 10 years in March. First launched
in 2004, the initiative encourages employers
from all sectors to release their members of
staff to assist with policing the streets.
Squatters have moved into the former
Norbury police station on London Road with
plans to remain there until they have been
served with an eviction notice. The station
was put up for sale by the Metropolitan
Police in September last year.
Sian Thomas has joined Croydon from the
Sapphire command as a Detective Chief
Inspector. Paul McGregor has returned
to Hounslow as temporary borough
commander 12 years after last serving in the
borough as an inspector.
LDN | APR 2014
INSIDE LDN | 38
PEOPLE
Former leader of Kensington
and Chelsea council, Sir
Merrick Cockell, has been
given special recognition
for his contribution to Local
Government at this year’s Local
Government Information Unit
and Churches, Charities and
Local Authorities Achievement Awards.
Nicola Sinclair, a councillor for Church
End ward in Redbridge, has left the
Liberal Democrat party. She will continue
to represent the ward as an Independent
candidate until the local elections in May
but has not said whether she will stand for
re-election.
Jim McDermott, a longtime Labour councillor
for the Eastbury ward in Barking and
Dagenham, has switched allegiance to the
Socialist Labour Party.
Cllr Chris Joannides was
expelled from the Conservative
party for 12 months for sharing
a picture on Facebook which
suggested that women in
burkas resembled binbags.
Prior to his expulsion, the nowIndependent councillor for
the Grange ward had been re-selected to
run in the May local elections by the Enfield
Southgate Conservative Association.
Harrow council’s director for children’s services,
Catherine Doran, stepped down from the role
at the end of March.
Hounslow has created a new role, promoting
development management deputy
manager Sunny Desai to team leader for
strategic projects.
Sir Peter Dixon, Chair of Barking Havering
and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS
Trust (BHRUT), has resigned from the post.
Dr Maureen Dalziel has been drafted in to
take his place. Meanwhile, Matthew Hopkins
has taken over as chief executive for BHRUT,
replacing Averil Dongworth who retired last
month.
Dr Yi Mien Koh has stepped down as chief
of Whittington Health having served in the
role since March 2011. She will be replaced
by Simon Pleydell, former chief of South
Tees Hospital, until a permanent successor
is found.
The Medical Research Council has
reappointed Professor Sir John Savill as its
Chief Executive and Deputy Chair.
Jackie Sadek, chief
executive of campaign group
Regeneration UK, joins the
Cabinet Office for 12 months as
policy advisor to cities minister
Greg Clark.
Louise Barr has been appointed deputy
director for planning, infrastructure
and environment at the Department for
Communities and Local Government.
Planning consultancy Nathaniel Lichfield &
Partners has promoted Neil Goldsmith to its
London office leader.
LDN | APR 2014
PEOPLE
Heathrow Airport CEO Colin Matthews
will step down from his role in June after
six years.
Sir David Nicholson has stepped down from
his role as chief executive of NHS England,
calling for a centralisation of services as well
as significant investment of the NHS to help
improve the quality of care for patients.
Dame Ruth Carnall has joined the Board of
Trustees at the King’s Fund. Dame Ruth is the
former Chief Executive of NHS London.
Dylan Sharpe has left Business for Britain to
become The Sun’s new Head of PR. He will
be replaced by Rob Oxley of the Taxpayers’
Alliance.
INSIDE LDN | 39
LDN | APR 2014
INSIDE LDN | 40
CALENDAR
3 APR
Centre for London: The Future of London’s
Buses, London Bridge
9 APR
London First: Go West and Innovate –
Opportunity White City, Trafalgar Square
21 APR
Feast of St George, Trafalgar Square
23 APR
3 – 6 APR
London Coffee Festival, Brick Lane
4 Apr
London Lions Vs Cheshire Phoenix
basketball, Copper Box Arena
5 APR
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Opening
Weekend, Stratford
10 APR
London Lions Vs Worcester Wolves, Copper Box
Arena
Totally Thames is launched to the media
11 APR
New London Awards: Deadline for submissions,
NLA
8 APR
London 2050: What can we learn from
Denver? Bloomsbury
24 APR
NLA Half Day Conference: Dealing with
the growth of Tall Buildings in London,
Bloomsbury
24 – 27 APR
12 APR
NLA Walking Tours, Bloomsbury
6 APR
The Boat Race: Oxford vs Cambridge, The
Thames
Future of London: Crossrail as Catalyst report
launch, The King’s Fund
13 APR
London Marathon, Central London
18 APR
London Lions Vs Plymouth Raiders
basketball, Copper Box Arena
London Original Print Art Fair, Royal
Academy of Arts
25 – 27 APR
Sundance London, 02 Arena
25 – 29 APR
FINA Diving World Series 2014, Olympic
Aquatics Centre
NLA Curator-led tour: London’s Growing Up!
19 APR
London Wasps v Gloucester Rugby,
Twickenham
26 APR
NLA City of London Walking Tour: London
Growing Up!
LDN | APR 2014
INSIDE LDN | 41
CALENDAR
29 APR
Estates Gazette Conference: The Public
Sector Housing Summit, Grange Tower
Bridge Hotel
Estates Gazette Conference: The 2nd
Annual Residential Summit, Grange Tower
Bridge Hotel
Equalities of Wellbeing and Housing
Workshop, UCL Bartlett School of Architecture
Future of London: Communities in Transition
field trip, Woodberry Down
30 APR
NLA Briefing: London Development Update,
Bloomsbury
Future of London: Delivering public health
– Food and health – Cross-sector resources,
Farringdon
30 APR - 1 MAY
CIH Annual London Conference, Grosvenor
Victoria Hotel
4 MAY
Vaisakhi Festival London 2014, Trafalgar
Square
8 MAY
Expanding university campuses and student
accommodation in London, Trafalgar Square
INSIDE LDN | 42
Middlesex House, 34-42 Cleveland St, London W1T 4JE
020 7612 8480 londoncommunications.co.uk
[email protected] @ldncomms
LCA Editors
Luke Blair
Jenna Goldberg
LCA Producers
Anna Mitra
Natasha Lee
LCA Contributors
Duncan Hepburn
Jessie Mangold
Rayna Coulson
Stefan Swift
Sam Holton Bradley
LCA Graphic Designer
Shelley Pestaina
LDN is put together by a dedicated team at London Communications Agency. The content for each edition is
developed from news drawn from the last four weeks from every London local paper as well as the regional
and national press, from intelligence gathered by monitoring local, regional and national government activity
and from the insight and expert knowledge of the entire LCA team.
If you would like to know more about anything covered in this or any other edition of LDN or if you would like
to know more about LCA please contact Luke Blair on 020 7612 8480 or [email protected].
We strive for balance and accuracy at all times; however, if you feel we have made a mistake, omission or have
misrepresented a story or issue please alert the team by contacting Luke using the details above.

london in short - London Communications Agency

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