City Hall and BBC under fire over stamp duty agreement for new Olympic Park studios January 29, 2019 City Hall has come under fire for agreeing to underwrite half of the stamp duty that could be levied on the BBC when it opens new studios in the £1.1bn Olympic Park development. Last summer the broadcaster announced it would build a brand new set of studios at the east London site by 2022/23, in concert [...]
London startup backed by the Mayor and National Grid launches embedded car charging points January 29, 2019 Connected Kerb has today launched its first series of electric car charging points fully embedded into the road's curbside. Built into Borough Road in Southwark, the launch was supported by Southwark Council, Virgin Media and National Grid. The move comes after the London startup won the Mayor's Award for Urban Innovation last year. Users of electric cars [...]
Gospel Oak to Barking line users to receive a month of free travel following train delays January 27, 2019 Users of the troubled Gospel Oak to Barking route will receive a month's worth of free travel after suffering sustained periods of disruption from the delayed introduction of new trains on the line. Software issues with manufacturer Bombardier have meant that a new fleet of Class 710 trains, which were due to be introduced last [...]
DEBATE: Should London impose rent restrictions, as suggested in Sadiq Khan’s campaign plans? January 25, 2019 Should London impose rent restrictions, as suggested in Sadiq Khan’s campaign plans? Dan Wilson Craw, director of Generation Rent, says YES. Londoners are paying some of the highest rents in the world. Building more homes will plug the shortage at the root of this, but that will take a decade or more. We need urgent action [...]
Tulip skyscraper plans hit fresh problems as City Hall planners claim proposal breaches regulations January 18, 2019 Plans to build the Tulip skyscraper in the City could be nipped in the bud after City Hall officials said the proposals would breach Sadiq Khan’s planning regulations. Developers plan to build the dramatic 305-metre viewing attraction dubbed ‘The Tulip’, which would be built alongside The Gherkin in the heart of London’s financial district. Read [...]
London Assembly renews support for second referendum following Theresa May’s defeat January 17, 2019 The London Assembly has thrown its weight behind a second referendum following the Prime Minister's historic drubbing in the House of Commons over her Brexit deal. The motion, proposed by Labour assembly leader Len Duvall, restated the assembly's previous support for a second referendum and Sadiq Khan's call to withdraw Article 50, the mechanism that allows the UK to [...]
Crossrail moves away from gagging orders for departing staff amid transparency concerns January 17, 2019 Crossrail has heeded calls from Transport for London (TfL) to refrain from forcing departing staff to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in light of concerns raised about the organisation's transparency. NDAs are a type of legal contract that bind former employers to confidentiality restrictions. They attracted controversy in the Harvey Weinstein scandal, when it emerged that a number of his [...]
TfL working with Heathrow and London City airports to plan for no-deal Brexit January 17, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) is working with Heathrow and London City airports to mitigate the impacts of a no-deal Brexit, Sadiq Khan has said. London mayor Sadiq Khan said TfL was concerned that London could become clogged with heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) if the port of Tilbury is used more than Kent to carry traffic. Earlier this month [...]
Sir Terry Morgan hits back at Sadiq Khan over Crossrail delay: ‘I do not suffer from loss of memory’ January 9, 2019 Former Crossrail chairman Sir Terry Morgan has hit back at accusations from Sadiq Khan that he had "misremembered" the events leading up to the announcement of the project's delay, telling the London Assembly: "I do not suffer from memory loss." Morgan appeared before the London Assembly's transport committee this morning to answer to the evidence [...]
Confidence sinks to three-year low among London businesses January 8, 2019 Confidence among London business owners has plummeted to its lowest point in three years as sales and cashflows dry up. A poll of 500 businesses in the capital showed companies are less optimistic about the city’s economy than at any time since the survey began in 2016. However the study, commissioned by the London Chamber [...]