Commuter group sets out legal grounds for judicial review against DfT November 1, 2016 Pressure group the Association of British Commuters (ABC) has sent a letter before action to transport secretary Chris Grayling. That's ahead of bringing a judicial review of the Department for Transport (DfT) for its handling of the Southern Rail franchise. The letter sets out the legal grounds on which the group is applying for permission to [...]
Sadiq Khan hits out at Boris Johnson for “mess” left at Old Oak Common November 1, 2016 Sadiq Khan has given his full backing to the huge regeneration at Old Oak Common, but lashed out at his predecessor Boris Johnson for leaving the plans in "a mess". Laying out the findings of his review of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), the London Mayor criticised Boris Johnson for rushing the [...]
Thames Tideway Tunnel moves £7m Blackfriars Millennium Pier to make way for the “super sewer” November 1, 2016 If you frequent Blackfriars you may have noticed its pier moved yesterday. Well it's all part of the work that's underway for the mammoth Thames Tideway Tunnel; Blackfriars Millennium pier needed to get shifted to prepare for construction of the long-awaited "super-sewer". The 25km tunnel will tackle the pollution of the tens of millions of [...]
Sadiq Khan says Night Tube services will start on the Piccadilly line from 16 December November 1, 2016 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that Night Tube services will start on the Piccadilly line on Friday 16 December – sticking to his pledge to have five lines running by the end of the year. It follows the launch of the service on the Central, Victoria and Jubilee lines, with the Northern [...]
Heathrow expansion will gift the whole UK a skills renaissance October 31, 2016 I’m very pleased to have been invited to chair the Heathrow Skills Taskforce, and to take on the challenge of developing the skills needed to make Heathrow expansion an inclusive training and employment opportunity for Britain as a whole. The Taskforce is made up of experts from schools, colleges and universities as well as employer and [...]
How the chancellor can satisfy pension funds’ hunger for infrastructure October 31, 2016 Death and taxes are said to be the only two certainties in life, but you could now add “rumours about increased government infrastructure spending” to the list. Infrastructure captures the imagination as it literally provides the building blocks of the nation. It can be a contentious topic, as seen with HS2 and the Heathrow-Gatwick debate, [...]
Damian Green tells businesses to “assume nothing” over Nissan October 31, 2016 There's been increasing clamour for the government to show its hand on just what assurances were made to keep Nissan manufacturing in Sunderland. But when asked on whether the UK would remain in the customs union, Damian Green said on BBC Radio 4 that businesses should "assume nothing at the moment, because, I think a lot [...]
Heathrow’s already started spending on its third runway October 31, 2016 The government's backing of Heathrow airport expansion has triggered £50m of supply chain investment. Suffice to say the airport was ready and raring to go ahead of the government's decision to green light its expansion last week. Heathrow said the government's backing meant that £50m will be invested before the end of next year, creating 2,700 new British [...]
This week’s Southern strikes are set to go ahead with RMT dismissing Govia deadline as “more threats and bullying” October 31, 2016 Govia Thameslink Railway (the parent company of Southern Railway) is playing hardball. It's now told the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union it will rescind its "full and comprehensive offer" if strike action, planned for later this week (4 and 5 November) goes ahead. Essentially, it's the last chance for RMT to accept GTR's previously [...]
Lord David Blunkett says Heathrow expansion must deliver on closing the skills gap October 31, 2016 Legal challenges, what legal challenges? Heathrow has announced the names of 13 members of its new skills taskforce, led by Lord David Blunkett, which meets for the first time today. And Blunkett has said that Heathrow must deliver a long-term skills legacy for the nation, warning that a coordinated skills strategy on infrastructure was necessary to learn [...]