Revealed: Final cost of ‘botched’ Garden Bridge project comes to £53.5m February 13, 2019 Backers of the failed Garden Bridge project are under fire after the "galling" costs of the scheme were revealed to have spiralled north of £50m. The Garden Bridge Trust, which managed the project since November 2015, was accused of “squandering public money” on the ill-fated venture, after Transport for London admitted that the project racked [...]
Sadiq Khan to warn that leaving the single market will damage London ‘for decades to come’ February 13, 2019 London mayor Sadiq Khan will today warn that leaving the single market will damage London and the UK “for decades to come” as the exit date for leaving the bloc draws ever closer. Khan, a staunch Remainer, will say that leaving the single market and customs union would lead to a “lost decade” in which 87,000 [...]
London’s iconic department store Liberty ‘seeks £300m sale’ February 12, 2019 London retail landmark Liberty department store could be set for new ownership for the first time in nearly 10 years. Its largest shareholder, private equity firm Bluegem Capital Partners, has reportedly hired UBS to look into potential buyers for the business. Read more: West End property giant Shaftesbury posts 'resilient' retail demand The company, which [...]
Sadiq Khan announces shakeup of severance pay for departing TfL staff February 12, 2019 Sadiq Khan has announced a shakeup of Transport for London (TfL) pay agreements after £51m was paid out to departing staff last year. City Hall has said it will reduce notice periods, in which those made redundant can claim pay, from 12 months to six months for future managing directors and from six months to three [...]
Heathrow passenger numbers take off in strong start to 2019 February 11, 2019 Heathrow Airport started 2019 as it meant to go on by boosting passenger numbers two per cent year on year to 5.9m, it revealed today, despite posting a stark drop in demand for local flights. Read more: Sadiq Khan: TfL working with airports to plan for no-deal Brexit The 2.1 per cent rise helped Heathrow [...]
Government housing targets under fire from UK watchdog February 8, 2019 The government’s method used to assess the number of homes needed to fix Britain’s housing crisis is "flawed", according to the UK's public spending watchdog. In a damning new report published today, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said that the government’s planning system “is underperforming and cannot demonstrate that it is meeting housing demand [...]
Westminster council victorious as court rejects TfL appeal over blocked CS11 cycle superhighway February 7, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) will not be able to build its proposed CS11 cycle superhighway at Swiss Cottage after it lost an appeal against a decision by Westminster council to block its construction last year. The Court of Appeal yesterday upheld an earlier ruling that TfL could not proceed with the CS11 without considering traffic and [...]
Commuters hit with severe morning delays on Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines February 7, 2019 Commuters continue to be severely disrupted by delays to the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines due to signalling problems. The Metropolitan Line was hit with severe delays this morning after a Tube driver went through a red light at Harrow-on-the-Hill forcing following trains to be stopped as a safety procedure. https://twitter.com/metline/status/1093451576574988288 Got held up at #Harrow On [...]
Sadiq Khan ‘falling short’ on housing after new home registrations fall by 10 per cent February 7, 2019 London mayor Sadiq Khan has been accused of "falling short" on housing targets after it emerged that new home registrations in London dropped 10 per cent last year to just over 16,000. There were 16,069 new home registrations in 2018, down from 17,932 the year before, according to the National House Building Council (NHBC), a [...]
An end to gridlock? How artificial intelligence could help get London moving again February 4, 2019 London is a truly remarkable city – an economic powerhouse and a cultural destination without equal. It’s a magnet to millions, and rightly so. But it’s a terrible irony that this fast-moving, fast-living, fast-earning metropolis is stuck in traffic so much of the time. We simply cannot move. According to traffic data company INRIX, London [...]