Focus On Regent’s Park: Celebrity-packed Nash terraces and luscious parklands make NW1 “super-prime” London September 23, 2016 If you want to go celebrity spotting in London, you could do a lot worse than Regent’s Park. High profile residents of this historic area surrounding the royal park of the same name include Damien Hirst, Christian Candy, Gwen Stefani, Jamie Oliver and Kate Moss, not to mention all the Middle Eastern royalty and Russian [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan writes to Uber and other private hire drivers setting out his commitment to the industry September 23, 2016 London mayor Sadiq Khan has written to tech firm Uber in response to its email campaign about the future of the capital's taxi and private hire industry. Transport for London (TfL) plans to introduce new rgulations for the sector including a requirement that private hire vehicles have "hire and reward" insurance in place for the duration of the licence, [...]
Sadiq Khan has recruited Margaret Hodge to lead a new Garden Bridge procurement probe, but London Assembly members are questioning the plan September 22, 2016 London mayor Sadiq Khan has recruited the former chair of parliament's public spending watchdog to lead an inquiry into the Garden Bridge project. Margaret Hodge will review whether taxpayers have got value for money from the £185m footbridge, which is being being supported by £60m of public money from Westminster and Transport for London. Among [...]
Londoners will pay a £30,000 premium to live in the congestion charge zone September 21, 2016 Londoners are happy to pay extra for a home just inside the congestion charge zone, new research has revealed. According to research from the London School of Economics (LSE), homes inside the zone are £30,000 more expensive than the houses on the other side of the congestion charge boundary. Read more: House prices rebounded this month, hitting first-time buyers [...]
Picks of the day: The three stories to read today September 21, 2016 We’re officially halfway through the working week – to celebrate, we’ve put together the top three stories of the day in bite-sized form, just to make your life that bit easier. Time for a coffee break? Check out our three at three. Google has just launched a new IM app Google has just launched a [...]
The mayor’s making a serious push for TfL to take over London’s suburban rail routes September 21, 2016 The Mayor of London is stepping up his push for Transport for London (TfL) to take over the capital's suburban rail routes and turn lines run by troubled Southern and other operators into Overground routes. Sadiq Khan will make the business case for rail devolution ahead of the Autumn Statement. Read more: Southern Rail commuters take on Department [...]
Focus On Barking: Will Khan’s approval for ‘Barcelona-on-Thames’ change the landscape of east London? September 16, 2016 It’s not often Barking – an industrial suburb of east London – finds itself in the spotlight. But that’s exactly what happened this month when Mayor of London Sadiq Khan approved “one of the largest and most ambitious regeneration schemes in Europe” on the north bank of the Thames. Barking Riverside, as it’ll be known, [...]
Travel chaos as heavy rain brings abrupt end to heatwave and causes a train to derail near Watford Junction. Oh, and there’s a Circle Line strike September 16, 2016 A London Midland train derailed near Watford Junction today as the UK's train lines were plunged into chaos after the recent heatwave came to an abrupt end with floods, thunderstorms and hail. Virgin Trains said the service had hit a landslide, causing it to strike another train and derail – but no injuries were reported. However, it did [...]
Mayor of London slammed over RMT union’s planned Tube strikes on Hammersmith & City and Circle Lines September 15, 2016 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been slammed today over his lack of response to a Tube strike planned by drivers on the Hammersmith & City and Circle Lines, due to start tonight. The RMT union said this morning that, following an "overwhelming vote for action" by drivers who are union members, 24 hours of strike [...]
Hybrid engine firm Vantage Power is setting itself apart with clever software September 15, 2016 Not many startups hunt for premises with the requirement that they can fit a double-decker bus in them. But for Vantage Power, that was a necessity. Founded by Imperial College graduates Alex Schey and Toby Schulz, the firm makes hybrid – part-diesel, part-electric – engines. Vantage Power can turn four buses currently in use hybrid for the [...]