The Notebook: Andy Silvester on how AI could save your August out-of-office, a dream headline and why GCSEs need a rethink August 24, 2023 Embrace the long break, even if it’s made my job harder August has never felt so – for want of a much better word – Augusty. It’s mighty quiet out there, and that isn’t just because of the City’s long-discussed issues attracting floats and the slowdown in M&A. Indeed, more and more of my contact [...]
London’s West End ‘picking up’ after £102m worth of deals bolsters high street August 23, 2023 The West End showed signs of “picking up” in July as demand from businesses to secure a spot in London’s premier shopping district led to a cluster of five deals totalling £102.2m taking place. So far this year some 58 property transactions have taken place and turnover year to date has reached £1.92bn. This is [...]
CMA: Hitachi takeover of Thales’ rail signalling unit won’t impact London Tube projects August 23, 2023 Hitachi’s £1.4bn takeover of Thales’ rail signalling business won’t impact competition in the market for supplying signalling systems for the London Underground, the UK’s antitrust agency said today. The proposed deal led the Competition and Markets Authority to raise competition concerns back in December, as Hitachi and Thales are two of the main suppliers of [...]
ULEZ: Ministers tried (and failed) to overrule Sadiq Khan scheme’s London-wide expansion August 23, 2023 The government unsuccessfully attempted to use powers to overrule Sadiq Khan’s expansion of the ULEZ scheme, it has been revealed. Ministers were reportedly looking into an obscure legal route to obstruct the mayor’s plans to expand the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) throughout the capital but were told it would fall down in court. But [...]
Horizon 22: London sky-high viewing gallery set to elevate the capital August 21, 2023 London is preparing to level up its skyline game with the unveiling of Horizon 22, Europe’s highest free public viewing gallery. Set to open its doors this September, Horizon 22 is perched on Level 58 of the towering 22 Bishopsgate – City of London’s tallest building. Horizon 22 is “yet another huge vote of confidence” [...]
ULEZ camera vandalism ‘will not stop’ London expansion despite 300 incidents this month August 18, 2023 Transport for London (TfL) vowed that vandalism of ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) cameras “will not stop” the scheme’s expansion. The transport body issued the statement after the Metropolitan Police said it had recorded 288 crimes relating to the cameras as of August 1, and released an image of a suspect. The BBC said there had [...]
Skyrocketing rents are creating a new war between urban sprawl and the green belt August 17, 2023 Rents in London are at their highest, and this is pushing people further out from the centre. But striking a balance between bad urban sprawl and the cult of the green belt is not easy, writes Elena Siniscalco
‘The last thing commuters need’: London business groups slam rail fare hike August 16, 2023 London business groups have slammed a significant government hike in rail ticket fares set to hit commuters next March. The Department for Transport (DfT) has committed to ensuring any fare increase falls below the nine per cent rise in the Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation measure, announced by the ONS on Wednesday morning. Regulated rail [...]
Yet more rail strikes have been announced – here’s all you need to know August 15, 2023 Commuters are to face yet more misery from rail strikes this August after the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) announced fresh industrial action last week. 20,000 RMT members from a host of train operators nationwide will walk out, disrupting the UK’s rail network on dates that coincide with the August Bank holiday weekend. The [...]
Vauxhall warns UK is ‘well behind’ on EV charger roll out August 15, 2023 The UK government is facing renewed pressure to resolve ongoing delays in the roll-out of critical electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, after Vauxhall warned this morning that the vast majority of local authorities have yet to install any public chargers. The carmaker, via Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, found that out of 414 councils across [...]