London restaurants urge Sadiq Khan to drop congestion charge August 10, 2020 London’s restaurants and bars have called on Sadiq Khan to drop the congestion charge and encourage public transport use to boost visitor numbers following months of coronavirus lockdown. In a letter signed by top chefs and restaurateurs, including St John’s co-founder Trevor Gulliver, Angela Hartnett and D&D London’s David Loewi, the industry has urged Khan [...]
L&G boss: We must ‘break down’ the fear of using public transport August 10, 2020 Legal & General chief executive Nigel Wilson said it is vital to “break down” the fear of using public transport to get workers back to the office. Wilson told City A.M.’s The City View podcast that public confidence in the safety of cities and public transport networks needs to be restored to get workers back [...]
Capita extends £355m deal to manage congestion charge August 10, 2020 Outsourcing giant Capita today announced that it had extended three contracts with Transport for London (TfL) in a deal worth £355m. Under the contracts, Capita will continue to run London’s Congestion Charge, Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) until October 2026. Shares in the firm rose three per cent this morning [...]
Bus operators welcome new £220m government package August 10, 2020 The UK’s transport operators have welcomed the government’s announcement of hefty new funding to keep bus services running while passenger numbers remain low due to coronavirus. Over the weekend, the Department for Transport (DfT) unveiled £218.4m in additional cash for embattled bus operators, taking the total funding for the sector to over £700m. That money [...]
Sadiq Khan: Saving London’s shops and cafes is ‘urgent priority’ August 10, 2020 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said keeping London’s hospitality businesses and venues open should be an “urgent priority” during the pandemic, or the city risks a downturn it may not recover from. Speaking to City A.M., Khan responded to calls from hospitality businesses to lobby for more support as London gets back on its [...]
We need a London housing strategy that doesn’t ignore the squeezed middle August 10, 2020 The UK — and London in particular — faces a housing crisis. This is not news, and nor has the need for more affordable housing been ignored by politicians. Last week, the government announced an overhaul of planning rules to make it easier to build, while earlier this month, a House of Commons committee published [...]
The City View: Nigel Wilson on why it’s essential to get people back into offices August 10, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS In this episode Christian is joined by Nigel Wilson, chief executive of Legal and General, a City institution with more than £1 trillion of assets under management. Nigel talks about L&G’s long-term view and how its investments could shape our recovery and future economic growth, but he also reflects [...]
London calling: Why it’s time to bring life back to our city’s streets August 10, 2020 Despite a tentative easing of the national lockdown, the lingering economic and social consequences of this policy are frighteningly obvious to anyone venturing into central London. While social life and economic activity has, to a large extent, returned to the outer zones and suburbs, the offices and shops of London’s professional districts remain eerily and [...]
Wanted: A plan to save London August 7, 2020 The motto of the City of London is “Domine dirige nos”: Lord, direct us. But who is directing the capital as we struggle to comprehend the future in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic? In the UK, we are notoriously poor at strategic planning (except, perhaps, in times of war). Partly, this is an ideological [...]
People must have the confidence to return to work, says PM August 6, 2020 An economic recovery will require people to have the confidence to get back to the office, the Prime Minister has said in his latest attempt to push the UK to return to work. During a visit to a housing development in Warrington this afternoon, Boris Johnson told reporters there were “real signs of strength in [...]