History, views of Nelson and a speakeasy: Inside the new Great Scotland Yard Hotel January 10, 2020 To kick off the new year, a visit to the new Great Scotland Yard Hotel in Whitehall is a great way to see some of the emerging trends in the London design and going out scenes. It is the latest in a series of renovations of civic buildings (police stations, town halls, courthouses) into hotels, [...]
City of London Corporation planning chief retires January 9, 2020 A chief council planner involved in some of the Square Mile’s biggest projects over the past three decades is retiring from the City of London Corporation. Chief planning officer Annie Hampson OBE was intimately involved with projects, such as the Gherkin, Millennium Bridge, the refurbishment of the Bank of England and the redevelopment of St [...]
City Hall needs a major shake-up if it is to deliver for London January 9, 2020 The immense challenges facing London are growing by the day, and meeting these requires not just a proactive national government but an effective administration at City Hall. The political power of the capital’s own local government is so often underestimated, but there can be no doubt that the mayor of London has the money and [...]
How will losing its London licence affect Uber? January 8, 2020 Uber does not appear to have the controls necessary to run a wide-scale transport service and assure passengers and authorities of adequate safety standards. Despite London being one of the company’s top five markets in the world by revenue, the company has shown a marked reluctance to fully co-operate with transport authorities. Time and again, [...]
Tfl set to cut hours of London Overground ticket offices January 7, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed it will cut the hours of London Overground ticket offices after an ongoing row with the rail union. TfL announced today that a swathe of ticket offices will have their hours cut if they are deemed to not be busy enough to be open all day. Read more: London [...]
Minister refuses to confirm election pledge for temporary Hammersmith Bridge January 7, 2020 A transport minister has failed to stand by an election pledge by a fellow minister to build a temporary Hammersmith Bridge. In December, transport minister George Freeman joined environment minister Zac Goldsmith in a Twitter video to confirm that the government wanted to build the temporary river crossing alongside Hammersmith Bridge. Read more: Conservatives pledge [...]
TfL and Santander to mark 10-year anniversary of Boris bikes January 7, 2020 Santander and Transport for London (TfL) are set to celebrate the 10th anniversary of so-called “Boris bikes”. The hire scheme – officially known as Santander Cycles – began in July 2010 with 315 docking stations over eight boroughs and was informally named after Prime Minister, and then mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Read more: TfL [...]
London gets less per capita transport funding than rest of UK, says report January 6, 2020 London receives one-third less in government funding per rail passenger journey compared to the rest of the country, according to a new report. A study by the Greater London Assembly (GLA) into transport expenditure found that London receives £8 per rail passenger journey from central government, compared to £12 for the rest of the UK. [...]
Rail groups slam TfL admission that Crossrail won’t open until late 2021 January 6, 2020 Rail advocacy groups have slammed Transport for London’s (TfL) confirmation that they do not expect the main section of Crossrail to be open before the end of 2021. Speaking to the London Assembly’s budget and performance committee today, TfL commissioner Mike Brown said he was working to a timetable of between September and December to [...]
New cycleway set to open between Greenwich and Woolwich January 6, 2020 South East London is set to get a new five-kilometre cycleway spanning from Greenwich to Woolwich. The planned cycleway will be built along the A206 Woolwich Road and will include pedestrian crossings, segregated cycle lanes and an overhaul of the Angerstein roundabout. Read more: New London cycleway to link Tower Bridge and Greenwich It will connect [...]