Paris calls off car curbs after pollution eases March 17, 2014 A BAN on half of the cars in Paris has been lifted after just one day after pollution levels fell back below those in Beijing. Motorists with even-numbered licence plates were ordered off the roads in the French capital yesterday, though nearly 4,000 drivers were fined €22 each for breaching the limit imposed to try [...]
How the UK could cut public spending Singapore-style March 17, 2014 TOMORROW’S Budget will make it all too clear that, to get Britain’s public finances into a healthier state, further tight control of spending will be necessary. But as I’ve shown in my Gresham professorial lectures on how the West must adapt to cope with globalisation, recent spending restraint has been nowhere near enough to keep [...]
The obvious questions HS2 planners still have to answer March 17, 2014 Business groups have been broadly supportive of the changes to High Speed 2, set out this morning by new chairman Sir David Higgins, though concerns remain about the benefits of the project. Following Sir David’s review, transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has this morning confirmed that the £700m link between HS1 (The Channel Tunnel) and HS2 [...]
New HS2 boss calls for major changes to plan March 17, 2014 THE NEW head of the controversial High Speed 2 railway has today urged the government to speed up work on the route and build a new northern hub by 2027, six years earlier than the scheduled completion date. After several months reviewing the entire project, HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins has set out his proposals [...]
Pop-ups are coming to the Tube: Three ideas for how startups can hop onto the trend successfully March 16, 2014 POP-UP shops could soon be appearing at a Tube station near you. On top of reports that Transport for London is exploring turning obsolete ticket offices into online delivery collection hubs, it signed a deal last week to make its retail property empire available for temporary occupation. Its estate amounts to 1,000 retail premises within [...]
Focus on… Kings Cross: Creating the king of regeneration March 13, 2014 IN TWO years’ time, around 30,000 Londoners will be working or studying in King’s Cross every day. At least, this is what is envisioned by Argent, the property developer behind one of the biggest regeneration projects in London. The site encompasses 67 acres of mixed use development, half of which has been completed or committed. [...]
Homes in homage to enterprising MP March 13, 2014 New homes alongside Regent’s Canal are a natural haven away from the hustle and bustle A TRIBUTE to the historical figure who inspired the London Underground logo lies in the bricks and mortar of contemporary London. The industrial architecture of the newest homes to arrive in King’s Cross pay homage to Liberal MP Samuel Plimsoll [...]
Contactless payments rising as TfL and retailers drive adoption March 12, 2014 CONTACTLESS payments on the high street jumped nearly 300 per cent last year, according to figures from Visa yesterday. Visa Europe’s director of contactless Mark Austin said that the 94.3m payments had been spurred by Transport for London’s use of contactless on buses last year and the increasing numbers of retailers installing terminals. Adoption from [...]
French billionaire brings electric car sharing to London March 12, 2014 Londoners will from next year be able to hire an electric car for 15 minutes at a time, along the lines of the Boris Bike scheme, under plans unveiled by French industrialist Vincent Bollore today. Bollore, the company that will take over the existing Source London network of 1,500 electric charging points from TfL and [...]
The 236 skyscrapers coming to London March 12, 2014 London’s skyline is set to change dramatically over the next decade. According to a report out today, over 236 towers over 20 storeys are being proposed, approved or under construction – more than double the number of high-rise buildings estimated to be in capital today. Traditionally a low-rise city, London’s skyscrapers have, until now, been [...]