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Click above for what became the consented plan, plus Transport page.

(9) INFRASTRUCTURE - to 30 Mar 12

30 March 2012:

Evening Standard: "On Property: Not everyone’s bowled over by Sir Stuart’s fair pavilions" 

Link to Evening Standard

"Sir Stuart Lipton has done it again.

"The 69-year-old developer, who conceived the City’s first mega-complex at Broadgate as well as the first modern office parks at Stockley and Chiswick, has dreamt up a new genus of property — a “branded pavilion” park on a 50-acre site in Silvertown in East London. But the project has irritated those who could only dream of putting homes on this public land next to City Airport.

"A Lipton-led consortium was last week selected by Mayor Boris Johnson to build up to 40 pavilions. These will be pre-let to global brands such as Sony, Canon, Apple and Microsoft. The 50,000-square-foot glassy structures will resemble huge permanent exhibition stands-cum-R&D labs-cum-sales offices, into which the public will be allowed to flock and gaze in wonderment." 



17 April 2011:

Launch date announced for mega-mall near Olympic park

Link to Evening Standard
"The opening will come nine months ahead of the 2012 Games and less than three years after sister mall Westfield London opened in Shepherd's Bush."


 4 April 2011:

The Independent: "The death of architecture"

Link to The Independent

"Architectural quality isn't ring-fenced, and most councils can't risk spending six-figure sums to contest second-rate developers' appeals, on projects that belong only on Crap Town postcards.

"The Government seems satisfied with this sado-masochistic, quick-fix approach to regeneration, which was cemented into place after the economic crash in 2008."



7 March 2011:

The Guardian: "The death of a housing ideal"

Link to The Guardian

"Suddenly the place was being labelled a problem estate," the resident says. "This is all part of this regeneration discourse. Because there's nothing wrong with the buildings, they have to find an excuse to regenerate the place, i.e. knock it down and replace it."



21 Jan 2011:

BBC World Service: "Cities for People"

BBC iPlayer
"Cities are being built to make cars happy, not to allow society to flourish. That's the argument made by Danish architect Jan Gehl. Mike meets up with him to walk through one of London's most famous squares and hear how town planners are failing the people they are supposed to be helping. Dr Gehl, who's advised cities around the world from London to New York, pleads for an end to the world's obsession with tarmac."



 10 Dec 2010:

Independent: "London fails to make top 50 'most live-able' cities"

The Independent
"Manchester is the only UK city to make the top 50, coming in at 46th place, and beating London’s ranking of 51st place."



6 Dec 2010:

BBC: "Do trees on the streets make people happy?"


"The government's Big Tree Plant campaign – which aims to plant one million trees in English urban areas over the next four years – claims trees are not only good for our bank balance, but they do wonders for our well-being."



19 Nov 2010:

BBC: "Lakeside: still room for growth, say developers"


Link to BBC London report



10 Nov 2010:

Evening Standard: "Boris Johnson plans new body to boost development"




3 Nov 2010:

Evening Standard: "Say goodbye to The London Development Agency"


"Boris Johnson has been caught on the hop by the decision to abolish the LDA completely, and no one in London government can say for sure whether there will be any kind of team at City Hall influencing London's development and shaping urban plans, buildings and public spaces, worthy of a global city."





28 Oct 2010:

Evening Standard: "A cure to our poor infrastructure?"

Link to Standard: Anthony Hilton

"Though the axe was taken by Alistair Darling to a great deal of currently planned investment, this Government does seem to have a plan for infrastructure. Above all, it understands that investment in infrastructure today is the best guarantee we can have of economic growth tomorrow.

"Sceptics will no doubt say that Governments are great at vision, but hopeless at execution, and clearly it is possible that this plan will fail. But it is also possible that, at long last, it will provide a framework for an orderly rebuild of the nation's infrastructure. And at least Government has seen the need, and is making the effort."






27 Oct 2010:

PublicPropertyUK: "London Assembly calls for clarity on London Development Agency budget axe"


"We want urgent answers from the mayor’s office about the future of the economic development priorities he has identified, and the potential consequences for London if they are abandoned."