BBC: "Why are suburbs seen as boring?"

Link to web site

"People tend to think of the 'suburbs' of the UK as safe and boring, but much culture originates there and the leafy streets have many of the same problems as the inner city, writes sociologist Rupa Huq.

"... British urban relations in some ways follow a doughnut model. The classic city centre at the core is a place of excitement and urban glamour associated with the cut and thrust of business. The rim around this is the inner-city. In the post-war period, many places were bombed out, with the remaining private housing supplemented by hastily built social stock, including a plethora of tower blocks.

"For many, the tranquillity of the suburb and easy availability of mortgages in the outer ring made it the ideal place to flee to and call home, although its peaceable quality made it dullsville in the eyes of the urban intelligentsia and many who grew up there."

---

Link to:
 "BBC: Levittown: A suburb at 60"

18 Jul to 13 Oct, Royal Academy of Arts: "Richard Rogers RA: Inside Out"

"Richard Rogers RA is one of the most successful and influential architects in the world. He is responsible for some of the most radical designs of the 20th century, including the Pompidou Centre in Paris (with Renzo Piano), Lloyd’s of London and the Law Courts in Bordeaux.

" 'Inside Out' will reveal the man and the ideas behind these pioneering buildings.

"Throughout his career, Rogers’ creations have been shaped by political, social and ethical concerns, as well as popular culture, technology, art and urbanism. This blend of influences is manifest not only in his architecture, but also in his roles as a speaker, writer, politician and activist.

"Focusing on key projects and using previously unseen archival material, drawings and personal items the exhibition will explore his career, from the influence of his Italian family to his impact on how we experience cities today. Visitors will gain an unprecedented insight into this leader of modern design.

"To encourage visitors to engage in the debates and issues around architecture today, the final room in the exhibition will be a space for dialogue and discussion, events and workshops, where visitors can share their views and hear from high- profile speakers in related fields.

"Also look out for Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners Manufactured House in the courtyard through August until early September. This innovative, flat packed, environmentally efficient home is an example of how new building technologies can help shape better mass housing."

Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD
Please note: Due to an event, the final gallery of the exhibition will close early at 4pm on Friday 19 July.

---

The Guardian:
"Richard Rogers:
the world as it could be"
(includes video)

The Guardian: "Paths of glory: what might a cycle-friendly city look like?"

"From elevated bike lanes to spiralling cycle stands, a new book charts innovative infrastructure from around the world"

Link to web site

"Big plans are afoot. In March, chief promoter of novelty infrastructure projects, Boris Johnson, unveiled a £900m cycling vision for the capital. His ambitious plans include a 15-mile segregated east-west route across town – dubbed “Crossrail for the bike” – as well as a network of back-road “quietways” and a series of “mini Hollands” in the suburbs, where all journeys will be encouraged to be taken by bike.

It remains to be seen if this grandiose vision will ever materialise, but in his quest to follow the lead of the lowlands, a new book might come in handy. Cycle Infrastructure, written by the architects behind Dutch planning practice Artgineering, presents a survey of best-practice cycle routes from around the world, alongside interviews with the people that made them happen. 

There is also an enlightening section on innovations, from Copenhagen's conversation lanes, to the bike-friendly traffic lights in Groningen – which turn green for cyclists earlier when it's raining or snowing. The authors say:

"The goal is to activate the full potential of cycling for the urban landscape, and to consider cycling infrastructure as an integral design challenge, instead of purely an issue of traffic engineering.”

Lord Foster talks Estuary

---

BBC: "Airport capacity:
Boris Johnson announces three proposals"

"Austerity High Street: town centre with 12 charity shops"

Link to Evening Standard

"A London suburb has been called a prime example of 'Austerity Street Britain', because of the high number of charity shops dominating its town centre.

"... Retail experts said the increase is being fuelled by a combination of the credit crunch, a change in the law on business rates, and the exodus of big chains into out-of-town complexes." [Surely not like Brent Cross out-of-town complex?]

Shopping Centre for Cities

"Cities have witnessed a rapidly changing policy environment under the Coalition Government. The next year will be an important marker as these policy changes begin to take hold."

Link to PDF file

"Cities have witnessed a rapidly changing policy environment under the Coalition Government. The next year will be an important marker as these policy changes begin to take hold.

"Making the most of the economic potential of our cities has rarely been more important. Five years since the onset of the financial crisis the UK economy is still languishing, staggering in and out of recession. In the search for growth, policymakers from all political parties are increasingly recognising that cities, which produce two-thirds of the UK’s Gross Value Added, are vital to the economic future of the country.

"Yet the challenges and opportunities facing UK cities today are immense. The policy landscape has changed almost beyond recognition since the start of recession. Regional Development Agencies have gone and Local Enterprise Partnerships, two years old, are still finding their feet. New economic development policies, from Enterprise Zones to the Regional Growth Fund, have been introduced, local government funding has been reformed, and local government budgets have continued to shrink."

Barnet Cyclists: "Barnet to Go Dutch?"

Link to Barnet LCC web site

"We are thrilled to be able to say that Barnet is expressing a serious interest in the Mayor’s 'Little Holland' scheme. This new initiative aims to produce a 'Dutch' (or Dutchesque at least) cycling environment, in selected outer London centres and will attract £33 million of funding.

We want to see:

• Continuous, high quality and high-capacity extensions of both Superhighways CS11 and CS12 to a regenerated Tally Ho Corner along the historic A598 and A1000, including safe, direct and convenient crossings of the A406


• Continuous, high quality and high-capacity extension of Superhighway CS11 along the A41 or via Hendon to a regenerated Edgware town centre, including a safe, direct and convenient crossing of the A406


• Intervention at the Staples Corner M1 Interchange (part of the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration zone) to provide safe, direct and convenient passage along the A5


• All provision for cycling to be of a standard that is safe and convenient for all abilities, without penalizing (through delay) cyclists for not choosing to ride with motor traffic."

Sunday Telegraph: Barnet and Enfield on the Naughty Step

"Six councils are at risk of losing powers to decide whether major building projects can go ahead in their areas, despite promises by ministers to hand more control to local communities"

Link to web site

"The local authorities, mainly in rural parts of the country, are facing 'special measures' introduced under the Government’s controversial planning reforms that will allow developers to bypass their planning departments.

"Instead, the decisions will be taken directly in Whitehall by planning inspectors, in a move which countryside campaigners claimed will reduce the opportunity for local people to have a say about major projects, such as housing developments and wind farms in their area.

"... The district councils under threat are Horsham district council, in West Sussex, Fylde in Lancashire and Cherwell in Oxfordshire, all of which have large areas of protected green belt land, Enfield and Barnet boroughs in London and Daventry district, Northants."

Brent & Kilburn Times, Barnet Press, and Barnet Times

(Click to enlarge. You may be able to magnify by clicking again.)

[Reposted from Dec 2011: 1960s video!] Matrix: "£1m refurbishment of Brent Cross Shopping Centre Car Parks"

Link to Matrix web site

"When Brent Cross Shopping Centre opened in 1976 it was the first stand-alone shopping mall in the UK. [No, it wasn't. The Bull Ring, Birmingham (see Pathe video) and sauf London's Elephant & Castle were.] It was initially constructed in an dumbbell shape, running east-west parallel to the North Circular Road, with the two largest stores (John Lewis and Fenwicks) at the ends.

"... By adopting [our] approach, we are able to successfully work in retail park, shopping centre and supermarket surroundings, without negatively impacting on footfall or parking space availability." 

---

Link to "BBC: Historic Rise of Britain's Shopping Centres".

---

---

Link to HOME (see all posts).

"Mayor’s Roads Task Force sets out bold new vision for London’s 21st century roads and streets"

Link to TfL web site

"Vision to improve performance of road network and enhance public space, to support jobs, new homes and a more ‘liveable’ city

New road tunnels could create better surface space and conditions for walking, cycling and urban realm

"Deliveries retimed outside peak hours alongside well managed access for freight to support businesses, cut congestion and improve safety"

"The Mayor’s Roads Task Force (RTF) today (10 July) set out a bold new vision for the future of London’s roads and streets, to ensure the capital can cope with major population growth, support jobs and thousands of new homes, while remaining one of the most attractive, vibrant, accessible and competitive world cities.

"Every Londoner, business and visitor is affected by what happens on the city’s streets and roads. 80 per cent of all trips made by people and 90 per cent of all goods moved in London every day are on roads. Streets also account for 80 per of London’s public spaces. With London’s population set to rise by a further 1.7m to around 10m by 2031, the demands on London’s roads and streets from all users is only set to grow.

"Over the past year, the RTF has studied the challenges facing London’s roads and the best examples of street management and urban design across the globe. It recognises that major improvements have been delivered in recent years, but calls on London to be bolder and embrace innovative solutions in future, at both the local and strategic, city-wide level.

"Increasingly, successful world cities are being measured on the environmental and design quality of their public space. The RTF calls for major investment to support not just the efficient and reliable movement of people and goods, but high quality roads, public spaces and revitalised high streets to improve the liveability of the capital and ensure it remains attractive and competitive among world cities."

"The RTF’s bold new approach includes:

• A world class public realm and re-imagined iconic streets and places, for example London Bridge, Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road and King’s Cross and in high streets, new developments and quarters across the capital;
• Roofing over arterial roads to create new surface space, reconnecting severed communities, while providing for strategically important freight and business traffic;
• Changing the way goods and services are delivered, for example shifting HGVs and freight out of peak hours as seen during the London 2012 Games and switching deliveries to vans, bikes or powered two wheelers;
• Embracing ‘next generation’ travel demand, to encourage a greater shift to more sustainable modes such as walking, cycling and powered two wheelers;
• Efficient road links and tackling junction ‘pinch points’, which will support businesses, including tradesmen and small businesses reliant on vans, as well as access to suppliers and markets;
• Even greater use of intelligent systems and technology, to reduce delays at traffic signals, smooth traffic flows and provide road users with the best possible real-time information to help plan journeys;
• Enhanced road links and connectivity including new river crossings, to support new developments and unlock thousands of new homes;
• Smarter charging for the use of road space, including tolling for new infrastructure;
• New capacity for sustainable modes, including bridges for walking and cycling and more dedicated lanes;
• More area-wide 20mph zones, to improve liveability and safety;
• High levels of accessibility across transport modes, including recognising the role of the car particularly in outer London;
• Good quality parking, for cars, bikes, Blue Badge holders and powered two wheelers; and,
• Village-style streets in new developments, with good access for buses, walking, cycling and freight and ‘car-lite’ development."

BBC: "North Circular named as London's most polluted road"

Link to web site

"The North Circular has been named London's most polluted road in a study carried out for the mayor.

"... 'Clean Air for London' said the mayor's office released the pollution data after they had turned down three freedom of information requests, and Clean Air for London used EU legislation to force the mayor's office to release it. 'Deadly diesel'

"Of any capital city in Europe, London has the highest levels of NO2, the group said."

---

Link to BBC web site

"Air pollution 'harmful for those with failing hearts'"

"Air pollution is harming people with weak hearts - even killing them, a big international study reveals.

"Experts estimate the toll includes thousands of Britons each year.

"The British Heart Foundation, which funded The Lancet work, says the UK must clean up its air - many of its cities often exceed safe levels set by the European Union."

Redevelopment of vacant land in Cricklewood – Public Consultation Event

"On behalf of Tepbrook Properties, [Deloitte Real Estate is publicising] emerging proposals for the development of their vacant site on the corner of Depot Approach and Cricklewood Broadway for a mixed-use scheme consisting of residential apartments and a supermarket.

"As part of this process, and in advance of the submission of a planning application for the site, a public consultation event is being held to inform the local community about the emerging proposals, and to provide the opportunity for comments and feedback.

"In this regard we are pleased to invite the public to come to The Cricklewood Travelodge to view the plans for the site. Representatives of the project team will be in attendance at the event to explain the proposals and answer any questions. The details of the event are as follows:

The Cricklewood Travelodge,

Cricklewood Broadway

NW2 3DU

Thursday 18 July 2013

10.00 am to 14.00 pm

and [after long lunch]

16.00 pm to 20.00 pm

"If you are unable to attend the event, but would still like to be informed of the proposals and have the opportunity to provide comments, then please contact us using one of the following methods:

• Email – depotapproach@deloitte.co.uk;
• Post – Depot Approach Consultation, c/o Christopher Moore, Deloitte Real Estate, Four Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HZ; or
• Telephone – Christopher Moore, 0121 695 5704.

New York Times: "Disruptions: How Driverless Cars Could Reshape Cities"

Link to web site

"While driverless cars might still seem like science fiction outside Silicon Valley, the people working and thinking about these technologies are starting to ask what these autos could mean for the city of the future. The short answer is 'a lot'.

"Imagine a city where you don’t drive in loops looking for a parking spot because your car drops you off and scoots off to some location to wait, sort of like taxi holding pens at airports. Or maybe it is picked up by a robotic minder and carted off with other vehicles, like a row of shopping carts.

"But to some, this promise — or overpromise as the case may be — sounds familiar.

Bryant Walker Smith, a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School and a member of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford, said:

"The future city is not going to be a congestion-free environment. That same prediction was made that cars would free cities from the congestion of horses on the street.

You have to build the sewer system to accommodate the breaks during the Super Bowl; it won’t be as pretty as we’re envisioning."

[Reposted] Thurs 11 July: Finchley Society

"Summer 2013 is upon us. and I have prepared a new slide show and two walks entitled FINCHLEY - OUTWARD BOUND, that I hope you will enjoy. The slide show is on Thurs July 11th, the first walk Sunday 21st July and the second walk Sunday 18th August. We are asking for a £3 donation from non-Finchley Society members per event. 

"Having covered almost every square inch of Finchley in the ‘Waterways and Greenways of Finchley’ slide shows and walks, we felt it was time to venture further afield so here we are, following the disused railways to Alexandra Palace and Mill Hill. Both very pretty walks, they are somewhat different.

"The Mill Hill walk (apart from the noise of the traffic) is much quieter and has more of a country feel to it, especially as we are arriving at Ally Pally in the midst of the 150 years celebrations.

"If you’ve never seen them, the views from the Ally Pally railway are spectacular, and are a must for any local resident. There are public footpaths through the Mill Hill School grounds and the architecture of all the different buildings is very charming.

"I’ve planned the walks to be around 4 miles but there are several ’drop out’ points along the way on each walk with good public transport links back to the start and Finchley. If there is good weather or light or intermittent showers we will be proceeding as planned but if there is heavy or persistent rain we will cancel and reschedule for a latter date

"If there is interest and demand I might plan a third railway walk for early autumn - the line from the secret station at Highgate to Finsbury Park. Hope to see you at one or more of the events,"

Mike Gee
Chair Environment & Transport Committee
The Finchley Society

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Evening Standard: "South Circular goes underground and Brent Cross to get flyunder in £30bn plan"

Link to web site

"Large stretches of London’s main orbital road should be put into tunnels in a £30 billion scheme to improve the quality of life, according to a report commissioned by the Mayor.

"Cars, lorries and motorbikes would be sent underground on the North and South Circular, to replace the congested routes with miles of space at street-level for residents, cyclists and pedestrians.

"... A 'flyunder' is proposed at Brent Cross shopping centre, beneath the six-lane North Circular. A park could be created on top."

Daily Telegraph: "Top retailers open Bangladesh factories to inspections"

"Seventy top retailers pledged to open up their Bangladesh factories to safety inspections within nine months, as part of a pact finalised Monday in the wake of a deadly garment factory collapse."

Link to web site

"The mainly European brands will underwrite repairs and renovations if inspections reveal their factories to be unsafe, according to the legally binding agreement, signed with unions after the collapse of Rana Plaza in April killed 1,129 people in one of the world's worst industrial disasters.

"Initial inspections at every factory will be completed at the latest within nine months, and plans for renovations and repairs put in place where necessary," the pact's steering committee said in a statement.

"It is not clear how much retailers are ready to spend on repairs, but a study by a local group has found the cost of renovations and retrofitting Bangladesh's garment factories could cost $3bn."

---

Link to web site

The Guardian:
"Bangladesh factory tragedy gives hope to leather workers"

"Bangladesh has been under a spotlight since the deaths in April of 1,130 workers in the collapse of a factory in Dhaka, which produced cheap garments for western high street retailers. In the tragedy's aftermath, politicians in the chaotic south Asian state promised reforms and companies such as Primark, Matalan and Gap scrambled to repair battered reputations.

"... But Bangladesh is also a major supplier of leather for shoes, handbags, belts, jackets and suitcases used in Britain, other European countries and south-east Asia. This booming trade – predicted to soon be worth more than $1bn annually but notorious for its harsh conditions and pollution – has received less attention.

"... Residents and workers in Hazaribagh are hoping they may see some benefits from the global outrage that followed the Rana Plaza factory collapse."

"Rising business rates cause carnage on the high street"

Link to The Observer

"Ron Wooden and Angela Forder have run Lesley's Florist for 10 years. They have had to cut staff hours because the closure of many local businesses has led to a fall in lunchtime trade. Wooden said:

"If rates were brought down, it would create more jobs in the town, which could be what's needed to get Ashford thriving again."

"However, it is not just Ashford that is suffering; the bleak picture is repeated across town centres up and down the country. Springboard, which monitors footfall and vacancy levels, said the number of empty shops had increased 1% in the last year and was now nearly 12%.

"And where high street retailers once pointed the finger solely at the internet for their demise, they are increasingly blaming business rates, claiming these leave new stores unable to open, and existing retailers unwilling to expand.

"The issue is so serious that the British Retail Consortium is calling it the biggest problem now facing retail. Helen Dickinson, the director general of the BRC, has summoned 25 chief finance officers and tax experts from the biggest retailers to her offices in central London to thrash out how to tackle the issue."

Interactive guide to pollution levels on London roads

Link to The Guardian

"With the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide of any capital city in Europe, London's air pollution from traffic is linked to strokes, heart and respiratory diseases as well as some cancers and asthma. Enter a postcode to see how polluted your road is."

Brent & Kilburn Times

[Reposted from Feb 2012] Hammerson's 'Deals and No-Deals', and buying land at Brent Cross

Link to web site

Economical with the truth

"CMS Cameron McKenna in mid-January said it was backing out of its deal with property developer Hammerson over new offices in Principal Place, Shoreditch, with senior partner Dick Tyler attributing the decision to 'unstable market conditions'.

"In the wake of Camerons' announcement, however, speculation was rife that there was more to the decision than the economy. This was fuelled by reports that the firm was in merger talks with Nabarro, which was also alleged to have been in separate talks to move into Principal Place, although those rumours were categorically denied by senior sources at Nabarro."

---

Link to "Hammerson's 'Principal Place' is paused at ground level",

or link to "Nabarro brown-noses Hammerson".

---

And in other news...

"Foot Locker slips into Bullring" [sic] 

[CoStar Group link]

"Hammerson has secured Footlocker’s [ex-US-Woolworths] second Locker Room store in the UK. at its Bullring [sic] shopping centre in Birmingham.

The letting follows the concept’s European launch at Brent Cross Shopping Centre in November 2011.

[Property Magazine International link]

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Link to CoStar Group web site
(pic: looking south-west, over new Shoreditch High St. station)

CoStar: "Hammerson/Ballymore hammer out Bishopsgate Goods Yard deal" 

"The Ballymore Group and Hammerson, joint developers of the former Bishopsgate Goodsyard, have completed a new deal with site owner Network Rail that will enable them to bring forward plans a phased development of a major mixed-use quarter.

"Andrew Hilston, assistant director at Hammerson said:

“This deal marks an important next step in the process of unlocking the regeneration potential of one of the of the last major undeveloped strategic sites in the heart of the Tech city.”

"Hammerson and Ballymore first began working up plans for the Bishopsgate Goods Yard site in 2002 following Hammerson’s acquisition of a 24-strong portfolio of failed state train company Railtrack’s property interests."
 

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Link to Hammerson web site

We know a story about that, don't we, Hammerson?

For immediate release - Friday, 27th December 2002

"Hammerson to Acquire Railtrack Property Interests"

"Hammerson plc has exchanged contracts to acquire for ?63 million [sic] RT Group Developments Limited ('RGDL') and its associated companies from RT Group PLC (formerly Railtrack Group plc). These companies own interests in a portfolio of 24 properties/development sites throughout the UK.

"Hammerson has also exchanged contracts with Ballymore Properties Limited, a private development company based in Dublin, whereby Ballymore will purchase from Hammerson seven of the properties owned by RGDL for ?27 million [sic]. Following these sales, Hammerson will retain direct ownership of 15 of the properties. 

"In respect of the two remaining properties, Hammerson will receive ?5.625m [sic] and enter into joint venture agreements with Ballymore to evaluate and pursue possible future major developments on a 50:50 basis. The seven staff currently employed by RGDL will become employees of Ballymore.

"The principal assets to be acquired and retained by Hammerson are:

"Two freehold warehouses of around 7,100m2 and a 50% interest in Cricklewood Redevelopment Limited (a joint venture with Pillar Property PLC), which is proposing a mixed-use development of around 800,000m2 at Cricklewood, London NW2; ..."

Link to Daily Telegraph
"Mr Richards will collect a year's salary, and
the average of the last three years' bonuses"

"John Richards, Chief Executive of Hammerson, said:

"This is a very exciting transaction for Hammerson which, for a net investment of around ?30 million [sic], gives us control of some key sites in central London. These sites represent a substantial long-term development land bank. We intend to work up these schemes, and advance them as market conditions improve over the next few years. [Ten years later...]

"In particular, the interest we have acquired in the Cricklewood site complements the group's existing ownership of Brent Cross Shopping Centre, and will support a co-ordinated approach to the regeneration and improvement of this area." [Oh, yeh?]

Avoiding the Barnet-approved Brent Cross Domestic Waste Incinerator: RSA: "What is the Great Recovery - Redesigning the Future?"

Link to web site

"The current economic and environmental challenges of

Take,           

Make,

            Dispose

manufacturing are becoming apparent.

"Increasing supply risk and rising costs of materials is putting pressure on businesses to change. We need to shift towards more circular systems, and good design thinking is pivitol [sic. 'pivotal'] to this transition.

"The Great Recovery is building new networks to explore the issues, investigate innovation gaps, and incubate new partnerships."

Link to web site

"The Great Recovery Report: Investigating the role of design in the circular economy"

"The Great Recovery project, launched in September 2012 by the Action and Research Centre at the RSA, aims to build a cross-disciplinary design community that is equipped to support the development of an economy based on resource-efficient principles.

"This report covers the first six months of the Great Recovery project, including the circular network, workshops, and teardown observations.

"Through this we have gained a better understanding of what action and research is required to transform the way society manages resources. This report outlines a series of key recommendations, based on the findings of the first phase of The Great Recovery programme."

"What's in your mobile phone?"

Good News on House Prices: Evening Standard: "Housebuilders call time on six years of pain as prices jump"

Link to web site

"Comment: Welcome news — but will it last?"

"In the short term, the Chancellor’s roll of the dice in this year’s Budget on jump-starting the housing market is paying dividends. Coming after the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending — which had already cut mortgage costs — the Help to Buy scheme has dramatically thawed lending. Anybody holding housebuilding shares since the start of the year, meanwhile, has made a killing.

"A livelier property market —particularly if first-time buyers are coming in — is good for the wider economy and consumer confidence. And after the five years we’ve just had, maybe any growth is good growth.

"But there are worries about the bigger picture. What happens when the state subsidy comes to an end? Will we be left with a new generation of borrowers saddled with huge mortgage debts? And shouldn’t we be striving for a new economic model that isn’t so obsessed with property? As Tullett Prebon chief executive Terry Smith once put it, you can’t export a house."

Alasdair Morrison, Planning, Development & Regeneration, GVA: "Public sector is the key to reviving High Streets"

Subsidence photo
in the Estates Gazette

"According to a forecast, in five years’ time a quarter of Scotland’s stores will have closed. It is too simplistic to blame empty commercial properties on the growth of online retail sales and out-of-town shopping centres.

"There are many examples of successful retailers forced to close, not because of online competition but because of high rents and/or rates, out of kilter with current market conditions.

"What the Town Centre review highlights is the need for a bold vision that provides investment opportunities that are market-tested, with the public sector taking a much more proactive and strategic role in prioritising the revitalisation process."

---

Link to

"GVA's Brave New Punter?"

[Reposted] Brent Cross CBRE Town Centre Report

Link to PDF file

"All the latest population, socio-economic deomgraphics [sic] and property valuation data on Brent Cross and its surroundings. 

"Brent Cross is anchored by Fenwick, Marks & Spencer and John Lewis.

"Headline Zone A Rent

£460 per sq ft."

(Property Week)

Cheap clothing in Brent Cross shops, and the factories that produce some of it

Link to The Guardian

"Primark, Tesco and Marks & Spencer were among 20 retailers summoned to a UK government summit, as ministers sought steps to prevent a repeat of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh that killed over 1,000 people.

"The government wants to use its muscle to help drive up standards in factories supplying UK retailers, after the disaster at a complex that supplied clothing bought by British shoppers.

"About 20 retailers, including Primark, which bought clothing from a factory within Rana Plaza, Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Topshop's owner, Arcadia, were called into the Department for International Development (DfID) on Wednesday to discuss how to avoid another catastrophe in future."

Good News on House Prices: Daily Telegraph: "Taylor Wimpey sees first 'measurable improvement' in housing market since 2008 financial crisis"

Link to web site

"The company said it had seen a return to the more traditional seasonal patterns in the first half, with a strong Spring selling season.

"Pete Redfern, the chief executive of Taylor Wimpey who has warned that Government's Help to Buy scheme could be a 'genuine hazard' to the economy unless is was subject to a time limit, said the scheme had helped buoy the sector.

He put the improving housing market down to 'increased consumer confidence ... a general economic improvement, better mortgage availability and the direct impact of the Government schemes'.

"A leading US planner wants to put people, fairness and creativity at the heart of a reinvigorated planning profession" (he's never been to Barnet)

Link to The Guardian: Society

"Undeniably, planning in England has become weighed down with development control functions, by design or accident. Consequently, the ideals of place-shapping embedded in the groundbreaking 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, which created the modern planning system have been forgotten.

"While the profession is on the back foot, with few innovative thinkers, it has not been helped by a disproportionate level of cuts, with the Audit Commission reporting that council planning departments have been hit substantially harder than elsewhere in town halls.

"According to Guardian research, councils are slashing as much as 58% from their planning budgets between 2012 and 2014."

The Guardian: "Ocado boss: 'more high street shops should shut'"

Link to web site

"Tim Steiner, the boss of online grocer Ocado, has launched an attack on high street retailers who are asking the government to review business rates, saying more traditional shops needed to close and telling rivals to stop complaining.

"Steiner, who recently announced a deal with Morrisons to launch the supermarket's online service, said:

"Bricks and mortar retailers need to shut more shops and stop moaning about [high street costs]."

"... Business rates are charged on buildings used as business premises, and based on a valuation of the property. The fees go to local authorities, in the same way as council tax does for domestic properties.

"The rates are non-negotiable, although charity shops are exempt, which has led to landlords being keen to fill empty shops with charity tenants to avoid paying rates on an empty building."

Make sure you visit the Brent Cross Cricklewood consultation (even though London Communications PR Agency is still involved)

# "Come with us
And you'll be: In a world of
Pure imagination.
Take a look, and you'll see,
Into your imagination.
We'll begin, with a spin, travelling in
The world of Hammerson's creation.
What you'll see, will defy Explanation:
If you want to view paradise -
Simply look around..." #

(adapted from Willie Wonker
and the Chocolate Factory)

"This is your opportunity to…

"Learn more about the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration and what we already have planning permission to deliver.

"Understand the three areas we are seeking to update:

• A new network of streets and spaces in and around Brent Cross to create a world-class destination for retail, dining and leisure [bet L.C.A. came up with "world-class"]
• Introducing a major new, wide, green pedestrian and cycle bridge over the North Circular Road, and
• Earlier delivery of some of the transport improvements across the whole area."

Boris's Transport Manifesto 2012 (Ken's has already been wiped, so we thought we'd take a backup)

Boris Johnson 2012 Transport Manifesto Final[1]