"Car trips are bad trips"

"Henry Ford's instrument of democratic liberation has become an oppressive tyrant, imprisoning us"

Link to The Guardian

"... My children regard cars as unnecessary and expensive encumbrances, not the status symbol or romantic attribute they remain for me. Recent US research showed that very few people under 30 considered any automobile manufacturer a 'cool' brand. And those who owned cars would much prefer to keep their smartphone, if required to make a competitive choice between wheeled transport and the electronic type of connectedness.

"But there is poetry as well as pain here. Henry Ford created his gasoline buggy to escape from the deadening tedium of life on a midwest farm. Against all the contrary evidence, cars retain this magical potential to transport the spirit as well as the body. Harley Earl, Detroit's coruscating wizard of kitsch with his repertoire of chrome and pleated Naugahyde, rightly understood that even the meanest car journey should have the intoxicating suggestion of an exotic vacation. It is curious to consider howan instrument of democratic liberation has become an oppressive tyrant, imprisoning us. 

"Roads too have lost their glamour. Movies and rock music glorified some of the world's great roads: Route 66, the Grande Corniche and the Pacific coast highway are part of our collective dreamscape. The delightful and deluded fiction of roads as romance. It is difficult, surely, to experience anything other than terrible bathos on the M25 or the East Lancashire Road."

[Reposted from Nov 2013] Hammerson's Living Bridge over the North Circular Road at Brent Cross: Handy for the shops.

Link to Bloomberg

"With China’s cities set to swallow another 276 million people by 2030, the nation needs a new strategy for municipal planning that brings residential and other land uses closer together with efficient public transport, said Peter Calthorpe, founder of Berkeley-based urban design firm Calthorpe Associates and author of 'Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change'.

"Under the superblock model [or as we call it, the Barnet model], municipal authorities typically build four- to eight-lane highways [A406] to remote suburbs where they can sell building rights to developers on slabs of land about 500 meters square. The construction companies then erect apartment towers on the block separated from the rest of the community by fences and security guards [and the A406].

"Housing, industry and shopping districts are often zoned for different parts of the city, making long commutes the norm."

Why the Brent Cross North Circular Road was turned into a motorway (and the music's very jolly)

Financial Times: "Dawn of a robot revolution as army of machines escape the factory"

Move the piece of the right
into the top of the piece on the left,
to link to web site

"Compared to the size of the industrial robotics market, service robot applications are still somewhat niche. Robot researchers are also wary of overpromising after several false technological dawns in the past.

"Still, rapid advances in a range of technologies, including machine vision, tactile sensors and autonomous navigation, make these robots much more useful and, crucially, ensure they avoid collisions with humans.

"Alin Albu-Schaeffer, director of the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), said:

"Ten years ago it took five minutes for a robot just to recognise the object in front of it was a table. Many aspects of robotics are now reaching a critical mass . . . service robotics is coming."

Planning Resource: "Home Counties warn they cannot meet London's housing shortfall"

Link to web site

"More than 20 councils in the Home Counties have expressed concerns to London mayor Boris Johnson that his key planning document does not meet the capital's level of housing need, warning that a potential overspill from the city could put strains on their local services.

"The fears were raised in response to the Greater London Authority's (GLA's) consultation on the draft Further Alterations to the London Plan (FALP), which sets the capital's ten-year housing target at 42,000 homes a year.

"The councils pointed out that the plan's target falls well short of the annual housing need of 49,000 to 62,000 homes, set out in the GLA's own strategic assessment.

"Many called for the mayor to do more to increase housing supply in the capital and warned of increased pressures on their roads, railways, schools and health services."

---

Link to web site

"Population growth estimates downgraded"

"Official figures that will form the basis of a new set of household projections that councils are expected to use to assess their housing needs predict the population of England will grow at a slower rate over the next 10 years than suggested by interim data published two years ago.

"The 2012-based subnational population projections, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), predict the population of England will grow by 7.2 per cent over the ten years to mid-2022, with London (13.1 per cent), the East of England (8.6 per cent) and the South East (7.8 per cent) experiencing the highest levels of growth.

"But the rate of population growth projected by the new figures is lower than that set out in interim projections published by the ONS in September 2012."

The Guardian: "Labour: let cities grow by lifting the cap on councils' borrowing"

Link to web site

"Existing towns and cities should be expanded and the cap on some councils' borrowing lifted to allow more homes to be built, according to the man responsible for overhauling Labour's housing policy, to ease the chronic shortage.

Sir Michael Lyons told the Guardian he had identified protracted delays in the release of land as the single biggest cause of Britain's housing crisis.

He is minded to recommend a new generation of 'urban extensions', modelled on the post-war new-town expansion, insisting that while communities should have a say in planning, they cannot veto new homes in a time of severe shortage. The expansion of current conurbations, capable of using existing infrastructure, could be built as quickly as new towns, and lead to tens of thousands of new homes, contributing to a target of 200,000 new dwellings a year by 2020."

BBC: "How London should look in the future?"

"Sir Terry Farrell,

Angela Brady,

Nicholas Boys Smith and

Owen Hatherley discuss."

"The Towers Debate: Does London need more tall buildings?"

Link to LSE web site

Editor's note: We apologise for the buzz present on this recording.

Speaker(s): Julia Barfield, Nicholas Boys Smith, Paul Finch, Simon Jenkins, Sir Edward Lister, Rowan Moore, Tony Travers, Nicky Gavron Chair: Sarah Gaventa

Recorded on 2 June 2014 in Peacock Theatre, Portugal Street.

"There are now proposals for over 230 new tall buildings to be built in London over the next decade, 80 per cent of which are residential. As London’s population continues to expand, is this high-rise vision of London's future the right one for our city and its people?

"Kicking off the London Festival of Architecture 2014 programme, Centre for London, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and New London Architecture (NLA) host a public discussion to debate the motion 'London needs many more tall buildings'."

Julia Barfield is director of Mark Barfield Associates.

Nicholas Boys Smith is director of Create Streets.

Paul Finch is programme director of the World Architecture Festival.

Nicky Gavron is chair of the Planning Committee at the London Assembly.

Sarah Gaventa is an associate at RSH+P.

Sir Edward Lister is deputy mayor for Policy and Planning at the GLA.

Simon Jenkins is chairman of the National Trust.

Rowan Moore is architecture critic for The Observer.

Tony Travers is director of LSE London.

Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording)

"Patisserie Valerie is coming to Fenwick Brent Cross!"

"Originally conceived in Frith Street, Soho in 1926 by Madam Valerie, the Fenwick Brent Cross branch will offer a range of treats made using traditional recipes and authentic methods, including favourites such as éclairs, tarts and profiteroles. Alongside the range of cakes and patisserie, the menu also includes continental breakfasts, lunches and the finest teas and coffees.

"Customers with something to celebrate can order one of Patisserie Valerie’s special occasion and celebration cakes, perfect for birthdays, weddings and every occasion in between.

"You'll find Patisserie Valerie in Fenwick on Level 3."

"Many of the Brent Cross's 30+ restaurants, cafes, grab & go bars and supermarkets are now open until 9pm Monday to Saturday; find out more information on Brent Cross's Dine Until 9pm web page!

"We can't wait for the opening to tuck into traditionally French a Tarte aux Framboises and a strong coffee! Are you a Patisserie Valerie fan? Join the conversation online, and don't forget to use #brentcrossmenu [we have!] to show us what you're enjoying at the centre, and check out what everyone else is eating and what's new at our new Menu!"

Instagram: brentcross_sc
Tweet: @brentcross
Facebook: /mybrentcross

Evening Standard: "Housebuilding revival eases fears of property bubble"

Link to web site
(Don't hold your breath - there's only four paragraphs)

"Reviving housebuilding activity should eventually curb the recent surge in property prices and quell fears of a bubble, lender Halifax said today."

Thu 19 June: CPRE: "Is London Liveable?"

Link to web site

Special event to launch 'Towards a Liveable London' report,
19 June 2014, 6 - 8.30pm

"CPRE London will be show casing the recommendations from our year-long research project reviewing London’s housing needs. The Landscape Institute will be launching their new ‘Plandemonium’ animation on landscape and liveability made by Rob Cowan.

"This event takes place during the London Festival of Architecture which is focusing on the topic of capital. We will use the opportunity to look at both natural and social capital – at the heart of a liveable approach to designing and developing the city.

"The presentations will be followed by a Q&A panel debate to try and draw out solutions for London’s current and future housing needs."

Programme

6pm Registration

6.30pm Welcome

6.35pm Rosalie Callway, CPRE London

6.45pm Noel Farrer, Landscape Institute

6.55pm Q&A panel debate

Debate chair: Shaun Spiers, Chief Executive CPRE

Panellists:

• Rebecca Sudworth, Peabody
• Bruce McVean, Beyond Green and Movement for Liveable London founder
• Sophia de Souse, Glass House Community Led Design
• Darren Johnson, Chair of Housing Committee, London Assembly 

7.45pm Reception

8.30pm Close

Book now

Camden Council: Tottenham Court Road video (Barnet and Hammerson haven't even produced a flick-book about Brent Cross)

Published on 3 June 2014

"Camden Council has unveiled a £26 million plan to transform the Tottenham Court Road area of the West End. The aim is to make the area safer and more attractive for residents, boost business and create new public spaces, ahead of the opening of the new Crossrail station in 2018."

Barnet's equivalent technology

Ham & High: "Camden Council left in the dark over ‘Boris tunnel’ plan"

Link to web site

"Camden Council says it has been left in the dark over a £30billion infrastructure scheme that could see tunnelling and major construction carried out throughout the borough and in the heart of Camden Town.

"The Mayor of London’s proposals to build a 22-mile underground ring-road circling London surfaced earlier last month as part of Transport for London’s bid to relieve congestion, reduce pollution and support growth in the city.

"A proposed map of the tunnel's route shows a dual carriageway ring-road running under Camden Town, Highbury, Whitechapel, Elephant and Castle and Chelsea – with one of 10 proposed entrances to be built in Camden Town."

Barnet Bugle: "Mayor of Barnet issues call for his Office to be respected"

"At the end of a loud and raucous Annual Council meeting, in a hot, stuffy and unventilated room, Barnet's newly elected Mayor, Cllr Hugh Rayner, called for opposition Councillors and those in the public gallery to respect his office."

(Link above to the two 'Barnet Bugle' videos)

---

'TheMarathon28' video:

"Councillor Anthony Finn proposed to change a date in the draft council meetings calendar, so that it coincides with the opposition Labour Party conference, resulting in a vote of approval for the change. 

"The opposition Labour group boycotted the traditional all-party buffet after the meeting ended."

---

Link to web site

Barnet Press:
"Councillors clash at ceremonial meeting"

"BARNET'S first full council meeting since the local election descended into anger and recrimination as Labour councillors accused the new Tory administration of sinking to new depths in its 'outrageous' treatment of the democratic process.

"Last night's meeting at Hendon Town Hall, in The Burroughs, had been intended to be largely ceremonial, with the appointment of a new mayor, the agreement of meeting dates, and appointments to the new council committees, to be followed by a celebratory buffet to be attended by former Barnet mayors, community leaders and visiting delegates.

"However, the Conservative administration drew anger in its decision to break with convention in terms of meeting schedules and committee appointments, before introducing an allowance system that strongly favours the ruling party.

"With tensions already high over the agonizingly close-run local election, which saw the Tories hold onto their majority by two seats and more Barnet Labour councillors elected than ever before, newly appointed Conservative Mayor Hugh Rayner had barely taken his seat at the front of the chamber before he was forced to deal with heckles and barracking from opposition councillors and the public gallery."

---

"Barnet Borough Council adopts committee system of governance" 

- Barnet Times

"Barnet Borough Council will make its decisions by committee, rather than having a cabinet in charge.

"... Council leader Councillor Richard Cornelius said:

“We are still only half way through a decade of austerity, and there are many tough spending decisions ahead. However we are committed to dealing with these challenges in as open way as possible."

The committee chairmen [sic] will be as follows:

• Adults and Safeguarding Committee – Cllr Sachin Rajput
• Children, Education, Libraries and Safeguarding Committee – Cllr Reuben Thompstone
• Environment Committee – Cllr Dean Cohen
• Assets, Regeneration and Growth Committee – Cllr Richard Cornelius
• Community Leadership Committee – Cllr David Longstaff
• Policy and Resources Committee – Cllr Richard Cornelius
• Performance and Contract Management – Cllr Anthony Finn
• Housing Committee – Cllr Tom Davey

PROFORCE 1 SECURITY issues demand to Barnet Bloggers

Evening Standard: "Hamish McCrae: Six thoughts on Piketty’s vexing claims"

Link to web site

"Inequality: what on Earth should we make of the row about the work of Thomas Piketty?

"His 557-page Capital in the Twenty-First Century has become a best-seller, but is now the subject of a hard-hitting attack by Chris Giles, economics editor of the Financial Times, for dodgy statistics, some of which he writes 'appear simply to be constructed out of thin air'?

"On Friday Piketty responded to this in a 4400-word piece on his website, arguing that the FT was 'simply wrong'.

"Piketty, a French economist, argues that inequality has been increasing in the western world for the past 30 years, and that the core reason for this is that returns on capital are higher than those on labour. So people who own capital will get richer faster than those who have to work to earn a living. His remedy is a wealth tax."

Planning Resource: "Portas questions success of town-centre-first policy"

Link to web site

"Retail expert Mary Portas has questioned the effectiveness of the town centre first policy, and said efforts to pilot the recommendations included in her review of high streets were marred initially by 'vague supporting processes' and 'insufficient guidance' by the government.

"... In a 'think piece', Why our High Streets still matter, Portas said government progress following her 2011 review of high streets has been "far slower" than she had hoped.

"She added that 'vague supporting processes' meant 'bumpy starts were the status quo' for most of the 27 pilot schemes that were awarded government funding to trial the review’s recommendations."

[Reposted from Nov 2010] Michael Bear, Regeneration Director at Hammerson (and new Lord Mayor of London) shuns Brent Cross's temporary 'rapid transit bus' for the Lord Mayor's Show 2010

THIRD UPDATE:
"29,000 extra cars"
- see Evening Standard letter, April 2011


SECOND UPDATE:
"The Lord Mayor has a case to answer!" 
 - see newspaper cuttings.

 

FIRST UPDATE: Click above for BBC web site
(no mention of Hammerson)

Camden New Journal: "Green light for Hampstead Heath-style bathing ponds in King's Cross" (Somewhat unikely that Hammeson would do that at Brent Cross)

Dive into the web site

"PLANNING permission has been granted for man-made public bathing ponds to be built in the middle of King's Cross.

"As the New Journal revealed in March, the plans for a vacant plot on the regeneration site behind King's Cross and St Pancras International stations will aim recreate the sensation of swimming in ponds like the waters on Hampstead Heath, which are celebrated for being chemical-free.

"While there are 900 man-made swimming ponds across Europe, the project organisers believe it is the first to be constructed in the United Kingdom."

The Londonist: "Unfinished London: The City’s Airports"

'The Londonist' web site:

"After a long break, Jay Foreman is back with another must-watch episode of Unfinished London, this time telling the story of the capital’s airports. As ever, it’s packed with trivia, wisecracks and visual effects that’ll make you wince, double-take and LOL your pants off, all at the same time.

"Our own video/transport geek Geoff Marshall had a chat with Jay about the background to his new film:

"Hurrah! It’s out — part 3 of unfinished London. It’s been three years since the last one, had you been planning this one for that long or have you just been busy doing other stuff?"

"We’ve just been busy. Paul’s got a proper job, so that’s why it’s been so difficult finding the time to make these. They take ages!"

"We note it’s ‘Part 1′. Oh! So there’s another bit of the Aiports to come? Was that always planned or did it turn out that there was more about London airports than you originally thought?"

"We don’t really plan how long each episode’s going to be, we just try and squeeze all the facts in, and hope it doesn’t get too boring. But when we gathered all our research about planes, the script ran to a whopping 20 minutes, so we thought we’d better split it in two. Also, two videos means twice as many YouTube hits."

"This must take so much planning and organising. Do you ever feel like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew when doing these?"

"Aargh! Yes!"

"Why wouldn’t the Hendon/RAF museum let you in to film?"

"Actually, slightly cheeky, we just put that joke in cos it sounded funny. We never even asked the RAF museum for permission to film. In fact, we had a good look in there and there’s nothing to show. The Croydon Airport visitor’s centre though, they were arseholes!"

"We love how you’re sitting at the SAME desk and computer screen, with your head swivelled left to talk at the camera. Where is that? Your home, your parents’, or your friends’?"

"That’s my parents’ house where I used to live back when we made episode 1. They don’t keep a computer in that room anymore so it was a heavy job getting that shot to look the same. But I think it’s important there’s some continuity, or how will you know it’s me?"

"So…apart from ‘When is Part 2′ of the airports out, the obvious question must be ‘Is that it now?’ You’ve done tube, roads, and planes…is there possibly another episode of this down the line, or do you think you’ve covered all the topics now?"

"Part 2 needs a bit of work, but it’s more or less ready to go. We’ll upload it before July, I think. We haven’t planned any more after that, but then again, every episode we’ve done so far was meant to be the last, so who knows, we could change our minds yet again."

See also:

• Unfinished London 1: Northern Line
• Unfinished London 2: Ring Roads

Source of text:
http://londonist.com

"Britain is still feasting on credit – and the next crunch will hit in 2016"

"Interest rates won't stay low for much longer. When the cheap loans end the result will be red-letter bills and repossessions"

Shop until you drop: Link to The Guardian

"Come with me into the near future. ... By early 2016, the era of record-low interest rates is over. Borrowing is getting steadily more expensive. And the result is starting to destabilise our entire economic model.

"... Step back and the big picture isn't even of three-quarters of a million British households unable to pay their way, but an entire country unable to do so. As research from the TUC and others shows, Britons built up so much debt during the boom because they weren't getting paid enough. National income grew, sure enough, but it largely went to those at the top.

"For the rest of the country, the model was simple: let them eat credit. The result is summed up by former head of the Financial Services Authority Adair Turner, in a speech this March:

"We seem to need credit growth faster than GDP growth to achieve an optimally growing economy, but that leads inevitably to crisis and post-crisis recession."

"Stop the South London Incinerator!" (And stop Hammerson's Brent Cross incinerator, ALREADY APPROVED by the London Borough of Barnet!)

"Hammerson-Westfield joint development to omit word 'Croydon'?" (Westfield BrentCross or Westfield North London also omit the word 'Croydon', by the way.)

Link to Croydon [can we say that?] Advertiser

"THE partnership behind the £1 billion regeneration of Croydon has refused to confirm whether the word 'Croydon' will be in the name of the new development.

"The Advertiser understands there is a strong possibility the name of Westfield and Hammerson's new shopping centre may not include the town's name.

The suggestion is that it may become Westfield South London, in a similar fashion to the Australian retail giant's development in Shepherd's Bush, Westfield London."

The Observer: "Welcome to the local high street … on your smartphone"

Link to web site

"The government is funding a £2m initiative to create apps designed to help struggling local retailers compete. A future trip to the high street could start with pre-booking your parking spot by mobile app and sending out an alert to local shops to tell them what you are heading into town to buy.

"Once there, you might find might yourself searching for a new T-shirt from inside the changing room if you find the one you took to try on doesn't suit.

"These are among the 21 technology projects the government has funded to the tune of £2m in the hope they can help high street retailers.

"The schemes, selected from 181 applicants by the UK's innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, under its Reinventing the High Street scheme, aim to help independent retailers and town centres that are struggling to cope with a dramatic shift towards online shopping."

Evening Standard: "Stratford’s rebirth offers a lesson for the whole capital"

"The success of London’s Olympics legacy highlights the importance of central planning and transport links"

Link to web site

"Just 10 years ago, Stratford was a dump. Much of it a dodgy wasteland, it was home to a fridge mountain, derelict factories and a landfill site. It required a leap of imagination to envisage the area thriving. But this was the vision of Ken Livingstone and the Olympic bid team as they flew to Singapore in 2005: regenerating east London was at the heart of London’s Games.

"... Stratford’s growth [since] into to a new commercial hub still has a long way to go, as does the promised construction of thousands of new homes there. But industry observers think it will succeed: average office prices are competitive, with rents and business rates at around half those of booming King’s Cross and a third less than Canary Wharf.

"... Yet there are lessons for the rest of London. First, transport links were crucial. It’s a point TfL’s director of planning Michèle Dix makes for regeneration of London’s other big remaining wasteland, Nine Elms. Without an agreement on the extension of the Northern line it would never have happened; now the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station is powering ahead and Nine Elms will follow.

"... But without effective, strategic central planning, London’s regeneration too often subsides into local squabbles and delays [and corruption]. And these ambitions for our city will not happen through the market alone. Stratford is the proof of that."

The Day that Edinburgh Got Its Trams Back

"I was fortunate enough to be in Edinburgh on the first day of operation. Took this little video... I was with a muggle at the time; he didn't share my excitement..."  
(lewistpau)

(Three images: Moschops)

Washington Post: "Piketty’s 'errors' aren’t mistakes: They’re questions, and he answered them"

Link to web site

"Thomas Piketty thinks the Financial Times knows nothing of his technical work.
[See various earlier posts on this Brent Cross Coalition web site, below.]

"That's the Cliff Notes version of his 4,400-word response to the criticisms the Financial Times leveled against the data in his best-selling book "Capital in the Twenty-First Century." Piketty says that even though he expects people to improve on his work in the future, he still stands by it today, and the mistakes the Financial Times thinks it's found aren't actually mistakes — and that they'd know this if they'd read the appendices he put online.

"... Piketty, in contrast, only uses tax data to generate his British numbers. Now, that data isn't always the best-suited, but it's still better than raw survey results. And it's why Piketty finds that the top 10 percent hold 71 percent of the wealth in Britain, while the survey that Giles touts says it's just 44 percent.

"Ask yourself, as Piketty does, whether you think modern-day Britain is 'one of the most egalitarian countries in history in terms of wealth distribution.' That's what you'd have to believe if you take those survey results at face value."

---

Link to Daily Telegraph Review
(10 May 2014)

"Former Bank of England Governer Mervyn King takes on the Left-wing French economist everybody's talking about"

"Piketty believes that there is a 'fundamental logical contradiction' in capitalism with 'potentially terrifying' consequences for wealth distribution unless we adopt radical policies to tax the rich. Because his is a book of great scope and ambition, one can see why it has attracted attention. 

"For all those people who would like to have a big idea but can’t think of one, Piketty has given hope that there is a fundamental weakness in capitalism. And after so many breathless accounts of the recent financial crisis, a wide-ranging historical analysis of the distribution of the fruits of economic growth is a pleasant surprise. A serious, thought-provoking book is to be welcomed.

"... Inequality does matter, and measures to reduce it have a proper place in economic policy. But by promoting efficiency and raising living standards, a market economy has proved its worth.

"To argue that inequality is the fundamental weakness of modern capitalism, while ignoring capitalism’s achievements, may excite the well-heeled intellectual salons of Paris and New York, but most of us recognise that a market economy has served us well by creating growth and reducing poverty."

Will National Rail Infrastructure Ltd. (and its Isle of Man tax-haven buddies) go ahead with this at a Brent Cross Waste Incinerator Project? (Just asking.)

Link to Shropshire Star

"A power plant using farm waste today exploded at Harper Adams University, spilling tonnes of slurry.

"A 200-metre exclusion zone was today put in place by police, who described it as a 'chemical incident'.

"It is the second time the £3 million anaerobic digestion plant has leaked sludge across land in Edgmond, near Newport."

Evening Standard: Segregated Cycling Lanes, Brent Cross, and Hammerson's Living Hell Bridge

Nicky Gavron AM: "Government objects to London’s car parking policy"

Link to web site

"London has had the quickest shift out of the car and onto bikes, buses, and feet of any city in the world. But now the Government’s rolling us back.

"One of the achievements of the Greater London Authority is to have an integrated approach to making London a sustainable city. Car parking standards are one of the tools we have to encourage people to get around without cars.

"The London Plan sets out car parking standards which limit the maximum number of parking spaces for different types of development – offices, residential, and commercial. Keeping provision low, especially where there are good transport links, encourages people to rely not on cars but on walking, cycling, and public transport. People are even now choosing to live in car-free developments.

"Yet in his response to the consultation on the Further Alterations to the London Plan, planning minister Nick Boles said that London-wide parking standards have to go."

Future of London: "Crossrail as Catalyst: Realising regeneration and development around stations"

Link to web site

"On 23 April, Future of London launched 'Crossrail as Catalyst' at the King’s Fund. This new report examines how London communities can grasp the regeneration potential of Crossrail stations – and of future infrastructure projects.

"As with any major infrastructure project, part of Crossrail’s promise has been to generate or enhance economic opportunity in the areas it touches, particularly through regeneration around stations. And as with previous rail projects in and around the Capital, results – at least so far – have been mixed. Some communities are seeing direct and rapid benefits tied to planned stations, while others have yet to grasp Crossrail’s regeneration potential.

" 'Crossrail as Catalyst', supported by Crossrail, Arup, GVA, and London Communications Agency [Oh, no. Not that outfit!], is a multi-part programme designed to share best practice from areas which have realised regeneration opportunities from Crossrail and its predecessors; to identify options remaining before the route opens; and to look at how future infrastructure projects could help deliver even more in the places they touch."

That's All for Now, Folks! - British Council film: " Piccadilly Roundabout" (1943)

Piccadilly Roundabout (1943) from British Council Film on Vimeo.

Boots Brent Cross: "Tax-haven Britain: Boots Alliance and the use and abuses of Limited Liability Partnerships"

Link to "Tax Justice Network"

"Last year, 'War on Want' published a report revealing that Boots the Chemists – a fixture of most U.K. high streets – had dodged over £1 billion in the six preceding years, since it was taken over by the Alliance group. 

"War on Want have now sent a letter to HM Revenue and Customs, co-signed by TJN and others, requesting the tax authorities investigate the use of Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) by Boots and other companies as a part of their tax avoidance strategies.

"... The Alliance Boots case study indicates the potential scale of revenue losses arising from the use of LLPs, but the government appears not to be taking action to either investigate Boots or other companies employing LLPs for tax avoidance purposes, or whether any investigation is underway to determine whether the use of LLPs by Boots and others conforms with UK law."

TruthOut: " 'Devastating' Impacts of Climate Change Increasing"

Link to web site

"A massive collapse of an ice sheet in Western Antarctica has begun and, according to scientists, is most likely an unstoppable event that will cause an inevitable rise in global sea levels of at least 10 feet.

"The rise will be relatively slow at first, but by 2100 will ramp up sharply. This could happen sooner, warn the scientists, as the impacts of anthropogenic climate disruption (ACD/climate change) continue to intensify.

" 'This is really happening,' Thomas P. Wagner, who runs NASA's programs on polar ice and helped oversee some of the research, said. 'There's nothing to stop it now.'

"On April 13, the world's leading scientific body for the assessment of ACD warned of a 'devastating rise of 4-5C if we carry on as we are'."

"Bank of England Governor: Capitalism Doomed if Ethics Vanish" (Brent Cross's Hammerson and Standard Life are down the pan, then.)

"Mark Carney issues strong critique of City behaviour, and warns of growing sense that basic social contract is breaking down"

Link to The Guardian

"Capitalism is at risk of destroying itself unless bankers realise they have an obligation to create a fairer society, the Bank of England governor has warned.

Mark Carney said bankers had operated a 'heads-I-win-tails-you-lose' system. He questioned whether traders met ethical standards and said that those who failed to meet high professional standards should face ostracism.

"Speaking at a City conference, the Bank's governor warned that there was a growing sense that the basic social contract at the heart of capitalism was breaking down amid rising inequality:

"We simply cannot take the capitalist system, which produces such plenty and so many solutions, for granted. Prosperity requires not just investment in economic capital, but investment in social capital."