Brent & Kilburn Times: "Tributes paid to Brent councillor Alec Castle"

Link to web site

"Politicians in Brent have been paying tribute to a Dollis Hill councillor who died last week.

"Alec Castle, 66, who was suffering with cancer, spent nine-and-a-half years representing residents in two wards. 

"Until his illness, he was a key member of the campaign against the Brent Cross Cricklewood development proposals."

Reuters: Bish, bash, bosh! British Land, Land Securities, Hammerson, Lend Lease and Delancey fight it out over Whitgift

London Borough of Barnet, after Hammerson has been at work
(well actually, it's Croydon) 
Link to Reuters web site

"[More] major property developers have entered the battle with Australian giant Westfield to redevelop an ageing south London shopping mall, the latest twist in a growing wrangle between the Whitgift Centre's owners.

"Westfield, which opened a mall near the London Olympic park to great fanfare last autumn, said in November the 42-year old site in Croydon would become its third large London centre, after an exclusive deal with the Whitgift Foundation, the freeholder and 25 percent leaseholder.

---

Link to "Hammerson's other shopping centre: Keeping Westfield out of Croydon"

"Hammerson and Westfield: It ain't over till the Fat Developer sings" 

"Extra trams arrive in Croydon today: one Conservative Council that believes in public transport"

New Barnet: Where Barnet Council changed its ways (at least, so far)

Link to PDF file of the plan

"The Vision for New Barnet"

"The Save New Barnet Campaign is not against development, just inappropriate development. In fact, there is a Save New Barnet development plan [above] for the vacant gasworks site, drawn up by local architects and based on local residents' wishes for low-rise family houses.

"The coalition government's Localism Act encourages early discussion between developers and the local community: we look forward to working positively with Barnet Council, investors and developers to improve the heart of our community.

"Read the community's Vision for New Barnet:

LINK: www.newbarnet.org.uk/issues/avisionfornewbarnet.php

and the January 2012 newsletter [below]."

Link to PDF of newsletter

Excerpt from newsletter:

Barnet Local Development Framework

"The Government requires every Local Authority to have an approved plan for the growth and regeneration of its area for the next 15 years.

"Barnet's Local Development Framework (LDF) includes the Town Centre Framework for New Barnet. The draft document was produced in 2010, consulted upon, amended, sent out to consultation again, amended again, then subject to an Examination in Public by a Government-appointed Inspector in December 2011.

"The inspector raised some issues about the Brent Cross/Cricklewood redevelopment, the need for more affordable housing, Barnet's restriction on converting houses into flats, lack of sites for travelling people and show people, and the car parking requirements being too high! The Council has addressed these matters, and sent revisions out for consultation on 25th January 2012, with a closing date of 8th March. A few of these matters could have an impact on New Barnet, and these are being considered.

"There was a discussion about the New Barnet Town Centre Framework (NBTCF) but no amendments have been made to the document adopted by the Cabinet of Barnet Council, on 29th November 2010."

LINK: www.barnet.gov.uk/index/council-democracy/unitary-authorities/statutory-development-plans/local-development-framework.htm

More acceptable "high-density"???

Link to Enfield Council's plans
on 'Pinkham Way Incinerator' web site

"In 2006 we began work on the 'North Circular Area Action Plan' (NCAAP) to improve the living and working environment along the A406, and to identify new opportunities for housing, employment, and community facilities.

"NCAAP reached the 'Preferred Options' stage back in 2008, but was paused in 2009, while the Council progressed to adopt the Core Strategy." [More than Barnet ever bothered to do, regarding Brent Cross, Colindale, and Mill Hill East!]

Brent Cross & other Barnet areas; West Kensington & Gibbs Green: Two sides of same coin?

Link to Shepherd's Bush Blog

"Our Council knows that the developer they want to sell the homes of people to, is at real risk of going belly-up ... But they are pressing ahead with a deal that will ensure they get the £100 million reward they stand to reap in payments from the developer ... Worse, the deal may not ever result in any improvements to the estate at all.

"... While the Agreement would grant the developer the right, for at least 20 years, [where have we heard that phrase before? Ah, Brent Cross!] to buy up parcels of the estates for demolition, it would not require the developer to deliver any new homes, and would not protect against the developer going bust or selling on." 

---

Comment on that blog (no known connection with BX Coalition):

"Hammersmith and Fulham follows the lead of Barnet, in bouncing ideas and policy off each other. In Barnet, their residents were never given a vote, but a questionable ballot containing a rather loaded question.

"It's very simiiar to the tactics used by the Borough of Barnet for their regeneration plan of the Perryfield and Marsh Estate in West Hendon, that began in 2001.

"However, 10 years on, with a new developer, following all manner of revisions to the original promise and pledge from the council, a small amount of 'shoeboxes' called homes, and mostly for sale, are being built. Most people around there call it 'Social Engineering'.

"Wish the tenants and residents of West Ken & Gibbs Green huge success in their fight for decent secure leasehold and rented council homes.

"The latest fight against a flawed project not far from Westfield is here:
http://brentcrosscoalition.blogspot.com/ and
http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post.html"

The Observer: "Exhibition Road, London – review"

Link to web site

"The thing about public space is that it is public, which means that potentially anyone can have a say in it. It is prone to vociferous objectors: another Moylan-Rogers project – for rearranging the traffic in Sloane Square – was shot down by opponents whom Moylan, who is not shy of speaking his mind, calls 'determined and mendacious' and 'completely hysterical'.

So it is, in other words, very difficult to lay a pavement, at least one that is different from all the others, but Exhibition Road is finally there. It's a special case, in that few streets in Britain can match its cultural load, but its essential principles can be transferred to more modest places. At such time as other local authorities have the money to do work like this again, it shows how it can be done."

RBH: "Whatever [Hammerson] needs to say, we can say it in the best way possible"

Link to RBH web site

"RBH has been tasked with above and below the line communications for The Oracle, Reading. That’s in addition to work with other shopping centres in the Hammerson group, including Highcross Leicester, and Queensgate Peterborough."

[None of the wording in the image above seems to
apply to Hammerson at Brent Cross Cricklewood.]

Brent's Lib Dem Government Minister: "Brent Residents Left in Dark on Dump - Teather Demands Action"

Link to web site

"Following revelations that the Brent Cross Cricklewood development is likely to shrink, local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central Sarah Teather has written to the Brent Cross Cricklewood developers, Barnet Council, and Boris Johnson, to demand that they make their plans for the Brent Cross Cricklewood development clear.

"Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central, Sarah Teather, said:

"The developer has twisted and turned so many times that local people no longer trust what they say. If there are going to be major changes to the current plans, it is vitally important that they are published, and local residents are consulted."

The Guardian: Architect Richard Rogers and partners discuss £140m penthouses, John Prescott's 'flair', and Prince Charles's strange ideas

Link to The Guardian

Architect Richard Rogers was chairman of the Urban Taskforce from 1998-2005, championing high-density cities; brownfield not greenfield for building. The taskforce was appointed by then deputy prime minister John Prescott, about whom Rogers has nothing but good to say:

"Contrary to what everyone believed, I thought Prescott was a good minister, because he concentrated, and stuck around, and had a certain flair. It was a very important part of my life."

The question of "how one builds at the density required of a city centre, and still achieves the right feel at the street scale," as Ivan Harbour puts it, is of urgent concern, they argue. 

"It's about humane scale in intensified development," adds Graham Stirk.

"It's about concentrating, rather than spreading," says Harbour. "You need good design to solve the problems of dense spaces."

matthewofford: "Matthew and Boris boost Brent Cross sales"

Link to web site

"Mayor of London Boris Johnson accompanied Matthew on a visit to Brent Cross shopping centre. The purpose was to meet store managers and discuss how trade had performed over the Christmas holiday period, and what could be done to help keep the local economy moving.

"Matthew said:

"By working with the Mayor, small improvements can be made that will have a big impact for my constituents. Boris commented on what a productive meeting it was, and we were also fortunate enough to be able to do some shopping."

Barnet Times Reminder: The far-sightedness of Councillor Cornelius

Barnet Times, February 2011

Western routes since modified, by light-rail in
the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham's

plan for Old Oak Common, Crossrail, and High Speed 2.
Eastern route extended to New Southgate and Arnos Grove.

freeOFFICEsearch: Hammerson's John Mulqueen triggers our "Delight-o-Meter"

Link to freeOFFICEsearch

"Leading law firm Latham & Watkins LLP is expanding its requirement for office space in the City of London at 99 Bishopsgate, EC2.

"John Mulqueen, Hammerson Director London Group, commented:

"We are delighted to support the continuing success of Latham & Watkins, and to have secured their long-term commitment to 99 Bishopsgate.

The building has a strong appeal to occupiers, and is recognised as one of the best addresses in the City. Our investment programme will ensure that it maintains its position as a leading City of London building."

---

For breaking news relating to office space in Central London, [although not at Brent Cross] follow freeOFFICEsearch on http://twitter.com/officespacenews.

Talking of which:

Community consultation starts on Southbank office scheme

Trio of office lettings for Land Securities

Stewie proposes to Brian that they buy and renovate a wrecked house, and sell it to get rich. However, Brian is unable to cope with Stewie, and they are unable to get the job done. In the end, the two go broke, and the house begins to deteriorate beyond repair. Stewie intentionally destroys the house, and accidentally kills an electrician.

Hammerson's 'Principal Place' is paused at ground level

Link to Hammerson's web site

London24: "Hammerson’s 51-storey Shoreditch tower block construction stalled"

"CMS Cameron McKenna has pulled out of talks to pre-let 200,000 square feet of the £485 million Principal Place scheme, which Anglo-French developer Hammerson was due to begin building in April.

"The development caused controversy when the original 2008 plans involved the destruction of the Light Bar, housed in a 19th century electricity substation in Shoreditch High Street.

"Hammerson’s Chief Executive David Atkins said in a statement:

“I have consistently said that in current conditions we would not expose our shareholders to excessive risk through building London offices on a speculative basis, which remains our policy."

---

Link to Evening Standard

Evening Standard: "Work on Pinnacle halts again as developers struggle for tenants"

 

"Work on the City's tallest tower has halted for a second time, because of a lack of tenants.

"Builders were ordered off the site of the 64-storey Pinnacle last week, with only seven floors completed.

"Developer Arab Investors are believed to be struggling to secure funding, because only about 10 per cent of the eventual 900,000 square feet of space has been let."

---

Link to web site

"Property pair are set for a bargains strike"

"London & Stamford, Ray Mould and Patrick Vaughan's third venture, after founding Arlington in the Seventies, and Pillar Properties in the Nineties, reckons the outlook for property remains uncertain in a 'stagnant' economy. With banks unlikely to be able to meet anticipated demand for loan refinancings from overborrowed investors this year, forced sales look likely."

---

Link to web site (to register)

"Councils take on stalled shopping centre schemes"

"Aylesbury Vale and the London Borough of Ealing step in to progress projects left in limbo by Palmer Capital and Glenkerrin..."

---

Link to HOME (see all posts).

Brent & Kilburn Times (rival Wembley site)

[Reposted] Barnet has a Regeneration Strategy (No, really)

Meeting: Business Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Date: 5 September 2011

Subject: Regeneration Strategy

(Picture credit: Barnet Bugle)
 

"This report seeks approval of the Regeneration Strategy. The Strategy provides an overview of current regeneration in the borough. 

"It sets out clear strategic objectives for the successful future delivery of our regeneration schemes. It also provides the context for a Regeneration Review which will evaluate existing and planned regeneration schemes to ensure current approaches are capable of delivering cross-cutting [sic] regeneration objectives.

"The recommendations from this review will be reported to Cabinet Resources Committee later in 2011."

Officer Contributors: Andrew Travers, Deputy Chief Executive; Lucy Shomali, Assistant Director, Strategic Planning & Regeneration; Lindsey Hyde, Project Support Officer, Strategic Planning & Regeneration; Andrew Nathan, Strategic Policy Adviser.

"It is recommended that Cabinet: 

1. Approve the Regeneration Strategy as attached in Appendix A  (excerpts below)
   
2. Note that the findings of a Regeneration Review, which supports the strategy, will be reported to Cabinet Resources Committee."

---

(from Appendix A)

"... A Regeneration Review is ongoing, evaluating existing and planned activity against our strategic objectives. The review will make recommendations to ensure a comprehensive approach to delivering the wider benefits of regeneration."

Challenges - Managing Change, Maximising Opportunities

(These comments have been shortened)

Despite vast planned investment into the borough, we recognise that our regeneration was planned in different market conditions, meaning that there are new challenges around delivery.

To manage change and ensure we maximise opportunities, we must fully understand all of the challenges we face:

Increasing pressure on resources and different market conditions – means that some regeneration projects may face viability issues.

Creating and sustaining lifetime homes and lifetime neighbourhoods – Encouraging the private sector to take a longer term stake in developments will support the sustainability of neighbourhoods. The government’s localism agenda will enable communities themselves to play an important role in shaping and sustaining lifetime neighbourhoods.  [Written on Planet Barnet]

Managing delivery of estate regeneration - Careful management of decanting from the regeneration estates will be needed, particularly where there is a loss of social housing.

Ensuring supporting infrastructure can be delivered and is in place - Almost all Infrastructure Delivery Plan projects relate to regeneration areas. Critical and necessary infrastructure includes; delivery of additional transport capacity to accommodate increases in population; reduction in road network congestion and making junction improvements.

Key questions we are asking of all our regeneration schemes

We recognise the importance of responding to the changing context around delivering our planned growth.

We are currently asking key strategic questions about the delivery of successful regeneration schemes for Barnet, and the actions necessary to ensure we deliver our strategic objectives. [We bet you are!]

What are the challenges and risks? 

• Viability and deliverability of regeneration schemes 
• Infrastructure requirements and funding and delivery plans 
• Project and programme management and capacity 
• Partnership and governance arrangements 
• Communications and community engagement

Is there a forward plan in place? 

• Individual Regeneration Scheme Delivery Plans 
• Actions necessary to deliver a comprehensive approach to regeneration, including community development 
• Action plan to align individual Regeneration Scheme Delivery Plans with the Regeneration Strategy

What are the tools to manage change and maximise opportunities? 

• Strategies
• Structures
• Funding

[Er, that's it.]

The Spectator: "The recession: four years and counting"

Link to The Spectator

"It is now four years since recession hit the UK. It took just over three years for GDP to return to pre-recession levels in the much milder downturns of the ‘70s and the ‘90s. 

"Even after the Great Depression of the 30s, the economy had fully recovered by this point."

"Talk London: The Video" (shot in the split-screen style of '24')

Link to 'Talk London' web site

"Watch the highlights from 'Talk London' in Barnet on 17 January 2012. 

"The event took place at the Peel Centre, with the Mayor, Boris Johnson joining Cllr Cornelius, Leader of Barnet Council, Gail Laser, Chair of Barnet Traders and Barnet Town Team, and Isabel Dedring, the Deputy Mayor for Transport, to discuss investing in Outer London.

"Brian Coleman, Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden, chaired the panel, which answered questions ranging from travel plans during the Olympic and Paralympic Games to parking and the importance of protecting local gardens."

---

Link to

"November 2010: Barnet Press Office: The Ministry of Truth breaks its silence - 'RICHARD IS DELIGHTED'!"

Barnet Eye: General moan; mention of Brent Cross

Click on the bunny nose to link to Barnet Eye

---

"Overdevelopment. 

"Councillors know that there are too many rabbit-hutch flats going up all over Barnet. Which of them says a dickie-bird to oppose it?

"One Tory Councillor told a resident at the weekend that he was: 'relieved Boris had canned the Brent Cross scheme'.

"[Even though] he had voted for it."

Diamond Geezer: "To think that Brent Cross was once the finest retail centre in London"

Link to Diamond Geezer

"It was the first stand-alone mall anywhere in the UK, when it opened in 1976, but doesn't look anywhere near as alluring now, merely a giant shed alongside the North Circular Road.

"... there are 40 different places to buy clothes, which still reels the punters in, attracted too by the promise of free parking (which is not a policy the council employs elsewhere)."

"... There are major plans for redevelopment at Brent Cross. ... But, standing in the Tesco/Toys'R'Us car park on Saturday afternoon, I couldn't imagine a better eyesore to wipe from the map, and start again."

The Guardian: "Rethinking capitalism in a spivs' paradise"

(Reaction to Mr Cameron's comments in an earlier post below.)

"Tristram Hunt is quite right to argue that is a long tradition in Britain of opposition to the excesses of the unfettered free market, and that the choice is most certainly not between Brent Cross and Soviet-style central planning."

---

Daily Telegraph: "America overcomes the debt crisis, as Britain sinks deeper into the swamp"

"The latest report on "Debt and Deleveraging" by the McKinsey Global Institute shows that total public and private debt in the UK is still hovering at an all-time high. It has risen from 487pc to 507pc of GDP since the crisis began.

"As the chart shows, as recently as 1990 Britain’s debts were still just 220pc of GDP. Has a rich country ever been debauched so fast in peace time?

"The ordeal of belt-tightening will be grim, dragging out for a generation if Japan is any guide. The Japanese at least began their post-bubble debacle as the world’s top creditor nation with a trade super-surplus and a savings rate of 17pc. Britain has no such buffers."

Link to Daily Telegraph

---

The Guardian: "Vote of no confidence has crushed Britain's economic recovery" 

"...The theory [has been] that public sector spending and investment was 'crowding out' the private sector. Over the next year we will see the deep flaw in this theory. The private sector despises risk. And the solution for many businesses looking for a risk-free bonanza is an asset price crash.

"It is the time-honoured solution to every asset bubble recession. Construction and financial services are the usual engines of growth out of recession, and they rely on buying cheap assets and milking them for short-term gain. What they lose from their balance sheets, they more than make up in the resulting boom through extra profits." 

Link to The Guardian

[Reposted] Hammerson's Brent-Cross-ville: The Dystopia?

Link to the London Transport Museum

Film: Future Cities

Date: Wednesday 1 February 2012
Time: 18:30 - 20:00
An eclectic selection of short films, animations and motion graphics that present evocative visions of future city living. Juxtaposing utopian fantasies against nightmarish dystopias, Future Cities highlights the obsession today’s image makers have with the possible metropolis of tomorrow. The screening will be introduced by onedotzero and followed by a Q&A session with guest filmmakers.

Tickets: £8.00 adults, £6.00 concessions (£10.00 adults, £8.00 concessions for combined ticket for 'Future Cities' and 'Shock the System' events)
Book Online

The Guardian: David Cameron's popular capitalism speech

Link to The Guardiian

"... For all those understandable qualms over City bonuses and bank bailouts, the neoliberal system of the past 30 years is defined as the only game in town. Or, as the Times columnist Danny Finkelstein put it on Newsnight, the choice comes down to the Soviet Union or Brent Cross shopping centre.

"... In his brilliant essay, 'The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century', EP Thompson described how the Hanoverian public could accept the market, but not an irresponsible capitalism undermining the common weal. ... Thomas Paine was also thinking about how the marketplace and commercial society could benefit all – if only it was properly regulated."

---

Sir,

I have noticed a startling similarity between Stalin's palatial Moscow Underground stations, and the main corridor of Brent Cross shopping centre. Are they possibly related?

Yours, etc.

Brent Cross shopping centre, outside John Lewis

Moscow Underground, on a quiet Wednesday

---

Link to Daily Telegraph

Daily Telegraph: "For Britain to flourish, so must capitalism"

"All three leaders of Britain’s main political parties have this week given speeches on the future of capitalism. Despite their differences, they all broadly agree that as an economic system, there is no viable alternative.

"... The recession has been deeper and more persistent than anything we have seen in the recent past. More than three years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, economic activity remains far below its pre-crisis peak. Capitalism has failed to heal itself in the normal way. What is more, this is a crisis which is seen, rightly or wrongly, to have been caused by the hubris and greed of finance. Bankers, it is widely believed, took the gains of the boom, leaving society at large to pick up the costs of the crash. The sense of social injustice this has created is understandably strong."

Reminder of Barnet Eye, June 2010

Link to the Barnet Eye

"This is one of the pictures from the architects' prospectus for the Brent Cross redevelopment. The area within the black boundary is the area to be redeveloped. Usually architects are proud to display their work, but in this picture, it takes less than 1/4 of the picture. Odd really.

"Now ask yourself this question (I've helpfully added three potential answers). Why do you think that the developers are keen to build these monstrosities? 

1. Because they have a deeply-held belief that people enjoy living in concrete jungles? 
2. Because they want to live there themselves? 
3. Because they'll make tens of millions of quid?"

The Guardian: "International Monetary Fund and 10 other economic bodies make 'call to action' to boost growth"

Link to The Guardian

"Expressing concern about the weakness of economic activity and rising unemployment, the IMF's Christine Lagarde, the World Bank's Robert Zoellick, and the WTO's Pascal Lamy joined the heads of eight other multilateral and regional institutions in calling for policies to create jobs, tackle inequality, and green the global economy.

"While acknowledging that the global economy faced severe challenges, the action plan said momentum could be regained by increasing spending on infrastructure, and by 'beginning to realise the promise of a greener economy'. 

"To do so, the world would need an open trading system, resilient cross-border finance, sustainable government finances, determined and coordinated structural reforms, and measures to address inequalities in all countries." 

---

Link to Daily Telegraph

Daily Telegraph: "Do economists have any better ideas?"

"Capitalism has come a long way. Speaking in its defence recently, the former Tory Cabinet minister, Michael Portillo, asked: 

"Is there any other system that could lift so many people out of poverty, and create societies rich enough to provide welfare, health and education services?"

When you put it like that, the anti-capitalists look like Monty Python’s 'People’s Front of Judea': 

"Apart from those capitalists who made us rich and provided welfare, health and education, what have the capitalists ever done for us?"

---

Evening Standard, Barnet Times, Barnet Press (x2), Brent & Kilburn Times

Click here for Later Press Cuttings

Click here for Earlier Press Cuttings

(Click on images to enlarge. If still too small, right-click [or whatever] and copy image locations into new windows. A second enlargement is then often possible.

Note also the comment about a headline below.)

(The heading is rather unrelated to the content)

Estates Gazette: Woe is me, Woe is me

Link to web site

"The lovely David Thame of EG called me to pick my brains, about his upcoming feature for the magazine on the prospects for London regeneration schemes, ... [including] Brent Cross/Cricklewood.

"... You won't be surprised to learn my prognosis was a little bleak. ... There isn't much good news around on any of the above." 

---

Link to Estates Gazette
(subscription details)

"Hammerson is to look at extending Brent Cross shopping centre, as the first phase of the £4.5bn Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration.

"London mayor Boris Johnson revealed this week that he will work with the shopping centre's owners, Hammerson and Standard Life Investments, on bringing forward the shopping centre plans early.

"... The shopping centre, which is Britain's oldest mall [no, it's not], is in line for a 590,000 sq ft extension."

Barnet Times: "Boris calls for Brent Cross revamp independent of Cricklewood plans"

Click on the big red hat to 
link to Barnet Times

"LONDON MAYOR Boris Johnson is considering changes to a £4.7 billion regeneration scheme for Brent Cross to speed up improvements to the shopping precinct.

"Calling for the 'de-coupling' of precinct upgrades from plans to regenerate wider Cricklewood, the Mayor said he does not want to unnecessarily delay much-needed revamp of Britain’s oldest mall."

Implementing Boris's London Plan

Link to document

The Mayor is currently consulting on the Implementation Plan for the London Plan (until 29 February.) 

"In spite of committed improvements set out in the TfL Business Plan (to 2014/15) and HLOS to 2014, crowding will remain on certain LU and NR lines and on certain radial corridors into London (Figures 1 and 2, below). Vehicle delay on the road network, particularly in Inner London and Outer London town centres, is also forecast to increase (Figure 3).

This has the potential to constrain growth and hinder delivery of the London Plan."

 "... 3.28 Table 6.1 of the London Plan gives an indicative list of transport schemes that are needed to deliver growth forecasts whilst meeting the Mayor’s wider environmental, safety, quality of life and accessibility objectives."

"... 3.29 The indicative list of schemes includes those that have funding committed in the TfL Business Plan and NR HLOS. These schemes include Crossrail and Thameslink upgrade (both due for completion 2018-19) and the LU line upgrades. These form the bulk of the Mayor's Transport Strategy (MTS) ‘reference case’ and will provide a substantial increase in rail capacity that is essential to accommodate short to medium term growth in London.

3.30 Additional investment over and above committed schemes will be required. Key schemes in the medium-longer term include delivering a new north east to south west rail link, also known as Crossrail 2, along an alignment similar to the safeguarded Chelsea-Hackney line route, four tracking of the Lee Valley mainline, further train capacity increases on key NR routes, development of key Strategic Interchanges, extensions to the Bakerloo and Northern lines, potential extensions to the DLR and Tramlink networks, enhanced river crossings in east London..."

"... 3.34 The 2010 Spending Review settlement for TfL and Network Rail allows for completion of essential short to medium term schemes such as Crossrail, Tube upgrades and Thameslink upgrade. This level of investment is approximately £4.8 billion per year to 2018. The proposed package of schemes beyond this will require continuing annual investment of around £ 3.5bn to £ 4.5bn in the period to 2031.

3.35 The next spending review is due in 2014. The settlement should allow for the confirmation of the TfL Business Plan to 2020 and the NR HLOS for Control Period 5 2014 to 2019. TfL is undertaking analysis of the priority schemes for delivery between 2015 to 2020 and is seeking involvement in discussions surrounding HLOS and train operating company franchise re-letting to ensure that outcomes support the MTS."