The Observer: " 'Endies': Employed with No Disposable Income are struggling in London"

"Centre for London report says a million workers can hardly make ends meet and feel politically disenchanted"

Link to web site

"If for London the 1980s was the decade of yuppies, now the capital finds itself home to the 'endies"'– Employed but with No Disposable Income or Savings.

"Feeling unloved, overworked and ignored, endies are becoming disillusioned with their lot, according to a report from the Centre for London that suggests there are now about a million modest earners in the capital.

" 'Hollow Promise: How London is Failing its Modest Earners and What Can Be Done About it' – which is based on quantitative research and in-depth interviews with families on modest incomes – paints what it claims is an alarming picture of the pressure on 'squeezed-middle' households, those on low to modest incomes who are not entitled to most benefits."

---

CENTRE FOR LONDON

Tuesday 16 September 2014 6:30 pm

Report Launch: 'Hollow Promise'

with Charles Leadbeater, report author, London’s Hollow Promise

Margaret Hodge, MP for Barking and Dagenham

Fraser Nelson, Editor, The Spectator

"Centre for London launches invites you to the launch of London’s Hollow Promise: How the city fails people on modest incomes and what should be done about it.

"This new research by Charles Leadbeater examines the plight of London’s so-called ‘squeezed-middle’ households – workers and families earning low to modest incomes, and struggling to get by. This report looks at the way these households continue to cope with limited incomes and the financial pressures of austerity, exacerbated by the capital’s high cost of living.

"As well as new analysis of the issues involved, including housing and household expenditure patterns, this publication also outlines radical new measures which could help improve the quality of life for London’s modest earners.

"This report launch will take place 6.30pm-8.00pm, 16 September at Coin Street Conference Centre, South Bank. To book your place please register using this link."

Wembley Matters: Welsh Harp: "West Hendon Estate battles Barratts and Barnet"

Link to web site

"On Saturday 13 September, residents came out in force to assert their claim to be able to live in a peaceful, clean neighbourhood, without the noise and pollution impact of construction work on their doorstep. The neighbourhood was West Hendon estate on the bank of the Welsh Harp nature reserve. The contractor was Barratts Homes, determined to extend its real estate, with prior permission of Barnet Council and with all the nods and winks that came before that.

"Brent and Barnet Greens have been active on the campaign to preserve the habitat of Welsh Harp for several years, against the threat from over development on both sides of the council boundary and were visible at this protest. Discussion of the impact of this latest development on current tenants in social housing came to the fore last summer at a public meeting hosted at Brent Council (Brent Unites against Welsh Harp over-development). Unfortunately, despite the approval from Barnet, Brent did not mount a judicial review and it was unlikely residents would be able to afford to do so.

"I lent my megaphone to a resident who was driven around the estate to drum up a bit more people-power. We began obstructing the main gate to the construction site, as dozens of contractors started to arrive. Our spirits were up as we sang, 'Aint gonna do no work today'. A couple of vehicles were mounted up against the hoarding at the critical entrance and banners, and placards were mounted around."

Further actions are planned – please follow on facebook or @ourwesthendon #ourwesthendon

The Guardian: "Scotland’s vote is not about Braveheart or kilts or tribal nationalism. It’s about democracy"

"The independence debate has unleashed an exhilarating democratic passion. The challenge is to sustain it"

Link to the web site

"The Scottish independence referendum poses a very good question, but suggests an inadequate answer. The question is: where does power lie? This is not a marginal problem to pose in a 21st century democracy. It cuts to the heart of a deep crisis in the relationship between people and politics. But the answer implied on the ballot paper is a geographical one: power lies in either London or Edinburgh. Most Scots – and most of the rest of us – know that while this choice is far from meaningless, it also rather misses the point.

"... The Scottish referendum is ... a symptom of a much broader loss of faith in the ability of existing institutions of governance to protect people against unaccountable power. [Ah: The Barnet, Hammerson and Brent Cross connection!] 

"This is why the campaign is not particularly nationalistic: the loss of faith at its heart is Scottish and English and Irish and Welsh and European and American. The demand for independence just happens, for historical reasons, to be the form in which Scots are expressing a need that is felt around the developed world: the urgent necessity of a new politics of democratic accountability.

"And as symptoms go, this has been a rather healthy one. It is impossible to have visited Scotland in recent days and not to have been exhilarated by the sheer vigour of democratic engagement. Scotland at the moment is what a democracy is supposed to be: a buzzing hive of argument and involvement, most of it civil, respectful and deeply intelligent. This energy has been unleashed not by atavistic tribal passions but by a simple realisation: for once, the people have some power."

The Independent: "How traditional markets are fighting back"

"A host of radical ideas and local traders and producers are helping the original retail experience fight back against the internet shopping revolution"

Link to web site

"In an era of online shopping in which high streets are in decline and even a major retailer such as Tesco is struggling, the traditional town market may seem like little more than an outdated throwback to a medieval age. Yet thanks to our growing appetite for local produce – edible and otherwise – our desire to get up close and personal with local producers, and a new generation of innovative younger traders, the town market's fortunes are once more on the rise.

"For proof, look no further than the Northamptonshire town of Kettering, which hosted its second Teenage Market last Saturday – a day of stalls showcasing local young traders' talents, produce and innovative ideas for all ages."

A View From The Cycle Path: "Does free car parking make people drive cars? Certainly not when there is a better alternative"

Link to web site

"It's not unusual to hear calls from cyclists, especially cycling campaigners, for an increase in the price of car parking. The belief is that increasing the cost of driving is essential to prevent other people from choosing to drive cars, and it's usually assumed that this will somehow make those other people then choose to cycle. I've always found this to be a strange belief, especially when it is expressed by people who can well afford to park a car but who prefer to cycle because they enjoy it.

"My personal choice to cycle has never really been about saving money. I cycle because of convenience and because I find cycling to be pleasant. I've always believed that if other people could find cycling to be as convenient, safe and pleasant as I find it then this would enable those other people to make the same choice as I do. No-one needs to be forced to do something that they want to do anyway.

"Sadly, few places in the world offer people a genuinely free choice to cycle."

Sat 13 Sep: Wembley Matters: " 'Our West Hendon' takes on pan-London gentrification this Saturday"

Link to web site (and further link)

"Our West Hendon are running out of time. Non-secure tenants are rapidly being forced out of their communities and Barratts has refused to negotiate 'like for like' settlements with the leaseholders.

"Private tenants face yet another move and secure tenants are reluctantly due to be moved into the new but massively inferior builds. It appears the only way to deal with the council and the developers is now to take direct action. Please join us in solidarity this Saturday 13 September at 7am-1pm at Marsh Drive Community Centre NW9 7QE.

"We know the only way to stop this pan-London gentrification is if all affected communities now come together. Alone we are few, together we are many!"

Barnet Press: The corrupt Brent Cross planning application, and a poor Peel Centre one

Sat 20 Sep: Cricklewood Festival

"Cricklewood will be hosting its third annual Cricklewood Festival on 20 September 2014. The events is organised and run by volunteers of the Cricklewood Improvement Programme, now Cricklewood Town Team, following the completion of  the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund, and aims to highlight the vibrancy of Cricklewood's community.

"We thank all those who have supported us so far Cricklewood Railway Club, Co-op Funeralcare, Cheslsea Square, London Boroughs of Brent, Barnet and Camden and kindnessuk.org.  We are actively fundraising and welcome all support financial or in kind, so please get in touch.

"Free outdoor family event.

"Cricklewood's 3rd festival to showcase local talent, food and community groups and to launch Cricklewood's first public space.

"Locations for the Cricklewood Festival are the new public space on Cricklewood Lane (by B&Q) and Keyes Road from 1pm to 6pm

"Planning is complete and we are working to a tight project plan!. Please get in touch if you want to help out on the day, help with publicity and/or help support the event in any way.

"This year the festival is not funded by the OLF and is being organised by volunteers. If you can help with funding or providing support for the festival please get in touch. The success of the day will depend on input from all members of our community.

"There will be food stalls, arts and crafts etc throughout the day.

"Performers/acts throughout the afternoon include,Zong Zing Allstars and Mary Calton with her Milly Soo Jazz Band. The Institute of Comptemporary Music in Kilburn are providing some bands.

"Local resident, Amar Alaw will perform classical Iraqi saxophone. We also welcome back locals Brooke Davies, Alistair & Roisin, Mick & Nick and the magnificent Professor Moriarty Shamrock Band. More acts to be confirmed.

"The open-air festival will feature stalls selling food and drinks, arts and crafts, live performances, interactive workshops, and children’s entertainment. With performers representing Europe, Africa, and Asia, this multi-cultural event reflects Cricklewood’s extraordinary diversity.

"The festival aims to celebrate the local area’s abundant creativity, connect the communities that live on the three sides of the town centre, as well as increase footfall in the town centre. Local businesses getting involved will be able to highlight their products and services through special promotions on offer during the week."

The following events are scheduled to feature at this year’s festival:

• The outdoor festival on Saturday 20 September: 1pm to 6pm, on the new public space on Cricklewood Lane 
• Headline acts - Zong Zing Allstars and MAry Calton with the Milly Soo Jazz band
• Live music performances representing cultures from around the world; ranging from Irish folk music to Jazz to Middle Eastern - Zong Zing Allstars return for a 3rd year,  Professor Moriarty returns again this year, we welcome Amar and more.
• We will have Zumba and Irish dance and Zong Zing to keep you on your toes.
• Delicious mouth-watering world foods
• Arts and craft stalls
• Children’s entertainment with art competition
• Golden Spud comedy competition final Twitter @thegoldenspud  
• Performance programme here

"The Chair of Cricklewood Town Team, Danny Maher, said:

"Cricklewood came out in full swing to support and enjoy last year’s festival, and we hope this year will be even better. The festival is a key part of changing the way local people think about the town centre. We are set for another successful festival in September with a great line-up of events on offer."

"For more information, contact the Cricklewood Improvement Programme / Cricklewood Town Team volunteers by email at info@cricklewood.net or telephone 0208 208 8590.
Please get in touch if you can support us in any way.

20th September
CRICKLEWOOF. A DOGSHOW
noon - 1.30pm, B&Q Grassland
"Public space is for everyone, including man’s best friend. Cricklewoof Woofstock comes to the new public space. Watch out for more details - a dog show with a difference!"

"Listen out for Opera on the Run. They intend to delight and surprise anyone out and about on the Broadway.

"Cycletastic will be in attendance on Keyes Road - so bring your bikes along for a service.

"Childrens entertainment details to follow. There is an art competition with a surprise reward for winner. Competitors are to submit their best drawing or paining of Crickleood and there will be a winner chosen from age 4yrs to 7yrs and 8yrs to 12yrs age groups. Entries to be dropped off by 1pm at the Town Team stall on Cricklewood Lane.

"Creative Cricklewood are supporting the event - find them on Keyes Road."

Sun 14 Sep: Cricklewood Open Studios: "Guided Tour: Cricklewood Aerodrome and the Farm"

Sunday, 14 September, 2014

3:00pm to 5:00pm

"Regular flights from Cricklewood to Paris... in a converted bomber? Surely not!"

"Back due to popular demand after last year's well-received tour, local artist Alistair Lambert will lead an illustrated walking tour, starting at and returning to Cricklewood station via Claremont road, Brent Terrace and Clitterhouse Farm.

"Explore the eastern block of Cricklewood and discover several sites of rapid historical change: from the fields that fed the growing city to war factories and eventually model suburban living.

"You will also meet some surprising characters along the way.

"An enthusiastic and entertaining guide as well as an accomplished local artist, Alistair has made an artwork especially for this event that will be viewed for the first time as part of this tour.

"No booking necessary.

"The walk lasts up to two hours, and will take place whatever the weather. Bring a brolly and a friend!"

Any questions, please email: admin@cricklewoodopenstudios.org

BBC: "The era of radical concrete"

"A massive collection of images from British urban developments of the 1960s and 1970s now provides a treasure trove for those who want to reassess a vilified era of town planning"

[Just as Barnet, Hammerson and Standard Life are vilified now.]

Link to web site

"A massive collection of images from British urban developments of the 1960s and 1970s now provides a treasure trove for those who want to reassess a vilified era of town planning.

"The concrete architecture that dominated Britain's post-war landscape has always provoked visceral emotions. The concrete monoliths that have survived popular culls still divide opinion, with some likening them to Orwellian dystopias.

"They were part of a massive wave of development orchestrated by a generation of architects and planners who wanted to improve the way people lived.

"One of those heavily involved with this regeneration was JR 'Jimmy' James - a 'titan of post-war planning', as one former colleague put it. He helped launch the new towns of Newton Aycliffe and Peterlee in the late 1940s, eventually becoming chief planner at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government from 1961-1967.

"When James died in 1980, he left behind a collection of nearly 4,000 slides amassed over several decades of interest in the work of planners around the UK. Many offer a glimpse into the evolution of town planning at a time when anything seemed possible."

Brent & Kilburn Times: Hammerson and Standard Life spin their Brent Cross Cricklewood story, and then clear off. (What? No mention of London Communications PR Outfit?)

iPhone 6 anyone? "Wait a second – that upgrade high won’t last"

"People queueing for weeks for an iPhone 6;

manufacturers releasing new models every year;

devices rapidly becoming obsolete.

This is not sustainable"

Link to The Guardian (Pic: techradar.com)

"I may be content with my ancient phone but I don’t, alas, exist on some higher plane: I’m as susceptible to the titillation of 'new season' or 'just in' as the next person. How could it be otherwise? Material objects are not only freighted with personal and cultural meaning but also define us: an email is 'Sent from my iPad', rather than the sender. Our longings attach themselves to things: by upgrading our gadgets, gizmos and garb we feel in some sense that we’re upgrading ourselves. Conversely, those who resist – unless emboldened by ideological reasoning – are at risk of FOLLOH: fear of looking like old hat.

"As for the manufacturers, they have to make us fall in love with an object but also be willing to ditch it and buy another. The solution? Tie us to a brand and then ply us with upgrades. Since there are now more mobiles than people in the UK, upgrade culture must persuade us that, even if we hadn’t realised it, we have a deep desire for a newer version of what we already possess. What’s more, we want it now. This plays on our most infantile inability to delay gratification – no wonder it’s so irresistible.

"There is, of course, a lie implicit in the upgrade: it sells itself as the definitive product, the ultimate satisfier of needs, to conceal its own transience. To admit that it will soon be superseded would be to renounce its own raison d’être, to pulverise its own libidinous power, to defetishise itself – which is not something you expect a fetish to do."

The Guardian: "The Soviet city is dead: long live Beijing"

"Architecture theorist Jacob Dreyer explains how the Stalinist model of urbanism – a centrally planned component within a national economic unity – is thriving in modern China"

Link to web site

"If, as Chinese philosopher Wang Hui observed in his book 'The End of Revolution', socialism was the door through which China passed on its voyage into modernity, then it was Russia that opened that door, by exporting models and expertise that laid the foundation for much of what constitutes modern China.

"Perhaps the most tangible of these legacies is the look and feel of the contemporary Chinese city; and since China is a centrally planned economy, this look and feel is remarkably unified. The prime shaping factor for the modern Chinese city was Soviet urbanism – or more precisely, Stalinist urbanism.

"In 1949, when the Communist party came to power, Beijing was a city of half a million people: 95% or more of both the population and built structures in today’s 20 million-person agglomeration emerged from the revolution, and from the Soviet advice that the new government relied on.

"In his book Beijing Record, Wang Jun makes clear the scale of this influence:

"On 16 September [1949], a group of Soviet experts in municipal administration arrived in Beijing. They were supposed to help the new government in its work to plan the city’s development. In reality, however, they were to have absolute say in everything."

Link to The Guardian

"THE DEATH OF AMERICA'S SUBURBAN DREAM"

"This pattern of 'white flight' to the suburbs was characteristic of American metro areas until the 1970s and 1980s, when newer suburbs – bigger, more spacious, more contemporary – began stealing residents away from the older inner-ring suburbs. And by the 1990s, more minorities were beginning to follow the same aspirational path as the former white city dwellers before them. Just as previous generations did, minorities sought larger homes, quieter environments and better schools. And white residents who craved insulation from the perils of urban living now saw it coming to their front lawns – again.

"The recent events in Ferguson, Missouri have brought this tension into sharp focus. Ferguson, an inner-ring suburb about 10 miles northwest of St Louis, was a city in transition long before officer Darren Wilson shot the unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. In 1990, three-quarters of Ferguson’s 22,000 residents were white; just 20 years later, by 2010, nearly three-quarters of them were black. These two groups of Fergusonians share little in common. In 2012, the median age of white residents in Ferguson was nearly 49; for black residents, it was only 29. The median household income of whites was nearly $52,000; for blacks, less than $30,000. The story of Ferguson is truly a tale of two suburbs.

"... It wasn’t always this way. In the 1960s, two suburbs took a decidedly different approach to racial transition: Oak Park, Illinois and Shaker Heights, Ohio (inner-ring suburbs of Chicago and Cleveland). When faced with the possibility of a destabilising resegregation in the 60s, both communities elected to take a proactive, race-conscious tack. They established community relations commissions, to develop and foster ongoing conversations around race. They worked hard to dispel rumours related to racial transition. They actively sought out white residents who would welcome black neighbours. They encouraged the dispersion of black residents to prevent clustering. They passed local open-housing ordinances. They even established equity assurance programmes to ensure [insure?] residents against declining property values. Both communities weathered the racial transition of the 60s and 70s well. They’re proud of their accomplishments. They should be."

Barnet Press (x2, including Hendon Football Club, and Brent Cross), 'The [East Finchley] Archer' (x2), and Barnet Press again (Barnet council offices move)

---

(Just a diversion to the only other traced newspaper cutting, and the earlier provocation)

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Striking industrial look to replacement John Lewis Brent Cross

Link to Evening Standard

"... The market is part of a vision to transform the ... building and its surrounding 40 acres of land into a new 'village' for London, with hundreds of shops, cafés, restaurants and bars.

"The ... building will have a central lift to bring street food vans normally associated with areas such as Borough Market, Shoreditch and Kings Cross up to its third level.

"... The first 40 operators are expected to open when the first phase of the redevelopment, known as Circus West, is completed in late 2016."

Bournemouth Daily Echo (Echo, echo, ech.., ec.... - tee, hee): Engineering giants gain new contracts (including oodles of signals for Brent Cross's Spaghetti Junction)

Go to web site when signal turns green

"A MULTI-MILLION pound maintenance contract awarded by Transport for London is set to provide a boost for a factory in Poole.

"Engineering giant Siemens, which has a factory at Sopers Lane, won two of the five new contracts available, totalling around £317m, to maintain traffic control equipment in the capital.

"... The contracts include new schemes for the replacement and upgrade of 30 signalised junctions at Tottenham Court Road, the replacement and upgrade of 10 signalised junctions at Kings Cross and Bishopsgate, Brent Cross regeneration and a cycle super highway."

Part of Brent Cross Spaghetti Junction
(the bus lanes have since been dropped)

"North London Sub-Regional Transport Plan: addressing the challenges" (Note the presence of Barnet's corrupt Brent Cross planning application)

"The purpose of this north Sub-regional Transport plan (SRTP) 2014 update is to provide information on:

• Developments over the last 12 months


• Commitments made in the TfL Business Plan and through Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding


• Future opportunities to improve transport and address the remaining challenges.

"This plan aims to help boroughs with the development of Local Implementation Plans (LIPs) and TfL in developing the priorities for business planning in order to address the medium to longer-term challenges for London and the sub-regions.

"This SRTP document is accompanied by a poster for your bedroom wall, which provides a snapshot of the challenges, priority areas and opportunities that can be collectively addressed, and shows the initatives that have been completed or are planned within the sub-region." [We made up part of that.]

SRTP poster
SRTP document

Evening Standard: "How the City still keeps hold of the Establishment: The way blame for the 2008 crash has been deflected from those responsible shows how power really works"

Link to web site

"...The City’s deflection of blame has much to do with its grip over political and media elites. In the initial post-war decades, the City’s power was curtailed. This was a time of 'broad and systemic regulation of finance', as economics professor Costas Lapavitsas puts it. 'The City in the middle of a socialist state is as anomalous as would be the Pope in Moscow,' declared Prime Minister Clement Attlee before he nationalised the Bank of England. Even many 20th-century Conservative politicians favoured state regulation of the flow of capital.

"That all changed when the Bretton Woods global system of fixed exchange rates came crashing down in 1971. The same year, Ted Heath’s Conservative government lifted the borrowing restrictions on banks.On the eve of her election triumph, Margaret Thatcher applauded the City for attracting 'no subsidies, no hidden subventions' — which, in hindsight, seems darkly ironic.

"... Our Establishment focuses its ire on the behaviour of groups other than the City: the unemployed, benefit claimants and immigrants. They have little political representation and weak lobby groups. The City elite plunged Britain into one of the worst economic disasters in modern history but its political power shields it from scrutiny or radical reform. And until this stranglehold is broken, little will change."

Hammerson's Bercy 2, Charenton-le-Pont (You should have seen Bercy 1. Rubbish.)

"Hammerson France manages 10 regional shopping centres with a dominant presence in their catchment area and one of the largest retail parks in the south of the Paris region. Each year, our shopping centres attract more than 88 million visitors."

"This exceptional site at the eastern gateway to Paris benefits from a visibility second to none, facing the Boulevard Périphérique, the Paris ring road and the A4 motorway." [So come by car.]

---

Toutes directions

Evening Standard:
"We must learn from France, not scorn it"

"Far from being a hopeless mess, French economic performance is significantly superior to that of the UK. If, for example, you think the ultimate test of economic efficiency is productivity — measured as the value added by one employee working for one hour — the French economy is significantly more efficient than ours.

"... Our Government has been too cowed by the markets and too blinded by ideology to seize the moment to build anything — and yet it wonders why our export performance is poor and we struggle to compete internationally.

"We need to remember that free-market liberalism is not a universal truth — however much bankers pocketing their bonuses might like to pretend otherwise. The blind embrace of its principles is a relatively recent phenomenon."

Cyclists in the City: "Never thought I'd say this. It might almost be time for a flashride to support Boris Johnson's cycling plans"

In Boris's first term, this is
what counted for a Cycle Highway.
The bike lane is underneath the bus.
Just terrifying.

Link to web site

"This morning, Transport for London issued the detailed consultation plans for two planned Cycle Super Highways running East to West and North to South across inner London. And, unlike when the Mayor announced plans for his original Cycle Super Highways, this time they really have the feel of being proper Cycle Highways.

They are almost entirely segregated. They have priority over side roads, just the same way that other traffic does. And, at points, they are pretty impressive.

The current Cycle Super Highway
at Aldgate (blue paint).
Chillingly dreadful.

"... I have been a vocal critic of the Mayor's cycling schemes to date. But on this, Boris Johnson deserves credit where it is due. If the volume of opposition from entrenched organisations like the RAC and London First gets too much, then I think we may be in a position where we need to stage another Flashride.

"This time, we should Flashride in support of Boris Johnson's plans for cycling. Because we need to show that many people simply do not agree with the scare mongering put out by the RAC and London First. What do people think?"

[Reposted from Nov. 2013] "Goodbye to the splendid 1930s [architecture] of Poirot"

"I say! -
link to the National Programme of the BBC,
don't you know?"

"David Suchet has had his last outing as Poirot. The TV adaptation was a glorious love letter to the design and architecture of the 1930s.

"... A pantheon of modernist and Art Deco British buildings acted as backdrop to a series of murders of the well-to-do.

"... [For instance,] the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea (below) is a British Modern Movement building. It opened in 1935 but after the end of WW2, its use declined and it fell into disrepair. In 1989, after an extensive campaign it achieved Grade I listed status. It was revived and reopened in 2006.

Evening Standard: 'London ‘might have to be expanded to swallow up commuter belt towns'"

Link to web site

"The boundaries of London may have to be pushed outward to swallow commuter belt towns and villages that are 'utterly dependent' on the capital, according to a leading planning expert.

Planning consultant Barney Stringer said London’s population is growing so fast that politicians will be forced to look at ways of redrawing the map.

But his comments sparked a fierce debate in 'independent' communities such as Epsom and Staines, with one councillor warning such areas would become outliers of huge 'Soviet-style London boroughs'. In a blog titled 'Is London too Small?', Mr Stringer said the capital was surrounded by a 'whole dormitory belt... that is utterly dependent on the city for work'."

"A monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend." (Sorry, just rehearsing the design quality of Hammerson's response to Barnet's corrupt Brent Cross planning application.)

Link to BBC web site

"A London supermarket complex has been named the UK's worst new building, and awarded the Carbuncle Cup 2014.

"Woolwich Central got the highest number of votes in an online competition run by Building Design Magazine (BD).

"The building, a combination of flats and a Tesco supermarket, was described by the judges as 'oppressive, defensive, arrogant and inept'.

"London had four short-listed buildings, while buildings in Bath and Gateshead made up the six finalists."

---

Hammerson's Bullring [sic]
Link to web site

The Guardian:
"Life after carbuncles: Prince Charles denounced modern architecture. Did he make any difference?"

" 'What is proposed is like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend.' So, in 1984, the Prince of Wales famously opened his attack on modern British architecture. The occasion was the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects, the setting Hampton Court Palace.

"Charles had been invited to present the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture to the Indian architect Charles Correa. He was expected to do little more than raise a glass of champagne and ask the winner how far he had come.

"Deliciously, this is exactly what the prince did not do. Instead, he seized the opportunity to denounce just about every aspect, facade, plan and section of the world the Riba represented. His masterstroke was to trash the proposed extension of the National Gallery designed by Ahrends Burton Koralek.

"The carbuncle was never allowed to deface the London skyline. Having got his way, the prince leaned in favour of a determinedly camp, postmodern design by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. It was the beginning of a rather damp and foggy venture into the world of royal patronage."

Evening Standard: "World-leading cycle route is unveiled in London: 18-mile east-west superhighway to protect riders on capital's busiest roads"

Link to web site

"Full proposals for the world’s longest segregated urban cycle route were revealed today, as Boris Johnson ramps up efforts to improve rider safety in the capital.

"The 18-mile east-west superhighway will stretch from Barking to Acton and give protection to cyclists along some of central London’s busiest roads.

"Riders will have a dedicated, two-way kerb-segregated track on major thoroughfares including the Victoria Embankment, Parliament Square and the Westway flyover.

"Extra space will be made for cyclists by removing road lanes, parking and loading bays. 'Island' strips along the Embankment and other routes will separate cyclists from vehicles and double as drop-off points for taxis, buses and coaches."

[Reposted] Press statement, 2 November 2009

Brent Cross Scheme Slashes Promises for New Housing - Coalition

THE Coalition for A Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan has learnt that developer’s promises on housing are failing to deliver. A cabinet report (1) reveals the number of new homes planned has been cut from 7,500 to only 795. This comes in advance of Barnet’s full council meeting tomorrow November 3rd, as calls for a Public Inquiry increase.

In effect the developers are promising fewer benefits than they did when the scheme was previously rejected in 1998. [Sept. 2014: Still true!] In the light of this, the Coalition feels that this strengthens the case for a call-in, if Barnet passes the scheme on November 19th.

Lia Colacicco, Coalition Co-ordinator and Mapesbury Resident says,

“Cricklewood Regeneration Limited promises are just pie in the sky. They have been repeating the mantra of 7,500 new homes, but in reality have scaled down even phase one, with the excuse of needing ‘an appropriate developer’s return’ (4). They are now committing to less housing than in the huge out-of-town shopping centre scheme that was called in by the Secretary of State in 1998, on the grounds that regeneration promises were ‘nebulous’(3).

"Furthermore, there is now no commitment to any of the future phases which would deliver the train station, hotels, offices, parks and so on. Only 795 residential units (1) are now promised.... so much for a new “town centre”! This is totally out of line with Barnet’s own Unitary Development Plan, which seeks to tackle inequalities in housing, so that ‘sufficient new housing development takes place to meet the needs of the borough’(2).”

Pauline McKinnell, Chair of Cricklewood Community Forum, and Cricklewood resident says,

"Developers have not listened to the needs of the local community, where 200 homes are destined to be destroyed in the wake of this 'regeneration'. 7,500 homes is far too much for this area in any case. What we need is a development that is worked out with the residents that know the area - we know where new homes could be built and have an idea what would work and what won't. We have met with developers, but they still haven't listened to us. We want proper regeneration, not degeneration of the area."

The scheme will be discussed at a special Planning Committee on 18th and 19th November. If passed, a Public Inquiry would need to be called within 21 days.

References
(1) Appendix 2 The report is available on http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=8579
(2) UDP chapter 12 reprinted in Barnet Cabinet Meeting 21.10.09 document para 3.4
(3) http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storycode=2001895
(4) Heads of terms document para 6.3.1

Note to Editors: The “Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan” comprises twelve residents’ associations plus the Federation of Residents’ Associations in Barnet (representing the 12 largest residents’ associations in Barnet), Brent Cyclists, the North West London Light Railway (NWLLR) group, Brent Friends of the Earth (FoE), Barnet & Enfield FoE, Camden FoE, Sarah Teather (MP for Brent East), Dawn Butler (MP for Brent South), Labour and LibDem Councillors from Brent and Camden, Navin Shah (London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow), Darren Johnson (London Assembly Member), Jean Lambert ( London MEP), Brent Green Party, Barnet Green Party, and Bestway Group.

Daily Telegraph: "All economic measures are fallible; some are dangerous"

"By using our past mistakes to judge our current performance, we condemn ourselves to repeating the cycle "

Link to web site

"The revisionist news about the UK economy just keeps getting better. Less than six months ago, with the International Monetary Fund breathing down George Osborne’s neck, the country was thought to have narrowly escaped a triple-dip recession. The economy appeared to have managed a somewhat anaemic 0.3pc of growth in the first three months of the year.

"... [However, remember that] the financial crisis was the end of one of the biggest credit binges in history. Among the things that the bubble inflated were economic growth and median income in the western world. Why then do we continue to measure ourselves in reference to a rate of economic output that was by definition unsustainable and indeed placed us in such a perilous predicament?

"Worse than that, by using our past mistakes to judge our current performance, we condemn ourselves to repeating the cycle. Critics of the Government’s austerity programme used it as a yardstick with which to beat George Osborne. Had they got their way and forced the Chancellor to change his course, perhaps the double and triple-dips would have been for real. "

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" 'The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It' review – Owen Jones's biting critique of the elite"

"A passionate account of injustice reveals the lies peddled by our leaders"

Link to The Observer

"Why is it that the people who caused the financial crash have got away with it while those who played no part have been punished? This, essentially, is the question that Owen Jones poses in his passionate account of political and economic injustice. In searching for the answer he, like other columnists before him, has alighted on the "e" word, the establishment.

"David Cameron, the Conservative chameleon de nos jours, saw an opportunity in the mayhem wreaked by the bankers. Before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the leader of the opposition had pledged to match Labour's spending plans. As the author points out, Cameron quickly changed tack and deftly turned crisis into opportunity.

"Prompted by financiers and their friends, he turned economics on its head, declaring that the problem was caused not by an out-of-control financial services industry but by a bloated state. Cuts became the mantra to turn Britain back on to the path of prosperity."