Factory gate inflation hits 16-year high; although most newspaper commentators had been forecasting that last week’s quarter per cent drop in interest rates to 5.5 per cent will be followed by another, probably in February, the latest figures for the price of goods leaving factory gates has made some of them think again. Thanks to rising costs of food and fuel the November figures have risen to a 16-year high at 4.5 per cent compared to the forecast figure of 4.3 per cent. Russell Silberstone, head of interest rates at Investec Asset Management, said he was still expecting the Bank to cut the base rate next year, albeit with more caution. “These numbers are clearly disappointing. But the big question is this: will growth slow enough? And the answer is: it still looks like it will. The housing market has slowed down and you have a fairly leveraged consumer out there. As far as the impact on consumers is concerned, they will feel pressure at the petrol pump and when they buy food”. Further information Independent 11.12.07
OECD warns Chancellor of ‘bleak choices’; the chancellor faces having to raise taxes or cut spending during the impending economic downturn if he wants to avoid breaching the so-called golden rule according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). They forecast that the slowing economy will send the government’s finances £13bn deeper into the red than planned, as tax revenues are undermined. In its twice-yearly Economic Outlook the OECD says that the loss of tax revenues will mean government borrowing will increase to 3.4 per cent of national income next year, from just under three per cent this year. These trends will leave the chancellor little alternative but to raise taxes or curb public spending. Further information Times 07.12.07
Paris riots are a lesson ‘we ignore at our peril’; Mary Riddell describes the enigma of Villiers-le-Bel, the Paris suburb, where two teenagers on a motorbike died in a collision with a police car, resulting in riots where youths with shotguns and air rifles wounded more than 100 police officers. Cars were ransacked, shops torched, a nursery school library set alight. She says that it is only in the morning light that the real strangeness surfaces. Villiers-le-Bel is a clone of a thousand other small towns that showcase France’s civic pride. France now has to ask itself many questions about belonging. This latest outbreak, although more contained [than 2005], confirms a pattern of growing insurrection. France is facing its version of the Brixton riots of 1981, which changed what Lord Scarman called the ‘arrogant and abrasive’ use of power by the Met. While this might not be repeated, the UK is incubating another crisis of the young. Britain has rarely been so afraid of alienated children. Exactly what Brown will do to stop children splintering from society is not yet clear. But citizenship would appear not to solve all the problems. Observer 02.12.07
High fertility and migration could mean 108m population; Britain’s population could reach more than 108m by the end of the century according to projections made by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS bases its forecast on high fertility rates, rising life expectancy and high migration, which will mean that, the population would reach 75.4m by 2031, 96m by 2056 and 108.7m by 2081. Under a low fertility, low-life expectancy and low migration scenario, the population would rise to 66m by 2031 before falling back to 63.6m 50 years later. The figures have been produced to help government departments with forward planning. At the same time Professor David Blanchflower, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, predicted that thousands of Ireland’s east European migrant workers would head to London to help to construct the buildings for the 2012 Olympics. Britain is currently home to 61m, 20m more than a century ago and 50m more than in 1801. Further information Times 28.11.07
Child poverty campaign needs new impetus; a report from the Treasury Select Committee says that Gordon Brown’s flagship campaign to eradicate child poverty has gone into reverse and needs an immediate increase in spending to prevent hundreds of thousands spending years living needlessly below the decency threshold. In a critique of the government’s overall spending plans the committee expresses concern that ministers have “drawn back from a wholehearted commitment” to halve poverty by 2010-11. The report is accompanied by a separate study from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which finds that poverty levels were the same in 2006 as they had been in 2002. The Foundation’s annual report on the state of poverty and social exclusion finds that the unemployment rate among those under 25 is rising; a growing number of children in working families had income from earnings and child benefit (excluding tax credits) that was insufficient for them to escape poverty; income inequality is widening; that at least a quarter of 19-year-olds lack minimum qualifications and that half the poorest households lack home insurance, the same as in the late 1990s when the issue was first identified as a government priority. Further information - House of Commons and JRF Guardian 03.12.07
New drive to tackle anti-social behaviour; the Department for Children, Schools and Families has announced details of a £12.9m scheme to tackle anti-social behaviour and support for young people. Fifty eight councils are taking part either in programmes to help parents or to stop young people getting into trouble- or both. Amongst the London councils taking part are Camden, Southwark, Westminster, Hackney, Lambeth, Newham and Tower Hamlets. Further information Regeneration 30.11.07
Brown seeks help of multinationals to tackle ‘development emergency’; Gordon Brown plans to harness at least 20 of the world’s biggest multinationals, including Google and Vodafone, to tackle a “development emergency” in the world’s poorest countries and put the international community back on course to achieve seven United Nations’ development goals by 2015. As a UN report shows limited progress in hitting goals intended to tackle poverty, education, health and sanitation, the prime minister has been holding talks with the internet and telecom giants as well as other international companies including Goldman Sachs and Wal-Mart. Brown will use three set-piece events in 2008- a conference involving the private sector in the spring in London, next summer’s G8 meeting in Japan and a UN session in New York in the autumn - to reinvigorate the drive to hit these goals. Preparations have been going on since the summer and ministers have been holding intensive discussions with the private sector in the hope that firms can be persuaded to use their expertise to improve infrastructure, upgrade skills and provide capital for fresh investment. Although the prominence given to the multinationals is likely to be controversial with parts of the development community, Brown believes that a lack of enterprise is hindering less-developed countries- especially in sub-Saharan Africa- achieving the development goals. Further Information Guardian 10.12.07
250 employers join local employment partnerships; the government has launched a number of programmes addressed at the 393,000 long-term unemployed and the 2.6m people claiming incapacity benefit. Caroline Flint, the minister of state for employment, is convinced that with some carefully targeted training and support, many jobless people can be eased back into employment. She says that the workplace is changing and “There is greater flexibility in working hours and different types of job available. In many cases people just need to have their horizons widened to what is available”. Employers are equally open minded about who they can take on with the result that the government’s new local employment partnerships (LEP) have made rapid headway since they were launched in the Budget in March. The aim is to help 250,000 into work through the partnerships and already 250 companies have made a commitment to become involved with another 350 negotiating. The main incentive for the employers is that they will be able to tap into a group of people who, with a bit of coaching, have much to offer. Diversity is also important. Caroline Flint cites the value to B&Q, “for instance, to have a locally based workforce that reflects the surrounding community”. Uniglo, the Japanese retailer, recently opened two fashion shops in central London, which required 500 staff. They turned to Jobcentre Plus and agreed that one in five would be recruited through LEP candidates. Further information Times 04.12.07
Brown finds £9bn for Thames Gateway; Gordon Brown has announced a bumper package of £9bn has been raised from several government departments to fund housing, transport and infrastructure in the Thames Gateway. The project aims to bring 160,000 new homes and 225,000 new jobs to the area by 2016. Almost £1.5bn will be spent on upgrading eight hospitals and 13 transport schemes will get £100bn. Three universities or colleges will be built and £2bn will go on extra teaching and learning. More than £850m will fund 15,000 shared ownership and social homes and the regional development agencies will get £275m for environmental projects. The Thames Gateway, the largest regeneration project in western Europe, has so far swallowed £7bn of taxpayers’ money so far amidst increasing claims of woeful management. The prime minister also announced that there will be an expansion of training with 13,500 apprenticeships and 10 new college places; Thames Gateway will be Britain’s first eco-region, with existing homes given a £15m green makeover; four out of five new homes will be built on brownfield land which will be protected from flooding; and there will be a guarantee that housing developers will build high-quality houses. The latter point is the subject of controversy with warnings of soulless and uninspiring dormitory towns and low-grade housing. To this end CABE will be invited to undertake another housebuilding audit in 2010 whilst Sir Terry Farrell will be the ‘Design Champion’ for the Thames Gateway Parklands, who will receive £35m to improve the natural and urban environment. Further information Evening Standard 29.11.07
Aldershot is hailed in the rise of the mini-cities; the Centre for Cities, an urban policy research unit, has undertaken a survey of Britain’s 60 cities which shows that a wave of emerging “mini-cities” are proving more attractive than the sprawling urban giants of London, Manchester and Birmingham. Examples that they cite include Aldershot and neighbouring Farnborough, Oxford, Milton Keynes and Telford. The Centre for Cities says that although Aldershot is home to 4,000 soldiers it has the highest employment of any city in the country, levels of basic education close to those of Cambridge, and average earnings that rank in the top five areas in the country. Aldershot and Farnborough are towns but together are home to 100,000 people and considered a city by the Department for Communities and Local Government. The Centre for Cities found people flocking to Britain’s small “rising star” cities and deserting the former industrial conurbations. The populations of Oxford, Milton Keynes and Telford have all increased over the past ten years while Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow have seen populations drop. Social and economic inequality in Britain is highest in Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool and lowest in Cambridge, Crawly and Aldershot. Just over a quarter of adults of working age claim benefits in Liverpool and Glasgow, the highest proportion in Britain, compared with seven per cent in Aldershot and eight per cent in Reading. Dermot Finch, the director of the Centre for Cities, says: “It is time that government ministers, architects and developers stop focusing on new, shiny buildings in city centres when half a mile away we have the most deprived neighbourhoods”. Further information Guardian 10.12.07
Government announces plans to cut red tape; John Hutton, the business, enterprise and regulatory reform secretary, has announced a second round of simplification plans designed to cut the red tape burden for businesses, charities and the public sector by another £2bn a year. The plans have been drawn up by 18 Whitehall departments and agencies and will cover 200 measures in the second round of simplification plans designed to bring the government closer to its target of a 25 per cent cut in the administrative burden of regulation by 2010. He also announced that of the 500 deregulation measures announced in the first round last December 280 have already been implemented, and the remaining measures are on track. This has saved £29m this year so far, and that total is expected to rise to £200m by 2010. Further information - GNN and BERR Financial Times 11.12.07
Declining house prices will hit start-ups; declining house prices rather than the credit squeeze are likely to depress the number of new business formations in the next months according to Rebecca Harding, managing director of Delta Economics and author of the UK Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). She says there is a direct link between house price movements and the number of people who set up on their own. House prices affect entrepreneurial activity because of the perception of wealth they create and because many business founders remortgage their homes to provide seed capital. Her view is supported by Richard Roberts, head of small business research at Barclays, who has reported that the boom in business start-ups over the past few years is over. For the past three years the number of start-ups has been running at about 420,000 a year. This year, however, that figure will drop to about 360,000. The Barclays research was completed before the credit squeeze but Roberts says that there is no evidence that a shortage of credit would affect start-up activity. However he thinks that a slowdown in the housing market brings falls in consumer spending which affects the attractiveness of starting a business as well as making people fearful of leaving their existing jobs. David Storey, director for the centre for small and medium-sized enterprises at Warwick Business School, believes that the credit squeeze will be felt more by established business owners. He says: “Most people do not start with a bank loan. Most are funded from personal savings, trade credit or by money from friends and family”. Financial Times 08.12.07
Family-run firms face new tax burden; proposed new rules unveiled for consultation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to crack down on the way family businesses organise their tax affairs to minimise their tax bills are described by the Independent as “stupidly complicated, over-aggressive and just the sort of headache that 300,000 small businesses could do without”. Earlier this year HMRC lost a test case in the House of Lords when it challenged the tax arrangements of Geoff and Diana Jones. The couple’s IT consultancy, Artic Systems, had successfully avoided paying £50,000 in income tax by “income splitting” whereby a person shifts part of their income to a spouse in order to gain a tax advantage. Under the new HMRC rules it will be considerably harder to set up a business in this way. All family-run firms will now have to provide evidence of how much time they devote to their companies, document how much capital they have invested, and prove their earnings represent a market rate for the job. The proposals are described as complex, uncertain and an unnecessary addition of red tape. Further information Independent 07.12.07
Mandatory training for jobless; the government has been working to get millions of people claiming unemployment or sickness benefit back into work. Addressing the CBI annual conference Gordon Brown stressed the need for “far-reaching reforms” to the welfare state, and that “the inactive should, wherever possible, be preparing and training for work”. In a parliamentary statement, the work and pensions secretary Peter Hain, said that the DWP would pilot a scheme making skills training mandatory for claimants who have spent six months on Jobseeker’s Allowance. A pilot scheme would be launched in a number of local authorities starting in 2009. Long-term benefits claimants who move into work will receive a weekly wage at least £25 higher than their income from state benefits. Other measures will include an overhaul of the so-called 16-hour rule, which prevents Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants from studying for more than two weeks a year. Those who have been claiming for six months or more will be able to undertake full-time training for up to eight weeks, provided the training is focused on a return to work. Another measure is that it will be mandatory for lone parents to undergo a skills audit two years before their eligibility for income support is due to end. Changes to the contract system were also announced (see below). Further information Regeneration 30.11.07
Shake-up for private sector contracts for welfare-to-work; Peter Hain, the work and pensions secretary, has announced a radical restructuring of private sector contracts for welfare-to-work programmes, in a move which the public sector trade unions fear will presage a much bigger role for the private sector in getting people off benefit and into work. Mr Hain published “the interim findings” of a new commissioning strategy, which will see myriad existing contracts and sub-contracts with the public and voluntary sectors transformed into fewer, longer and larger “prime contacts”. Payment will be based on results and contracts will be for five to seven years with competition between providers in large geographical areas. There will be close links with the local authority-run City Strategy programmes. It looks as though there will be 20-30 contracts in what looks like a reissue of the draft Green Paper prepared by John Hutton before he moved to the department of enterprise. The final strategy will be announced in February. Further information Financial Times 28.11.07
Creative sector suffers from skills mismatch; an internal report prepared by Creative and Cultural Skills says that Britain’s creative sector is suffering from a skills mismatch between supply and demand that “will have a serious impact” on industries that earn millions of pounds in exports. The creative and cultural sectors, which include the performing arts, advertising and museums, have more students than jobs. But despite the overflow of students there is a “chronic undersupply” of technical skills in theatre and live performance. The report, which was compiled after surveying 2,000 employers, shows that there are nearly 700,000 people studying creative or cultural courses at universities and colleges, compared to total employment in the sector of fewer than 600,000. Tom Bewick, chief executive of Creative & Cultural Skills, blames the mismatch partly on “celebrity culture and Saturday night television shows that endlessly promote creativity as being on the stage performing”. Further information Financial Times 03.12.07
Economic benefits of increasing leaving age to 18; the Department for Children, Schools and Families has published details of the Education and Skills Bill, which aims to boost the skills and education of young people and adults in England. It also details the strategy for raising the school leaving age to 18 by 2015. All teenagers in England will stay on – either at school, college or on a job training scheme- or face spot fines of £50 or possibly court fines of £250. Ed Balls, the schools secretary, acknowledges that he faces a “big task” to convince teenagers to support the idea: “These are the biggest reforms in education, training and skills in a generation and it is estimated that by raising the participation age alone will potentially benefit the economy by around £2.4bn per year”. He said that it was not about forcing young people who want to work while they train to stay on at school. There would be a range of exciting qualifications and options to go in to; including new Diplomas and 90,000 more apprenticeship places. The Bill gives adults a right to basic and intermediate skills, and requires local authorities to follow the Quality Standard for information, Advice and Guidance published in October 2007. Further information Evening Standard 29.11.07
England plummets down reading rankings; England has plummeted from 3rd in 2001 to 19th in 2006 according to an international league table of children’s literacy as pupils replace books with computer games according to the Progress in International Reading Literacy (Pirls) study. Only Morocco and Romania fell more rapidly than England. Scotland fell from 14 in 2001 to 26 in 2006. The study finds that a generation of ten-year-olds are losing confidence in books, spending fewer hours a week reading at home and enjoying it less than five years ago. Ministers immediately responded by announcing a £5m scheme to make books available in nurseries and promised more radical reforms to the controversial literacy strategy. They also called for parents to spend more time reading with their children. Headteachers said that the government’s literacy strategies- under fire after a series of critical reports- were to blame for taking the “buzz” out of reading and putting children off. The study found that in England children have less confidence in reading and writing than in 2001. They also have the biggest computer games habits: 37 per cent spend more than three hours a day playing games. Further information - PIRLS and DfES Guardian 29.11.07
The OECD also sees reading and maths standards slipping; figures from the OECD show that the UK has fallen from eighth to 24th place in the international league table for mathematics standards for pupils aged 15. Standards in reading have also slipped with the UK falling ten places to 17th. Further information Independent 05.12.07
Black boys start to close the grades gap; black children have started to close the gap in educational performance on their white classmates as black African and black Caribbean boys improve their pass rate for five good GCSEs at twice the national average, government figures show. Previous research has shown that black pupils are more likely to be taught in lower ability sets than other pupils, often because of perceived behaviour problems rather than ability. They are also less likely to be chosen to take part in extra activities for gifted children. But the latest figures also show that while the performance gap between ethnic groups is closing, social class divisions remain stubbornly wide, increasing as pupils progress through school. Lord Adonis, the schools minister, said that short and long-term trends alike suggested that the gap between minority and ethnic groups was closing as a result of government programmes. He conceded that more needed to be done to improve the results of children from poor backgrounds, but insisted that they were also improving. The latest figures show that among black African boys the pass rate for five good GCSEs rose from 45.2 to 50 per cent between 2006 and 2007, and black Caribbean boys rising from 36.5 to 41.5 per cent. The average was 59.5 per cent for all white pupils and 59.3 per cent for pupils of all races. More than 80 per cent of Chinese pupils and more than 70 per cent of Indian pupils achieved five good GCSEs this year. Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils also improved, from a lower base, with 53 and 58.4 per cent respectively. Further information Times 28.11.07
Oxbridge reject academy link; Oxford and Cambridge Universities have refused to sponsor academies, in a blow to the government’s plans to persuade leading universities to “adopt” new schools. Both say it would be unfair to form connections with a single school, rather than share their expertise nationally. More than 20 universities have agreed to set up or support individual academies including King’s College London and University College London. A further sponsor is City University, who, together with the City Corporation, is sponsoring the new academy that will replace Islington Green School. They are putting up £1m from a mystery donor. Sunday Times 02.12.07, Guardian 04.2.07
Hutton announces wind turbine expansion; in what many papers call “an astonishing U-turn” the government has announced that Britain is to embark on a wind power revolution that will produce enough electricity to power every home in the country by 2020. The announcement was made by John Hutton, the secretary of state for business, when he addressed the European energy industry in Berlin. He announced proposals to open up the seas around Britain to up to 33GW of offshore wind energy. He also announced the creation of a panel of experts to advise him on renewal energy, underscoring the government’s determination in meeting the EU target of 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020. A Strategic Environmental Assessment of the seas surrounding the UK would be undertaken, paving the way for a possible “third round” of wind energy development and beyond. He went on: “The UK is now the number one location for investment in offshore wind in the world and next year we will overtake Denmark as the country with the most offshore wind power capacity”. The first round of offshore wind farms in 2001 comprised a number of small-scale demonstration projects. The ‘second round’ in 2003, resulted in the award of options for larger scale projects in three areas- the Thames Estuary, the Greater Wash and the North West. Based on current plans under the first and second rounds, about 8GW of capacity could be operational by around 2014. This includes the 1GW London Array, which is the largest planned offshore wind farm in the world. Further information BBC News Online 10.12.07
Government statement branded ‘pie in the sky’; a number of newspapers and environmental lobby groups accused the government of simply repeating a statement about a significant expansion of offshore wind power that was made by the then energy minister, Brian Wilson, five years ago. Alan Duncan, the Tory shadow industry secretary, accused John Hutton of “rushing out a rehashed proposal announced five years ago”. However, John Hutton, the industry secretary, insisted that his plans were the latest phase of the process that began with Wilson’s speech in 2002. He went on: “It is the green light for the next stage of development for offshore wind for the UK”. Dan Lewis, research director at the Economic Research Council, pointed to the problems that would be faced on the supply constraints: “The government is deluding itself on a grand scale. There will be no race by investors to build offshore wind farms - the returns are not just high enough and there are supply-chain constraints in installation vessel capability and insufficient turbines”. Gordon Edge of the British Wind Energy Association said: “Thirty-three gigawatts by 2020 is pie in the sky. We think 20GW is ambitious but achievable”. Guardian 11.12.07
Parties unite to support the Merton Rule; a group of MPs from all parties are supporting a private member’s bill submitted by Michael Fallon which seeks to prevent the government from backpedalling on rules that require construction companies to fit renewable energy sources to new buildings. The bill, which has the support of three former environment ministers- Michael Meacher, Elliot Morley and John Gummer as well as John Battle, the former Energy Minister and Chris Huhne, the Lib Dem leadership candidate-is designed to support the so-called Merton Rule, introduced by the London borough of Merton four years ago and since copied by more than 100 other local authorities. The rule requires developers to source at least 10 per cent of any new building’s energy from renewable sources. The rule has come under pressure from the building industry, which objects to the cost. The housing minister, Yvette Cooper, has since said that off-cite renewables could be allowed as part of the 10 per cent so that developers could, for instance, invest in a wind farm and say that they had met the rule. Guardian 03.12.07
Electrolux urges EU to offer cash for green white goods; Electrolux, the Swedish home appliance maker, is calling on the EU to offer consumers cash and fiscal incentives to dispose of their “gas-guzzling” fridge-freezers, washing machines and dishwashers and switch to more energy-efficient models as part of its ambitious plans to combat climate change. Electrolux estimate that by replacing 188m appliances more than 10 years old would cut the EU’s CO² emissions by 18m tonnes. The move coincides with proposals by the French government to offer cash bonuses of up to €1,300 to buy new low-emission cars and penalties of up to €2,600 for buying the most polluting models. Belgium, Italy and Spain are among those countries, which have introduced incentives to buy energy-efficient appliances. Further information Guardian 10.12.07
Go-ahead for St Pancras medical research centre; the government has announced hat it has given the go-ahead for a derelict site between the British Library and St Pancras Eurostar terminal to be converted into one of the world’s leading medical centres at a cost of more than £500m. The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation will house 1,500 scientists and support staff on the 3.5-acre site, working on a range of bioscience projects, but with a focus on cancer. The project is a partnership between the state-funded Medical Research Council, University College London and two of Britain’s largest medical charities, Cancer Research UK and the Wellcome Trust. The new Centre “will compete and collaborate with other global hubs of scientific and medical excellence such as those at Harvard, Singapore and Shanghai. The government has agreed to sell the site, which had aroused great interest amongst developers, to the partnership for £85m and the partners will spend £385m on a spectacular building. Many of the researchers will move from the MRC’s National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill and the Cancer Research UK’s London laboratory in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. These will be sold to help pay for the new centre. Sir Paul Nurse, former head of Cancer Research UK and currently president of the Rockefeller University in New York, will lead the scientific planning of the centre. Further information Financial Times 05.12.07
£50m for Tate Modern expansion; the Tate has been given an exceptional £50m grant by the government towards the cost of a huge expansion of the Tate Modern in time for the 2012 Olympics. The last grant of this type and size was for the British Library in 1998. The £50m will go towards an overall budget of £215m for the extension, which will spring up out of the currently disused side of the existing Tate Modern building (at the back facing away from the river). The design by Herzog & de Meuron uses the former Bankside Power Station’s cavernous oil tanks as a basis for what the architects envisage as a spectacular aggregation of corkscrewing “boxes” rising high out of the southern side of the site. Planning permission was granted last summer. When visitors enter the building down the ramp they will either be able to turn left as they do now or turn right into the new extension. Exhibition space will increase from 9,000 to 15,000 square metres with the Turbine Hall adding a further 5,000 square metres. Even so the space will still be less than that of the Pompidou Centre in Paris or MOMA in New York. Tate Modern is the second most popular visitor attraction in the country, after Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Further information Guardian 06.12.07
No public cash for West End theatres; the government, the London Development Agency (LDA) and the Heritage Lottery Fund have all made it clear that they are in no position to pay for improvements to theatres and that the owners must do more themselves to tackle the refurbishment of the West End. A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said: “We have discussed the state of the West End theatre several times with representatives of the commercial theatre sector, Lottery distributors and the LDA. Discussions have most recently focused on whether commercial theatre operators might be able to work together to maintain their theatres”. The LDA commissioned a report by KPMG, which acknowledged that refurbishment was an important issue. However it also concluded that it would be inappropriate to use taxpayers’ money to support commercial ventures, which took more than £400m in ticket sales last year. The owners stress that it is the producers that make the big money from hit shows. They argue that West End theatres are a unique part of Britain’s heritage and vital for tourism. Evening Standard 23.11.07
Major regeneration projects form new group; a new local authority-led cross-London policy group comprising representatives of the largest regeneration projects and the relevant national and regional bodies has been announced. The Major Project Policy Group will bring together representatives of 15 high-profile regeneration projects including King’s Cross Central, Canning Town and Custom House, Stratford City, Cricklewood and Woodberry Down in a bid to share knowledge and policy between project leaders and councillors. The group, led by the London borough of Hackney, will include representatives from the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Transport for London, the LDA, the Greater London Authority, English Heritage and English Partnerships. Further information Regeneration 30.11.07
West End shops look to Chinese and Russians; the rise in Chinese and Russian spenders in London could be the key to sales growth in London’s West End in 2008. This is the view of the New West End Company speaking after the 2007 traffic-free West End shopping event held on 1st December. The event pulled in 1.4m shoppers and generated an estimated £140m. Jace Tyrell of the New West End Company said that retailers generally had been encouraged by the day’s sales and one high street chain had recorded its best ever trading on Oxford Street. The positive news was reinforced by John Lewis’ weekly figures, which were up 4.5 per cent on 2006. Dan Knowles, director of selling operations said the group was confident that it was going to have a good Christmas but admitted that next year was going to be difficult. Commenting on Chinese and Russian consumers Jace Tyrrell said that this year had seen an enormous increase in expenditure from London’s two powerhouse economies with Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street capturing a 40 per cent increase in sales to Russians and a 32 per cent increase to Chinese consumers. Guardian 03.12.07
Students bring £1.5bn to London economy; London’s 86,000 international students contribute more than £1.5bn to the capital’s economy and generate up to 44,000 jobs, according to new research by Oxford Economics. In 2005-06 they spent about £560m in tuition fees and spent more than £800m. Visits by friends and relatives added another £150m. The report also found that about 15 per cent of the international students stay on in London when they finish studying. Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor, said: “London has the largest number of international students of any city in the world- even not taking into account the EU students. In turn the capital’s economy benefits enormously from their presence”. Further information - London Higher and GLA Financial Times 21.11.07
Brick Lane restaurateurs fear rising rents; the Observer says that Brick Lane, the east London road symbolic of Britain’s Bangladeshi community, could be under threat from soaring rents. Already 15 have gone out of business and even one of the most famous, the Café Naz, is under pressure. Bajloor Rashid, president of the Bangladesh Caterers’ Association, said that the influx of corporate brands was making the area ‘soulless’. “In the past four years, rent has more than doubled and rates have increased by 50 to 70 per cent, which has forced many residents to migrate out of the area and for restaurants to shut shop”. Rashid said that the area had changed hugely in the past year, becoming more affluent and modern. “But this masks the problems being faced by the restaurateurs and traditional residents resulting from increasing property prices and rates which are crippling the Bangladeshi restaurant industry”. Observer 02.12.07
Victoria Station regeneration ‘hangs in the balance’; the Estates Gazette says that the long-awaited £2bn regeneration of Victoria hangs in the balance as Westminster planners demand fresh concessions from Land Securities. The developer has spent £20m on consultation and design works for the 2.9m sq ft Victoria Transport Interchange project over the past four years but the planners remain dissatisfied with the proposals. In particular the planners want 14 storeys cut from the two 134m residential towers as well as reductions in size for three of the other five buildings. They argue that the reduction in height is needed to protect the views of Buckingham Palace. There is also an argument about the scheme’s contribution to affordable housing. The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, disagrees with the call to alter the two main towers saying: “Both towers will be beautiful additions to London’s architectural heritage”. He does, however, have concerns about the amount of investment in public transport and the proposals for the public realm. This will be the second time that Land Securities have been sent back to the drawing board and there is concern that it may be history repeating itself. Mike Hussey, Land Security’s London managing director, said: “Greycoat was forced to abandon a redevelopment of Victoria in 1996 after its plans were reduced, and we are concerned there is danger it is going to happen again”. Further information Estates Gazette 08.12.07
Now Portman tackles public realm; the Portman Estate is the latest London landlord to commission major public realm improvements to enhance the value of its estate. Portman, which owns 110 acres of central London, has drawn up a strategy that includes a revamp of Portman Square. This follows an estate-wide review by Danish architect Jan Gehl which aims to make the square more pedestrian-friendly and more accessible from Oxford Street, to the south, through to Baker Street, to the north-east. One idea is for a café on the edge of the gardens in the centre of the square. The Estate said that it was ready to start on improvements to lighting, paving and street furniture on Seymour Place and New Quebec Street. Gehl carried out a similar project for Grosvenor last year, which has resulted in a £10m funding package from Westminster Council for public realm improvements in north Mayfair. Portman will seek similar assistance from Westminster. Further information Estates Gazette 08.12.07
Shepherd’s Bush to get a makeover; Hammersmith and Fulham Council have awarded a £3.3m contract to a team led by landscape architect Whitelaw Turkington to redesign Shepherd’s Bush Green. The team’s design includes creating a boulevard around the perimeter, a raised area for entertainment and a space for markets and fairs. There will be a public consultation with a view to submitting a formal planning application in June 2008. Further information Regeneration 30.11.07
Olympic organisers consider scrapping £90m fencing arena; London 2012 organisers have confirmed that they are considering scrapping the construction of the planned 8,000-seat temporary fencing venue in the Olympic Park and relocating the sport to an existing facility. The change of plan, which would see the fencing events taking place at the ExCel Centre in Docklands, could save the Olympic Delivery Authority as much as £90m. The Guardian quotes 2012 officials as saying that a review of all temporary venues is being carried out but it is understood that fencing will be relocated subject to approval from the International Fencing Federation and the IOC. However suggestions that the temporary arena for basketball would also be scrapped were denied. They also denied that cost saving was the reason for the change saying that the planning approval given for a second arena at ExCel that was granted after the original bid was drawn up was the major factor. Guardian 03.12.07
Government says cost of building Olympic Park could rise by a further £1bn; the cost of building the Olympic Park is likely to rise by at least £1bn and the total cost of staging the 2012 Games could yet exceed the total £9.3bn budget announced in March. A detailed analysis of the Olympic budget, including the cost of building the venues and infrastructure of the Olympic Park were presented to parliament in a written statement by the Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell. The statement also reveals that the security bill for the games has risen to £1.2bn, six times the £200m forecast in the original bid. Tessa Jowell told the Commons that the details of the budget showed that the project was on track and in line with the figures announced in March. However, a detailed project-by-project analysis of the Olympic Park by the Government Olympic Executive has established that at least £1.7bn of the total contingency fund of £2.7bn is likely to be swallowed up by the project. Further information Guardian 11.12.07
Leisure Industry warns of Olympic legacy waste; in a letter to the prime minister the bosses of many of the UK’s leading leisure companies warn that the tourism potential of the 2012 Games legacy is in danger of being squandered. The letter, which is signed by the leaders of companies such as Intercontinental, Travelodge, Gala Coral and Merlin Entertainments, expresses “anger and disappointment” with the government’s tourism policy in the wake of the 18 per cent cut in the tourism budget. They warn that the UK could forego 110,000 jobs and up to £5bn in revenues during the next ten years if the Games opportunity is wasted. Further information Daily Telegraph 10.12.07
Olympic Legacy appoints its first boss; Tom Russell, chief executive of the New East Manchester urban regeneration company, has been appointed to head a new Olympics regeneration vehicle being set up by the London Development Agency. He will become group director of Olympic Legacy from January 2008. He will be tasked with “legacy” masterplanning at the 500-acre Olympic Park to ensure that homes and businesses are developed at the site after the games. Further information Estates Gazette 08.12.07
‘Accordion’ to become neighbour for the Monument; a new 10-storey building resembling an accordion (according to the Evening Standard) or a concertina (Estates Gazette), designed by Ken Shuttleworth, has won planning permission for a site that ‘wraps around’ the City square where the Monument has stood since 1677. The building will feature a roof garden that will form a giant sundial using the Wren 202ft column as the gnomon, which creates the shadow on the dial. The building, which is being developed by the Carlyle Group, will have 90,000 sq ft of offices and a ground floor café with views of the Monument. The Grade 1-listed Monument is undergoing a £4.5m refit, which involves cleaning the stonework, regilding the orb, installing new lighting and improving the cage around the viewing platform. Further information Evening Standard 22.11.07, Estates Gazette 24.11.07
Westfield plan mixed-use development next to White City; Westfield, the Australian developer building the £1.5bn shopping centre at White City, is planning a mixed-use development on a 10-acre site to the north of its current scheme. The scheme is likely to include 1,000 homes and Westfield has said that they will work closely with Hammersmith & Fulham on a mixed-use scheme. The site, which was previously owned by the Lattice Group Pension Fund, was due to have been part of a 5m sq ft Rem Koolhaus-designed masterplan for the northern end of White City on land owned by Hellical Bar, the BBC and Marks & Spencer. The plans for this site will be published next year. Estates Gazette 24.11.07
TfL takes 135,000 sq ft at Greenwich Peninsula; the rumours that Transport for London (TfL) were to take a big letting at the new Greenwich Peninsula development next to the Dome have proved to be true. TfL have announced that they are taking a 20-year lease on 135,000 sq ft in the Peninsula Central business district. Work will start on the Terry Farrell-designed office by the end of the year and TfL aim to take occupation in 2009. They have an option on a further 60,000 sq ft. Further information Estates Gazette 01.12.07
Gillette Corner gets consent for regeneration; the mayor of London and Hounslow Council have given the go-ahead for a new hotel and business park at Gillette Corner. Irish developer the Bonnington Group will retain and restore the exterior of the 70-year building, which will be converted into a 505-bed hotel. There will also be a 500,000 sq ft business park, which, like the hotel, has been designed by HOK International. Work will start next year. Further information Estates Gazette 01.12.07
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