2017-03-31

Evening Standard: "Sadiq Khan backs tall buildings ... if they enhance London's skyline"


Link to web site

"Sadiq Khan has warned that new tall buildings must enhance the capital's skyline rather than blight it.

"The Mayor of London also said key criteria for residential tower blocks should be that they help to tackle the city’s housing crisis rather than simply providing investment opportunities for the wealthy.

"But Mr Khan believes skyscrapers and other tall buildings have a 'role to play' in London, though they had to be of first-class design standard.

"City Hall laid out the Mayor's stance on building upwards after Westminster moved to open the door to more tower blocks going up in central London."

UCL: Engineering Exchange Draft 'Green Infrastructure for London'





"Between January and March 2017, the Engineering Exchange delivered activities looking at the state of Green Infrastructure (GI) in London. The activities were part of a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) bid on ‘Engaging the UK public with the big issues of environmental science’.

Review our draft report

"The major output from the project is a report entitled ‘Green Infrastructure for London: A review of the evidence’. The initial draft report is available here: Green Infrastructure for London: Report for Review

"Our goal is to achieve truly two-way, collaborative research in participation with London communities. To support this, we are trying something unusual. In addition to the normal client and peer-review process, we are asking community members to respond to our draft report. We are collecting feedback via an online survey, accessible here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/KB5F5TR

"Anyone can participate, regardless of prior green infrastructure knowledge. The deadline for submissions is midnight, 23rd April 2017. After this, the survey will be closed and the consultation period will end.

"Although individuals will not be cited as contributors except in exceptional cases, your comments will be carefully considered and your input will be invaluable for reflecting the wide knowledge base of communities impacted by GI in London.

Launch event

"We held a panel and community consultation launch event at UCL, 30th March 2017. You can view the panel’s slides on working with communities to implement community planning and river improvements. You can also view photos from the event on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/uclengex/

Other activities included in the project:

– A CPD training course for GI practitioners called ‘Working with Communities: Practical skills for GI practitioners’. (Find out about future CPD opportunities: http://www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk/engineering-exchange/cpd/)

– A community research forum with discussion tables chaired by specialists on themes including light and air pollution; soil quality and food growing; heat islands and microclimates; water harvesting and flooding and greening the city. (Read the event report: Green Infrastructure Springboard event report and find out about other community research fora: http://www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk/engineering-exchange/community-forum/)

– A series of video interviews with specialists in airborne and light pollution. (Watch the videos: http://www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk/engineering-exchange/video-articles/)"

2017-03-30

The Planner: "Khan to appoint Liz Peace CBE as Old Oak and Park Royal chair"


Link to web site

"Should the London Assembly approve the appointment, she will lead the corporation as it builds out its plans to deliver 24,000 new homes and 55,000 jobs in West London.

"In June last year, Khan launched a review of the development corporation, stating that it would scrutinise the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding agreed in March 2016.

"Following the review, Khan said plans to regenerate the site had been left in a mess by his predecessor Boris Johnson. He criticised Johnson for 'rushing headlong' into an agreement with the government to transfer land at Old Oak, saying it was made on less favourable terms than other regeneration projects around the country.

"Peace has more than 35 years of experience in government and the property sector. She was the chief executive of the British Property Federation and has been an honorary president of the Property Litigation Association, chair of the Centre for London think tank and chair of the Shadow Government Property Agency."

[Reposted from Dec 2011] 'Transport for London': Orbital rail and Crossrail studies, for Old Oak rail connections

If you click immediately to the enlarged images, there are four slides on each subject.

As a point of detail, note the comment below about the green South Croydon services not showing as diverted via the new station. (There is a later posting on this web site, where TfL does shows them diverted.)

Please also link to "Light Rail Across Outer North London?" on the 'Brent Cross Coalition' web site.



1) ORBITAL CONNECTIONS TO OLD OAK COMMON

(Click to enlarge)

(Southern trains are presumably diverted as well, but TfL 
cannot say that, because it does not regulate them)






2) CROSSRAIL TO WEST COAST MAIN LINE
(Wembley Central, Watford Junction, and wherever)






2017-03-25

The Guardian: "How one council is beating Britain's housing crisis"


"Fancy a three-bed semi with a garden for £152,000? Or rent at less than £500 per month? Sheffield is showing other local authorities how to build again"

Link to web site

"In 2015, England's local authorities built fewer than 3,000 new homes, just a tiny fraction of the estimated 250,000 new homes needed every year to meet demand. But one council has begun building again in volume, in what some see as a model for tackling the housing crisis.

"On the outskirts of Sheffield, hundreds of new homes are springing up, built by the council to space standards that have all but disappeared in the private sector. New residents – the majority are 25-35 year olds – say they are impressed by the designs and spaciousness, and enjoy their close proximity to the city.

"But this is not a return to the era of 1950s and 1960s council building. What Sheffield Housing Company (SHC) is doing is partnering with contractors to build low-cost homes for first-time buyers and families alongside houses and flats to rent at affordable prices, and with tenants better protected."

2017-03-17

Arts Council: "£1.5 million investment announced as Old Oak and Park Royal is chosen as one of 16 'Great Places'"



"Old Oak and Park Royal has been awarded a grant of £1,489,255 from Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery Fund’s Great Place Scheme to ensure that art, culture and heritage are at the heart of the major developments planned for the area.

"The money will support Made in Park Royal, an ambitious and community-focused project from Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC).

Plans for the three-year project include working directly with a pool of 2,000 local volunteers, an engagement programme designed to reach all school children in the area, and community-led research into local heritage.

"Joyce Wilson, London Area Director, Arts Council England, said:
"This is an exciting and timely project that puts culture-led place-making at the heart of one London's largest regeneration schemes. The Great Place Scheme funding will ensure that culture plays a key role in the early stages of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation's programming.

Made in Park Royal, a world-class arts and heritage programme, will involve the active participation of the whole community. It will enable thousands of artists, local residents and cultural, civic and heritage partners to play a key role in the future regeneration and long term success of the area."
"The 640 plus hectare development site, which spans the three boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham, will be the largest regeneration site in London, and the only place in the UK where High Speed 2 (HS2) connects with the Elizabeth Line (formally known as Crossrail). OPDC is using the investment in rail infrastructure projects to create new opportunities for people in the area and develop a whole new centre and community for west London.

"Victoria Hills, Chief Executive Officer, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, said:
"This funding is a welcome boost for Park Royal, to celebrate the successes of the UK’s largest industrial site and to ensure local residents and businesses play an authentic role in shaping the future regeneration of the area. As the UK's largest and most vibrant industrial park, we look forward to working with local communities in and around Park Royal to deliver early culture-led regeneration projects as we help businesses prepare for the arrival of the 'superhub' HS2 and Crossrail station‎."
"Stuart Hobley, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund London, said:
"Heritage and culture are fundamental to our sense of self, and our sense of place. This award will ensure that they are both at the very heart of the on-going development and regeneration of Park Royal and Old Oak, and help to build on the success of previous National Lottery investment."
"Old Oak and Park Royal is one of sixteen places across England to receive a grant from the Great Place Scheme, a £20-million initiative inspired by the Government's Culture White Paper. Others include the London Borough of Waltham Forest, East Kent, and Reading."

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