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Segregated play spaces are to be banned in all future London housing developments, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has revealed this week.
The policy, part of the London Plan for developers and local authorities across the city, follows outrage across the political spectrum at the case of the Lilian Baylis estate in Kennington. [...] families living in the social housing side of the estate were not allowed to use the play area or any communal spaces on the development.
— The Guardian
"It is disgraceful that children who live in the same development would ever be prevented from playing together," London Mayor Sadiq Khan told The Guardian. The case of the segregated play areas at this London housing development (and several others) — only children from Lilian Baylis... View full entry
In a defeat for Foster + Partners, London mayor Sadiq Khan has rescinded municipal approval for the 997-foot Tulip tower the architects had proposed for the city's Square Mile high-rise district. Architect's Journal reports that a spokesperson for the mayor's office said that the... View full entry
The Abu Dhabi-owned developer won planning approval for the 268-home mixed-use redevelopment of the Metropolitan Police’s HQ site in April 2016....Since then developer BL Developments has sought to increase the total number of homes by 27, from 268 to 295, with no increase in the number of affordable units or payment in lieu, meaning the level of affordable housing fell further still to only 3%. — Construction Enquirer
BL Developments, who bought the site back in 2014 for £370m, had submitted an initial proposal to transform the former Metropolitan Police headquarters into a mixed-use scheme. The plans, which involved tearing down three existing buildings to clear the way for six residential-led buildings... View full entry
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that the city will be investing £25 million into constructing over 1,000 affordable prefab apartments. Funding from the city will go into purchasing small brownfield sites that will then be built on by Pocket Living, a developer specializing in... View full entry
Lord Davies, the chair of the trust, wrote to Khan outlining the reasons why the trust had taken the decision. He said it was “with great regret that trustees have concluded that without mayoral support, the project cannot be delivered”. — The Guardian
Back in April, London mayor Sadiq Khan announced that he would not spend any more taxpayer money on the controversial garden bridge plan. The project, propelled by Khan's predecessor, Boris Johnson, has been criticized for its inability to raise the private funds promised and its subsequent... View full entry
Another day, another city, another high line—this time in London. While in America, we use crowdfunding to help supplement health care costs or to actualize an invention, in England, Spacehive is using this form of alternative financing to help back projects that make local places better... View full entry
London needs to provide space for 46,000 new jobs and build 50,000 new homes a year just to keep up with demand, as well as build the social infrastructure to support both. Good Growth will enable this, leaving a legacy of world-class buildings, outstanding public realm and large-scale regeneration for Londoners of the future. — London Loves Business
Exhibiting both farsightedness and excellent aesthetic taste, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has created a program specifically meant to help anticipate and solve London's growth (experts estimate the city will soon have a population of 10 million). The "Good Growth by Design" program will have an... View full entry
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has finally pulled the plug on the controversial plan for a garden bridge across the Thames, announcing that he would not provide the vital financial guarantees needed for construction to begin.
In a letter to the Garden Bridge Trust, the charity leading the much-delayed project, Khan said he was taking the decision because of a continuing shortfall in fundraising for the scheme, and a lack of the necessary land use agreements despite three years of talks.
— The Guardian
Announcing the decisions, Khan said he had fully considered all the evidence available and was “confident” both high-density developments would deliver hundreds of genuinely affordable homes for Londoners.
“Building the homes Londoners urgently need will mean town centres and suburbs becoming denser, so we expect developers to continue to come up with high-quality designs which don’t have a negative impact on their surroundings.”
— Building Design
Overruling councillors in two north London Boroughs, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has approved an Allies and Morrisson scheme in Tottenham Hale and another in Harrow by Moss Architecture; both will be high-density housing developments which together will deliver 691 new homes for Londoners within... View full entry
Peninsula Place, part of the Greenwich Peninsula redevelopment, is a billion pound landmark building, designed by architect, artist, and engineer, Santiago Calatrava. He was joined at today’s press conference by Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London), Peter Murray (NLA), and Richard Margree and Sammy Lee... View full entry
Partly in order to help pay for a transit fare freeze, Sadiq Khan has halted the order for the double-decker, triple-doored Thomas Heatherwick-designed "New Bus for London," which would have replaced the old fleet of Routemaster buses. Much like Heatherwick's troubled Garden Bridge proposal, the... View full entry
More than three years ago, Google announced plans to build a massive “landscraper” headquarters in London. But after switching architects from AHMM—whose plans were deemed “too boring"—to Thomas Heatherwick, and following the chaos of Brexit, the plans were up in the air. Now, the... View full entry
Ministers approved the long-awaited decision at a cabinet committee meeting on Tuesday.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling called the decision "truly momentous" and said expansion would improve the UK's connections with the rest of the world and support trade and jobs.
Although Heathrow has always been the favourite among businesses, it has attracted the most opposition from MPs with constituencies near the airport or under flight paths.
— bbc.co.uk
The expansion which had been publicly opposed by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Tory MP for Richmond Park, Zac Goldsmith and Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson has been widely debated for years. Funded with private sector cash the new runway will cost £17.6 billion but provide 260,000 more flights... View full entry
London mayor Sadiq Khan is to launch the UK’s most comprehensive inquiry into the impact of foreign investment flooding London’s housing market, amid growing fears about the scale of gentrification and spiralling housing costs in the capital.
Khan said there are “real concerns” about the surge in the number of homes being bought by overseas investors, adding that the inquiry would map the scale of the problem for the first time.
— the Guardian
In related news:As a new class of super rich investors displace the traditional elite, average Londoners are pushed further and further outside the city limitsOvercrowding on London's canalsTo live in London you can't be a LondonerLondon fails to achieve any targets for affordable housing View full entry
The future of London’s proposed garden bridge has been called into further question after the city’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, halted preparatory work on the structure over fears this could involve more public money being spent.
The Garden Bridge Trust says the bridge from South Bank to Temple, featuring 270 trees and thousands of plants, will be a “tiara” for London, being both an iconic landmark and a vital pedestrian bridge.
— The Guardian
Read more about London's Garden Bridge on architnect: London's garden bridge, the saga continues Why are Heatherwick's proposals succeeding in New York but tanking in London? Sadiq Khan investigates troublesome details in Thames garden bridge project Infrastructure or advertisement? Sky to sponsor... View full entry
