London can build Crossrail – so why won’t we give Heathrow a new runway? July 5, 2015 Back in 1971, the Roskill Commission on London airport expansion selected Cublington, a sleepy village in Buckinghamshire, as the site for a new South East airport. For those of us old enough to remember, the government rejected the idea, and since then politicians and policymakers have been trying to fix our airport capacity shortfall. Last [...]
From the Shard to Crossrail: 5 female engineers who are shaping the future of London June 23, 2015 Women make up only six per cent of UK engineers – but that hasn’t stopped these London engineers from joining a male-dominated workforce, building everything from the Shard to Crossrail. Tuesday marked the second-ever National Women in Engineering Day, to highlight the lack of female engineers. This is bad news for business, according to a [...]
From the Shard to Crossrail: Five female engineers shaping the future of London June 23, 2015 Women make up only six per cent of UK engineers – but that hasn’t stopped these London engineers from joining a male-dominated workforce, building everything from the Shard to Crossrail. Today marked the second-ever National Women in Engineering Day, to highlight the lack of female engineers. This is bad news for business, according to a [...]
London 24 hour Night Tube: Seven ways London travel’s going to get even better June 22, 2015 The Night Tube has nearly arrived. After years of Londoners dreaming of being able to hop on the tube after a night out, it will finally become reality this autumn. Transport for London's new map shows exactly where travellers can hop on and hop off in this first phase of the Night Tube rollout, but [...]
A booming West End will be fatally undermined unless we pedestrianise Oxford Street June 21, 2015 Oxford Street needs to be pedestrianised. There is a growing consensus about this among traders, transport operators, and local councils. The question is when and how. The “when” is easiest to answer. The new east-west Crossrail line starts operating through Central London in four years’ time. It will generate a new surge of people coming [...]
Oxford Street property deals set to reach £1bn by end of this year June 17, 2015 The revamp of the eastern end of Oxford Street and the imminent arrival of Crossrail has sparked a flurry of property deals this year, with investors flocking to get a slice of London’s busiest shopping street. According to CBRE, seven record-breaking transactions totalling £645m have taken place since January, of which five were undertaken off-market. [...]
Crossrail programme turns its hand to Southall June 12, 2015 Commuters using Southall Station can now look forward to a brand new building, as Ealing Council has approved new design proposals for the station. Work on the project, which is part of the Crossrail programme, is due to begin this summer and is expected to last for around two years. Crossrail announced the [...]
Leaving London: Is moving out of the Big Smoke good value for money? The pros and cons June 11, 2015 With London homes so expensive, more people than ever are thinking of escaping to the country. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? We’ve teamed up with the help of property agent Savills to challenge the assumption that you’ll get better value for your money buying outside the capital. For some, the [...]
Cameron in high-vis at crossrail ceremony June 4, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron and mayor of London Boris Johnson were on hand in their high-vis suits yesterday for a Crossrail “break through” ceremony under Farringdon station. The ceremony marked the end of a three-year effort to dig tunnels for London’s forthcoming new Crossrail system. Johnson called the completion “a landmark event”.
Tunneling for Crossrail has finally finished – Boris Johnson and David Cameron were there for the big break through June 4, 2015 After three years of literally earth-moving work, tunneling for London's largest ever infrastructure project has finally finished – with a ceremony for the final "break through" under Farringdon station. David Cameron and Boris Johnson were there for the break through on the railway, which will run east to west through London when it opens in [...]