New year, same lockdown: UK shopping trips fall 27 per cent in first week of January January 11, 2021 New year, same lockdown: UK shopper numbers fall 27 per cent in first week of January
It will need all hands to the pump to get London back where it should be January 5, 2021 Last year was for many the most challenging year in living memory. Repeated lockdowns, the loss of loved ones, business closures, job losses and a complete shift in how we live our lives. Our great capital city has also undergone sudden and dramatic changes. As the pandemic took hold in March it was eerily empty, [...]
Chinese Embassy plans at risk over Black Death bodies December 15, 2020 Plans to build China’s largest European embassy in east London could be scuppered after local leaders raised concerns that the foundations would disrupt the bodies of thousands of bubonic plague victims. Councillors in Tower Hamlets have flagged complaints to Historic England, warning that the building will disturb “a site of major historical importance”. China bought the former [...]
Heron Tower closed off following reports of suspicious package November 30, 2020 The City’s Heron Tower has been cordoned off as police carry out a controlled explosion following reports of a suspicious package. City of London police said a 200m cordon was placed around the skyscraper this morning, while nearby roads were closed. Heron Tower, located in one of the City’s busiest commuter regions, was initially evacuated [...]
St Paul’s Cathedral awarded £2.1m in government funding November 7, 2020 St Paul’s Cathedral has been awarded £2.1m of government cash as part of a series of lifeline grants for cultural venues during the pandemic. The latest raft of government funding has seen more than £18m handed out to 182 cultural icons around the country. Thirty per cent of the money was awarded to London venues [...]
Coronavirus: London to lose £10.9bn from tourist spending, Sadiq Khan warns October 23, 2020 London is set to miss out on £10.9bn from a drop in tourist spending as a result of the coronavirus crisis, Sadiq Khan has warned, as footfall in the capital remains well below pre-pandemic levels. Overseas tourists will spend £7.4bn less on goods and services in London this year, while domestic tourists will spend £3.5bn [...]
Sadiq Khan urges ministers to build more London council houses to ease post-pandemic inequality October 21, 2020 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has urged ministers to significantly increase the number of council houses in London, in a bid to offset increasing wealth disparities caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Khan today launched a major new report calling on the government to “stop blocking the aspiration of London’s councils to build” and urging ministers [...]
Our Pick: Pictures of the Day – October 15 October 15, 2020 Our Pick: Pictures of the Day - October 15
Finsbury Circus Gardens to become ‘City haven’ in major facelift October 13, 2020 The City’s largest open space is set to undergo a major revamp to transform it into a “haven for people and wildlife”, the City of London Corporation announced today. Finsbury Circus Gardens, London’s oldest public park, will see a new “secret garden”, urban forest and multi-purpose garden pavilion transform it into an “active cultural hub” [...]
Don’t let London become a Donut: Crowded on the outside, empty in the middle October 2, 2020 As a Londoner born and bred, I am acutely sensitive to the ebb and flow of people travelling in and out of London on a daily basis — the human tide of our capital. Despite various pleas and edicts, right now the centre of London is pretty much empty. The tide went out abruptly at [...]