LDN Weekly – Issue 165 – 17 March 2021
BAD WEEK FOR BAILEY?
We have made the editorial decision not to focus this week on the recent events in Clapham following the terrible murder of Sarah Everard.
| No images? Click here  BAD WEEK FOR BAILEY?We have made the editorial decision not to focus this week on the recent events in Clapham following the terrible murder of Sarah Everard. So much has been written and said in recent days – including at our own International Women’s Day event last week – that we could fill the whole of LDN with this one issue. From our perspective as ‘experts’ in the structures and quirks of London, it is notable that 21 years after the introduction of the Mayor of London, confusion still remains about who the Met Commissioner is genuinely accountable to, and where the real political responsibility rests when it comes to policing our Capital. It is cases like this that show us how important clear reporting lines and accountabilities really are; clarity is key in a crisis. Meanwhile LDN is packed with news as we find ourselves in the last week of “normal” politics, before the pre-election period kicks in for 6 May. Policies, planning, pavements, payments, pains and people all here. And one reminder. Sunday 21 March 2011 is national Census Day. When first run on 10 March 1801, the population of England, Wales and Scotland was around 10.5 million – basically a bit higher than London’s today. Since then it has been repeated every 10 years, although the 1931 results were lost in a fire. Why is it so important? Well, the results heavily influence the way government spends money especially on issues like policing, housing, transport, education and health. So do fill it in please.  ELECTIONS LATESTWith the ‘pre-election period of sensitivity’ starting on next Monday, things are really heating up on the campaign trail. This week we bring you new polling, another campaign launch and the latest from the Conservative camp:
Beyond this year’s campaign trail, bigger changes to London’s political playing field electoral system are a-brewing. Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced plans to scrap the current supplementary vote system used in the London Mayoral elections in favour of first past the post, which is also used in General and most Local Elections. The changes would come into effect no earlier than 2024 and would require legislative changes. They have already raised strong objections, and would arguably benefit the two largest parties. LABOUR PAINSIf you thought that Keir Starmer’s ascension to the leadership would herald a quieter time for the Labour Party and its raucous London region, think again. The national party has suspended the East Ham and West Ham constituency Labour parties following reports of ‘a significant number of serious allegations regarding the conduct of Labour Party members and membership recruitment practices in Newham’, while allegations of electoral fraud are also reportedly being investigated by police. Meanwhile, south of the river, LCA hears that Leader of Lambeth Council Cllr Jack Hopkins survived a leadership challenge at a Labour Group meeting which took place on 15 March. Beyond London, there has been controversy over the selection of the party’s candidate for the Liverpool Mayoralty and just the other day the Labour MP for Hartlepool stood down from parliament, ‘sparking an awkward by-election for Keir Starmer in a potentially vulnerable "red wall" seat.’ With party activists on manoeuvres in advance of elections for key Labour Party positions in May and June, and with candidate selection processes for May 2022’s London Borough Elections likely to begin soon, Labour in London – and most everywhere else – is headed for choppy waters. ENGAGE EARLYThere’s so much planning news – of both the policy and decisions variety – that we hardly know where to start! But here’s a handy sample of the latest:
REOPENING RULESWith the vaccination programme galloping ahead and infection rates showing marked decline in most areas, recovery and the ‘future of the city’ are the talk of the town. The Mayor is apparently bringing together ’leaders and key London organisations at his inaugural Recovery Summit’ today alongside the announcement of a ‘bumper package of measures worth more than £544m to kickstart London’s recovery.’ The Mayor's press release then explains that £499m of this actually refers to investments by utility companies. The capital’s embattled retailers will likely be more interested in the Mayor’s new High Streets for All Challenge, while the beleaguered hospitality sector will likely be more impressed by Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick’s confirmation that pavement licences will be extended for 12 months. Meanwhile, all eyes are on Oxford Street, as a bellwether for the ‘future of the high street.’ Westminster City Council is forging ahead with its plans to give the thoroughfare a facelight (and, erm, a hill), but most businesses are not waiting on politicians to make their moves. To wit, Marks & Spencer has revealed plans to redevelop part of its flagship store, while fashion brand Hugo Boss has scooped up 8,000 sq ft at Selfridges’ The Parcels Building. PEOPLE NEWS
 WHITHER CIL AND S106?‘Developer contributions’ are arguably the most contentious component of England’s planning process. But while the focus tends to be on the level of contributions extracted from individual schemes, people often forget to check up on what happens to those contributions down the line. Not so for Property Week’s sleuths, who have analysed (more here) the latest available annual Infrastructure Funding Statements (IFS) of every local planning authority in London that they could get their hands on. They have found that London’s local planning authorities were, at least as of end-March 2020, ‘sitting on at least £1.29bn in unspent developer contributions’ – £914m from Section 106 and nearly £374m from Community Infrastructure Levy payments. That is without counting seven planning authorities that have yet to publish their IFS. Many developers (who have ‘coughed up’ the contributions) and indeed local communities (who are meant to benefit from them) will be understandably miffed. However, spokespeople from the Local Government Association and individual boroughs are cited by Property Week as stating that it’s not quite that simple and that Councils obviously want to spend this money – indeed, how could they not, considering well-documented pressures on their budgets? Most, they argued, are simply pooling funds to spend them on big infrastructure projects, which require careful and often time-consuming planning. While on the subject of local government finances, we’d encourage readers to join in on the collective sigh of relief at Croydon Council finally being granted its capitalisation direction – a heavily conditional and caveated bailout of sorts, but a lifeline nonetheless. LONDON TRANSPORT LATESTYesterday, the Transport for London (TfL) Board met for the final time before the Mayoral election. With its current funding agreement set to expire on 31 March, it had been hoped that a new deal would have been agreed between TfL and the Government by the time the Board met, but TfL Commissioner Andy Byford confirmed at the meeting that this was not the case, which he said was ‘disappointing’. Byford argued that TfL will do all it can to secure a deal ahead of the deadline, reiterating that the network will be central to London’s post-COVID recovery and that if adequately funded, it could also contribute to the Government’s wider agenda on a number of fronts, including decarbonisation. Separately, the Government this week announced ‘Bus Back Better’, its national bus strategy for England, specifically ‘outside London’. Bus services in the capital are instead used in the strategy as the gold standard, with the Prime Minister writing in his foreword that the new strategy will ‘make buses more frequent, more reliable, easier to understand and use, better co-ordinated and cheaper: in other words, more like London’s’. A gratifying acknowledgment for London’s transport planners, but one that does little to ensure the city’s transit network will remain at the top of its game. TOWARDS NET ZEROSpeaking of a green recovery, three recent initiatives stand out as developments to watch as the country gears up to meet ambitious ‘net zero’ targets:
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