LDN Weekly – Issue 279 – 2 August 2023 – The Sun and the Rain
THE SUN AND THE RAIN
“After years of London being largely overlooked by central Government, recent announcements have once again put the capital front and centre of party politics."
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Emily Clinton We hope you enjoy this edition and if you don't already, do follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin. You can also visit our website for more information on LCA’s team, services, and clients. And finally, a technical note: If you like hearing from us, make sure to add ldn@londoncommunications.co.uk to your contacts or ‘safe sender’ list – this will help ensure our news bulletin lands in your inbox. OUR HOUSEAnd just like that, London matters again, with a major Government intervention in the city’s housing and planning over the last week. Following Michael Gove’s wide-ranging speech, the Prime Minister made a flying visit to a housing scheme in West London – and he couldn’t resist a full-on political attack on the Mayor of London’s record. Which was, after all, kind of the point. This intervention is more about the politics than the policy, positioning over substance. For Sunak’s team, the Evening Standard’s frontpage will be seen as mission accomplished. The substance of what was announced doesn’t feel like it is going to make all that much difference on the ground, and certainly not any time soon. Forcing changes to the Mayor’s London Plan and talk of Docklands 2.0 aren’t going to deliver vast numbers of new homes in the next year or so. But with housing such a divisive issue for the Tories in their own ranks, the party has struggled to reconcile opposing views. One wing champions building new homes on a vast scale with the other side – particularly those in leafy suburban seats – fearing the electoral cost of new development. But housing is a growing concern for voters – and the party knows it can’t simply be ignored. And that’s what this new nuanced positioning is all about - Sunak vowing to defend the Green Belt while simultaneously talking of building many more homes in “Central” London (and, tellingly, away from the suburbs). Outer London Tory MPs and notable critics of top-down housing targets are happy. In all this, the Mayor presents a handy foil for the Government. And that’s not to say that the Mayor’s record on housing is immune from criticism – far from it – but as we’ve pointed out before in LDN, it’s complicated and key levers driving the housing market aren’t in Khan’s (or even for that matter the Government’s) control. Unsurprisingly, the Mayor and his Deputy Mayor for Housing, Tom Copley, came out fighting. One thing is for sure, the starting pistol on a long General and Mayoral election campaign has been fired. DRIVING IN MY CARMotorists are suddenly a key in-demand demographic for politicians. With the High Court ruling that the expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) can proceed, the Mayor is now free to go ahead with his expansion as planned on 29 August, despite the ongoing fallout following the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election. However, the Prime Minister has responded rather differently to the result in Uxbridge, by declaring that he is ‘on the drivers’ side’, announcing a review of LTNs and even reportedly considering limiting councils’ ability to introduce 20mph speed limits, accusing the Labour Party of being ‘anti-motorist’. With the polling somewhat mixed on the Prime Minister’s intervention, it is particularly surprising therefore to see him confirm the Government’s plans to phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2030, a policy which is, according to polling by YouGov, opposed by 68% of Conservative voters. While the PM’s intervention is likely to appeal to a vocal minority, the risk is that a perceived watering-down of the environmental agenda could turn off floating voters in the centre ground – a constituency that holds the key to winning the next election. LONDON PLANNING ROUNDUP
PEOPLE NEWS
BUILDING SAFETY LATESTWhile it has been making headline-grabbing housing announcements, the Government has also quietly been making process on the building safety front:
INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATEThe Government’s programme of big infrastructure projects has its annual school report – and it’s a long way from achieving all As. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) has given a bruising review of the management of ongoing major construction, transport and other government projects. The IPA’s red warning for HS2’s first phase connecting Old Oak Common to Birmingham is hardly surprising - albeit describing it as ‘unachievable’, with ‘major issues’ in its delivery, budget and schedule is nevertheless damning. The IPA are the latest to slam HS2, hot on the heels of the Transport Select Committee being deeply critical of the ‘completely unrealistic’ plans for Euston and the reopening of the Public Accounts Committee inquiry into the new HS2 London terminus. The Lower Thames Crossing – that will tunnel between Kent and Essex – has also received an amber warning. Over £250m has already been spent on the crossing, despite it not having received planning permission. WE RECOMMEND
This month, LCA client Get Living received unanimous approval from the LLDC’s Planning Decisions Committee for the final development plots at East Village, completing the vision for the original Stratford City Masterplan. These include the delivery of 848 high-quality rental homes, over 500 student beds, and improved public spaces at Victory Park & Belvedere, that will provide exciting new amenities and community activities for the whole neighbourhood. LCA led an inclusive, meaningful programme of consultation on the projects over the last 2 years, which involved a series of public drop-ins at the cultural hub The Lab E20, site tours with key community and political stakeholders, as well as workshops with a local school and the LLDC’s Youth Panel. Last week, LCA also secured a full-page article in the Metro for Get Living. The article was a full-page interview with resident ambassador, Ramzan Miah. The British-Bangladeshi actor who appears in the most talked about movie on the year, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, recently relocated to London. In the interview, Ramzan discusses why he chose East Village as his new home, touching on the location, lifestyle, and benefits of build-to-rent.
For our client, Knight Dragon, we announced an exciting installation from London’s hottest name in happy psychedelia, Murugiah, coming to Greenwich Peninsula as part of London Design Festival (LDF). Rangoli Mirrored Cosmos is Murugiah’s first 3D site-specific work which combines his South East Asian heritage, Western upbringing and architectural training. It takes as its starting point the Hindu tradition of Rangoli – colourful mandala patterns painted onto doorway floors for celebrations. Installed on 16 September, the striking mirrored light sculpture marks the beginning of LDF as well as the lead-up to Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, bringing positivity and good fortune for the new season. This morning (Wednesday 2 August) Greenwich Peninsula was featured live on air on the BBC Radio London Breakfast Show’s Summer in the City segment (you can listen here from 1:52:00). Laura Flanagan, Marketing Director for Knight Dragon, spoke about the packed Summer Sessions offering in the Design District with incredible free activities every weekend in August, from a Charles Mingus listening party to a Victoria Sponge decorating workshop, Big Music Weekend and outdoor cinema screenings LDN CONTRIBUTORSRobert Gordon Clark, Senior Advisor and Partner Nick Bowes, Managing Director, Insight Emily Clinton, Account Manager, Insight Daniel Reast, Insight Executive LCA prides itself on its intelligence-led approach to PR and communications and our dedicated insight team monitors London politics, news and issues as it happens. If you would like to know more about LCA or anything in this edition of LDN – London in short please get in touch.If you have received LDN Weekly indirectly and would like to subscribe to receive it every week, please click here to register your details.LDN is put together by a dedicated team at London Communications Agency. The content for each edition is developed from news drawn from the last week from every London local paper as well as the regional and national press, from intelligence gathered by monitoring local, regional and national government activity and from the insight and expert knowledge of the entire LCA team. |