LDN Weekly – Issue 297 – 20 December 2023 – Merry Christmas Everybody
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY
"As we come to the end of 2023 here’s a brief, personal review for this final edition of LDN."
| No images? Click here  MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY"As we come to the end of 2023 here’s a brief, personal review for this final edition of LDN. Starting with the built environment, an undoubted highlight was the opening of the new London Centre, run by the NLA, at the Guildhall in the City of London. It has already seen over 55,000 visitors through its doors since April. Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy won’t be moving east, it looks like the MSG Sphere won’t be coming to Stratford, the jury remains out on the possible redevelopment of the M&S store on Oxford Street, and CO-RE still wait for a decision on their proposals for ITV London on the South Bank. That all said, projects like Royal Street and Berkeley’s major residential scheme in Hounslow now have the all-clear. On the cultural front, we saw the welcome re-opening of the National Portrait Gallery, the formal start on site of the new London Museum at West Smithfield and great progress at East Bank on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. But we also saw cuts to the Hampstead and Donmar theatres, the decision by the ENO to move from London to Manchester by 2029 and a lot of criticism at the cost of West End theatre tickets. On the sporting front, the new Lee Valley twin pad ice rink opened at Lea Bridge Road, courtesy of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, replacing an outdated single pad. But we also saw the winding up of London Irish RFU, one of no less than three Premier League clubs to go under. There was little to really sing about when it comes to transport. The HS2 fiasco left Euston Station literally in a big hole; the Elizabeth Line’s reliability was disappointing (although usage was way beyond what many predicted); “sinister” LTNs continued to take a kicking; and whilst ULEZ was rolled out, there are still many in outer London strongly opposed to the scheme and a Tory Mayoral candidate determined to scrap it on day one (if she is elected). At least we might see pedicabs banned from the West End sometime soon. We had too many strikes, too few affordable homes built, too many people homeless (there should be none) and too many candy stores on Oxford Street. But we did have a rather wonderful coronation watched by millions around the world (including no less than 9 million in republican France), and we welcomed Dylan Jones as the latest Editor of the Evening Standard. Whether he will be the last remains to be seen, as circulation recently fell below 300,000. We nearly said goodbye to the CBI, but we definitely did say goodbye to Boris Johnson as a London MP, to Credit Suisse as a bank, and sadly to three well known architects - Rafael Vinoly who designed the Walkie Talkie, Michael Squire of Chelsea Barracks fame and Sir Michael Hopkins creator of the Mound Stand at Lords – as well as two friends to many of us in the sector, Pam Alexander and Bob Kerslake. What didn’t change much were Labour’s national poll lead over the Tories, which continued to be comfortably in the double digits; interest rate levels, which remained stubbornly high; and inflation, which has come down but is still really affecting far too many Londoners as the cost-of-living crisis continues. As for 2024, well keep your eye on Thames Water, Susan Hall’s attempt to unseat Sadiq Khan as Mayor, the impact of RAAC on London schools, leasehold reform, the latest stage in the long running Grenfell Inquiry saga, Section 114 notices, “grey belt”, a possible London led bid to save the 2026 Commonwealth Games, and perhaps a general election earlier than most assume. And apart from LDN each week, I strongly recommend you sign up to OnLondon if you don’t already. Oh, and finally there’s LCA’s 25th birthday. We’ll be back with the first LDN of 2024 on 10 January. Best wishes for the season and for 2024." Robert Gordon Clark, Senior Advisor and Partner 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. If you love LDN and are looking for a weekly update on the social housing sector, sign up for our Social Housing Weekly newsletter. Compiled by our client team, it provides a tour of the week's major news out of the social and council housing sectors, including commentary from LCA Director, Harriet Shone. Click here and sign up today!  DOES GOVE KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?WRAPPING UP: it might be the final week before Christmas, but no one told Michael Gove, who used the days when everyone is tired and focused on festivities to finally publish the long-awaited National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Ad-venting: in a speech at RIBA, Gove went round the houses, attacking local authorities, councillors, the Mayor of London, building on the Green Belt, tall buildings in the suburbs and the statutory consultee system. Gold, Frankincense and More: Gove described himself as a YIMBY, and claimed the 300,000 a year housing target was only not being met because of high mortgage rates. That being said, he confirmed there’d be no top down housing targets, instead leaving it to local areas to determine how many homes to build, describing it as a ‘sensitive adjustment’. Mistletoeing the line: local authorities will be expected to produce local plans and seven (none in London) are being directed to produce a timetable for publishing a plan within twelve weeks, with threat of further intervention if they fail. Local authorities that maintain up to date plans will be ‘rewarded’ with powers to protect against speculative development. Stocking filler: with top down housing targets abolished after squeals of anguish from some local authorities, it’s not clear how leaving councils to decide how many homes to build will result in even higher numbers being delivered. Green Christmas: Gove reassured local authorities they wouldn’t need to redraw the Green Belt to meet housing need – a clear dividing line with Starmer’s “grey belt” approach. Oh Cambs All Ye Faithful: Cambridge is to receive a new development corporation to spearhead housing delivery in the Fens, with northwards of 150,000 new homes to be built. Claus out: despite love bombing Sadiq, the Mayor of London was the target for much of Gove’s criticism, attacking his record on housebuilding and claiming that London is the worst performing region for new homes. Gove has written to Khan citing high house prices, low home ownership levels and large numbers in temporary accommodation all the result of failings of the Mayor’s leadership. Four Wise People: following threats earlier this summer, Gove has announced a review of the London Plan to report in early 2024. The review will be led by Christopher Katkowski KC (Kings Chambers), Cllr James Jamieson (former leader of Central Bedfordshire Council), Paul Monaghan (AHMM), and Dr Wei Yang (KCL and Chair, CIC) and will look at whether elements of the plan are holding back delivery of new homes. Yule never believe it: It is just short of four years ago since Gove’s predecessor, Robert Jenrick, approved the current London Plan. Needled: Khan isn’t taking the attacks laying down, coming out fighting with a sassy response on social media. With the Mayoral election just five months away, the challenge is interpreting how much of this is performative politicking by the Government or meaningful change in public policy. Snow thanks: Khan wasn’t the only one unhappy, with his opposite number Angela Rayner accusing Gove of caving in to his backbenches. BusinessLDN warned against undermining London’s devolution settlement, and the National Housing Federation feared the package will result in fewer homes being built. The Times editorial gives it a ‘thumbs down’. Chipping away: Perhaps the real litmus test comes from arch opponent of planning reforms and top down housing targets, Theresa Villers. The Chipping Barnet MP (majority: 1,212) gave a ‘cautious welcome’ to the new NPPF – Gove will no doubt see that as a win. CHRISTMAS COME EARLYDO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? In an offload of this year’s loose ends, this week the Government published a series of very important funding announcements for local government and TfL. Let’s look at the ‘in tray’ for January 2024. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks: Local councils’ core funding will be increased by 6.5% to help stave off any potential bankruptcies in the new year. The extra £64bn is to go towards supporting statutory services like social care, housing and waste. However, the majority of this funding will come from councils hiking up their council taxes to the maximum possible levels. Rejoice, Rejoice? It’s fair to say that the local government community has responded negatively to the settlement. Cllr Claire Holland (Lab), Acting Chair of London Councils, said that the settlement ‘won’t be enough to plug the budget’ and would result in higher council taxes. Down in Yon Forest: The Local Government Association said the settlement ‘does not provide enough’ to counter the funding gap faced by one in five of its member councils. Leader of Spelthorne Council, and Finance Spokesperson for the District Councils’ Network, Cllr Elizabeth Dennis (Lab) added that increasing council taxes to safeguard services unsupported by the settlement was ‘the last thing we want to do.’ Ding Dong Merrily on High: The prospect of rolling out a radical approach to flexible working, plus helpfully saving some money by reducing workforce costs from a four-day working week has dropped South Cambridgeshire District Council into a long, protracted row with the Government. The trial has escalated further to threats of ‘financial levers’ being used to crack down on councils operating the four-day week. Little Drummer Boy: The Mayor of London’s proposed 8.6% increase to council taxes for the GLA precept, plus an extra £20 for TfL on Band D homes, has been received poorly by Susan Hall, the Conservative mayoral candidate. Hall said Khan was treating Londoners ‘like walking cash machines’ despite the Mayor arguing it was needed due to a ‘lack of Government funding.’ It Came Upon the Midnight Clear: While Secretary of State Michael Gove did not oppose the Mayor’s request to increase his share of council tax, he said Khan should ‘take into account’ pressures on residents from the cost of living. The Standard said Khan’s decision was a ‘reality’ due to ‘tight budgets’ and being forced to go ‘cap-in-hand’ to Whitehall. As with Gladness Men of Old: The GLA’s budget for 2024 will no doubt be of interest to newly appointed Deputy Mayor for Business, Howard Dawber, who joins to replace now-parliamentary candidate and long-serving Deputy Mayor Rajesh Agrawal. Dawber is well known in London circles, having worked for many years for Canary Wharf Group. Star of the (Mill Hill) East: The Department for Transport has granted £250m in capital funding to TfL to support its major investments for 2024. Sadiq Khan and TfL bosses had asked for £500m to support the purchase of new Bakerloo line trains, but Commissioner Andy Lord has said that TfL’s business plan will now need to be reassessed in light of the shortfall, despite the Government’s 11-year £235m ‘pothole fund’ reallocated from the cancellation of the HS2 line to Manchester. Tidings of Comfort and Joy: Fans of the Tube will no doubt revel in the newly refurbished Central Line trains under final testing at Hainault. More reliable motors, new CCTV cameras feature in the £500m makeover of one of London’s busiest Tube lines, along with a fresh moquette design for the seating. LONDON RESILIENCE?HARK! Readers of last week’s edition of The Economist will have seen it singing London’s praises. Its briefing was entitled ‘Brexit? Hah! Lockdowns? Shrug! Can nothing stop London?’, with the magazine stating that the capital remains resilient through numerous challenges, with its economy faring better than other parts of the country after Brexit, tourism almost having returned to pre-pandemic levels and London’s schools being some of the best performing in England. The return to capital has of course been aided by the popularity of the Elizabeth Line, which has pushed Liverpool Street to the top spot as busiest train station in the country. In The Bleak Midwinter: The Economist does however caveat that London is likely to be hit harder by the national Government’s approach to immigration, while housing also remains a major challenge. Silent Night: Housing was highlighted by The Observer, which focused on the exodus of Londoners from the capital, driven out by the rising cost of homes. The article came shortly following reports that four primary schools in Hackney were closing due to a ‘significant decline in the number of school-aged children’ in the borough, a phenomenon which is being experienced in other London boroughs, with 90 primary schools in England reportedly currently at risk of closure. All I Want for Christmas: Though a recent report by the Centre for Inequality & Levelling Up found that Greater London has received the lowest amount of Government levelling up funding per head at £28.03, London has however been announced as the recipient of some new funding from the Levelling Up Fund. Announced on Tuesday, £43.1m has been allocated for the upgrades of Colindale and Leyton Tube stations. LONDON PLANNING ROUNDUP
PEOPLE NEWS
Candidate watch
 2023 IN REVIEWLDN’s regular contributors give us their takes on the last year, picking their highlights and lowlights, and choosing good and bad year. Nick
Robert
Emily
Dan
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