Woolies HQ, up for rent at least

Yesterday morning l awoke as usual to Radio 4 and a particular news item caught my ear, that is, since falling into administration in November 2008, two fifths of Woolies stores still lie empty, and the remaining bulk have been taken up by pound stores.

Now, the Woolies store near me on the Edgware Road (which was incidentally excellent for last minute xmas shopping, and yes I did actually shop there!) was almost immediately snapped up by Waitrose for a tidy sum (we hear), however, the thing that concerns me more is the empty Woolies Headquarter building on the Marylebone Rd.  It’s a local landmark, and if it hasn’t attracted any takers as office space, then perhaps, whoever is marketing these stores, should approach local planners about the potential for a change of use, maybe into a hotel or even an embassy?

The location has many excellent travel connections, with Marylebone station located just behind, Edgware Road tube station nearby, and a short walk away from Baker Street.  Not to mention the tide of buses and cabs along the Marylebone road.   I’ve no doubt, therefore, that the transport infrastructure could cope with those new demands without a detrimental effect on the lives of local residents.  More importantly, however, for both local residents and the local economy, it’s not healthy for such a large iconic building to lie empty in the neighbourhood.  Build wise, l suspect that a change of use into a hotel would be relatively easy, but for me a foreign embassy or several of them would be ideal.  Takers would not only benefit from a fantastic, central and vibrant location, it would also be a welcome and imaginative addition to the local area.

Murad with the Blue Cockerel proposal

After attending the viewing of the six new proposals for the Fourth Plinth last night, and seeing all the new ideas perched on the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square, the “Ultramarine Giant Blue Cockerel ” gets my vote! 
 
Out of the six ideas, it’s the one that stood out a mile. (I suspect this may well also be the view of pilots passing over London, on their way into Heathrow, or maybe not!).
 
The “Oversized Battenberg in Bricks” and the “Floating Cast of Fictional Mountainscape” held the least appeal for me, (the Battenberg, I certainly don’t get!) while “Sikandar” looked like Genghis Khan roaming through the Square.  As for the “ATM Pipe Organ”, well, that just looked too big for the plinth.

The only other contender was the “Brass Rocking Horse and Boy” which I’m sure will attract a lot of votes, but it’s the shocking blue cockerel for me.  Trafalgar Square and birds have been teamed up in the past, so a natural choice I think!

Now if l am reading Michael Crick’s political blog correctly from earlier on this week, Saint Vince Cable MP could find himself being the coalition mayoral candidate for 2012 !

He has been a Labour Councillor, is now a Liberal Democrat MP and to all intents and purposes a Tory Minister now as well.  Thats some political journey in public office. Rather then being known as a saint, maybe he should be better known as a political slapper !

• New figures show number of people dying early in London because of poor air quality now over twenty times higher than number killed in road accidents1
• Labour’s environment spokesman on the London Assembly calls on Mayor Boris Johnson to take urgent action and stop “sleep-walking” through a public health disaster.

Labour London Assembly member, Murad Qureshi, has labelled Boris Johnson’s plans to improve the quality of London’s air as not fit for purpose. Responding to a consultation on the proposals, which closed this week, Murad Qureshi urged Boris Johnson to save lives by:

• Stopping plans to cut the size of the congestion charge zone in half
• Dropping his opposition to charging polluting vans and minibuses from driving into Greater London from October
• Reinstating six-monthly inspections of black cabs

Over the longer term, the Mayor should consider a range of measures. These include:

• Targeted “low emission zones” to cut traffic in pollution hot-spots
• Improve information for Londoners on local air quality levels – via text message alerts, for example
• Introduce a vehicle retrofitting subsidy scheme
• Improve transport to Heathrow airport as new figures show three-quarters of toxic nitrogen oxide pollution in the local area could be caused by road vehicles2

Problems identified with the Mayor’s plans include:

• By the Mayor’s own admission, they won’t bring London’s air within European legal limits3
• Not enough emphasis on the serious health impact of London’s poor air (the damage to children’s lungs is not mentioned until page 114)4
• Over-reliance on funding from central government but no indication of where this money will come from and no desire to lobby for it5 
• Not enough to encourage a reduction in the number of car journeys taken in London
• Only 300 low emission “hybrid” buses out of a 7,000 strong fleet will be in service by 2012 (just 4% of all London buses)6
• Over emphasis on cost-cutting and financial barriers to action and not enough emphasis on the savings to the NHS, individuals and businesses that would be brought about by improved air quality

London was singled out this summer as having the worst air pollution in Europe and for breaching legal limits for dangerous airborne particles. The UK government faces a £300m fine from the European Commission if London’s air is not improved.7 The Mayor of London published research recently which found that over 4,000 people in the city could be dying early because of the dire state of the air they breathe.

As well as cutting Londoners’ lives short by an average of two years, poor air quality also stunts the growth of children’s lungs and leads to increased rates of asthma.8

Speaking at City Hall as he submitted the response to the Mayor’s proposals, Labour’s environment spokesman on the London Assembly, Murad Qureshi, said:

“We know that far more people die because of the invisible, silent killer that is our poor air than are killed by speeding cars yet there is nothing in the Mayor’s plans to suggest he appreciates the scale of this problem or has even the slightest inclination to tackle it. Thousands are dying early unnecessarily every year; in some parts of our city one in five children already suffers with asthma; and the state of our air is so bad it is stunting the growth of our young people’s lungs. There cannot be many greater, more urgent causes a Mayor can take on yet Boris Johnson seems intent on sleep-walking through it.

“There are practical, realistic solutions to these problems that a Mayor who had the desire to do so could implement. But by sitting back and allowing it to get worse on his watch all he is doing is making tougher, more draconian measures likely in years to come.”

• Boris Johnson’s plan to scrap the Western Extension of the Congestion Charge (WEZ) will halve the Congestion Charge zone in size
• TfL predict losing between £55m and £70m of revenue if WEZ is scrapped – money that could be invested in public transport or keeping fares down9
• TfL predict an 8 per cent increase in traffic and pollution if the WEZ is scrapped10
• Boris Johnson suspended the next phase of London’s Low Emission Zone. The third phase was due to come into force this October and would have meant the most polluting vans and minibuses would be charged £100 a day to drive into Greater London.

Ends

Notes

1. There were 184 fatalities caused by road traffic collisions during 2009 (http://bit.ly/94fGRH). An Institute of Occupational Medicine report commissioned by the Mayor and published in June 2009 estimated that 4,267 deaths in London could be attributed to the city’s air quality (http://bit.ly/aPu8GF)

2. A report presented to the Heathrow Airport Consultative Committee (Air quality impact of no flights, 15/4/10 to 20/4/10) found that nitrogen oxide “concentrations due to background and road emissions were far larger [than those due to aircraft and other airport activities] at all sites; between 73 and 84% (depending on the site).”
3. P.8, Mayor’s draft air quality strategy, says: “The Government’s modelling shows that by the maximum time limit of the extension, 2011, Greater London is the only region in the country that is at risk of not meeting the limit value” (http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/MAQSPublicConsultationStrategy.pdf)

4. P.114, Mayor’s draft air quality strategy

5. e.g. P.16, Mayor’s draft air quality strategy says “Significant investment in air quality improvement measures is required by central Government to reduce concentrations in London and other urban areas across the country.” P.54 says: “The Mayor believes that the Government needs to do more.”

6. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/2019.aspx

7. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/25/london-air-pollution-europe

8. Oral and written evidence from Prof. Frank Kelly, King’s College London, February 2009, to Assembly Environment
Committee

9. Mayoral answer to the London Assembly (15 October 2008) http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=23419

10. Draft Revised Mayors Transport Strategy Integrated Impact Assessment, Appendix E – Report on Removal of WEZ.

Late last Friday afternoon, we were informed by officers that BNP Assembly Member, Richard Barnbrook was resigning the whip at the London Assembly. It also stated that he will now sit as an independent member on the London Assembly while he has not resigned from the the BNP Party.

As per usual we are seeing the BNP self-destruct when gaining public office. In his case he was the organiser in the last local elections in Barking & Dagenham which they lost 51 to nil. So much for his organising abilities.  

And quite what he means about resigning from the whip when he is the only member of the BNP on the London Assembly probably reflects badly on his intelligence. This is also probably linked to leadership challenges within the BNP. The party is clearly unravelling and we are seeing the first signs of this in London.

The month of fasting is upon us, but can we all agree when Eid ul Fitr is, at the end of the month of Ramadan?

Now, l hope this is not too much to ask, but I’ve always been very confused about the end of the month of fasting.  If nothing else, it would certainly help many of us book leave from work and plan for our family time and celebration commitments.  It seems to me, that various groups and mosques insist on taking a different view on which day it should fall, resulting in a difference of up to 48 hours; so, as often is the case, you have one half of London celebrating on one day, and another part on the following day!  Given the Muslim calendar is a straight lunar one, you’d have thought, it would, and should be a straight forward process to agree a unified “end” date. But alas, this is not the case.

In the UK we have the ICOUK ( Islamic Crescent Moon Observation for the UK ) dealing with this very issue. They suggest the crux of the problem is that we can only sight the crescent moon (hilal) from the UK for only a few months of the year.  For the remaining months, we are dependent on sightings from other parts of the world.  That’s precisely what happened this year for the start of Ramadan. The hilal of Ramadan could not be sighted in the UK or East of our shores, so, not surprisingly, some started on the 10th and others on the 11th of August (depending from which part of the world the sighting is chosen).  This is getting more complicated then l first thought! The only consolation is that it’s a lot less confusing then the reasoning behind why Easter always appears to move around in the calendar, and this is neither solar nor lunar! 

In this respect, l like the way in which the Turkish community agree when Eid should fall, before the month of fasting begins.  This then avoids the reliance on various sightings of the hilal crescent in different parts of the world and the consequent confusion and debate.   This year, (I’m led to believe from reliable sources), for some reason, it’s been more straightforward then in past years, as it’s certain that we’ll be united in having Eid ul Fitr on the 10th of Sept. I say, unity is always a good thing, so more consensus please in the coming years!

WHAT’S guaranteed to upset a “Boris Bike” user almost as much as a flat tyre and a sky dark with rain clouds? 

Finding that their nearest docking station is… er… not there.

Transport for London’s official cycle hire scheme maps show locations where you can pick up and drop off the two-wheeled vehicles. But at two sites in Westminster, docking stations marked on the map are nowhere to be seen, leading to huge confusion.

Murad Qureshi, Labour London Assembly member, says the two locations, which are on either side of the Marylebone flyover near Paddington would be perfect for docking stations. 

Both non-existent stations are marked on the official hard copy map that TfL has been distributing to “Boris Bike” users for the past two weeks. In the online map only one appears.

TfL cannot explain why the stations are marked on the map.

Mr Qureshi said: “The locations are at a major juncture that people can get to by car, foot, bus or Tube. TfL would have no problem getting approval to put stations there as there would be unlikely to be any complaints. I don’t know why the docking stations haven’t materialised. 

“I’m sure they would be better used than the ones in St John’s Wood.”

Although broadly supportive of the scheme, Mr Qureshi said he thought it would have been better if the resources allocated towards setting it up had been targeted to poorer areas of London or to areas where public transport is sparse, rather than merely to central London, which already has good public transport links.

He told West End Extra: “This is a colourful scheme but it will only benefit a small number of people in central London.”

A TfL spokesperson said local authorities, in this case the city council, had final responsibility for deciding whether a docking station goes ahead – but they did not explain why incorrect information had been included in TfL maps. 

The spokesperson said: “Planning consent was granted by Westminster Council in December 2009 and February 2010 for the two proposed docking stations adjacent to the Marylebone flyover, subject to certain conditions being met. These include installing improved CCTV coverage and dropped kerbs to improve safety for cyclists. TfL is keen to progress this application and is liaising with the council to seek a solution that would allow work on these sites to go ahead.”

Rosemarie MacQueen, Westminster’s head of planning, said: “We have been incredibly supportive of the mayor’s bike hire scheme, granting permission for more than 150 bike stands across the city, as we see it as an important way of tackling the highly covered issues of climate change and a way of introducing more environmentally friendly transport into the city.

“We have supported by far the vast majority of the applications but we imposed conditions on the Marylebone flyover bike stands for safety reasons. 

We asked for better lighting to be provided under the archway as well as CCTV and guard rails which should enable cyclists to come and go easily from the site, especially at night.”

View the full article at:

http://www.westendextra.com/news/2010/aug/confused-you-will-be-if-want-find-a%E2%80%98boris-bike%E2%80%99-marylebone-flyover

Westminster is acting against minicab company Addison Lee after it provided about 16,000 free cigarette bins for smokers outside pubs and restaurants.

In a test case, the Tory-run authority claims that it has broken planning laws by advertising itself on the Adbins, placed at seven sites in the Marylebone conservation area.

But the minicab firm – Europe’s largest with 2,400 vehicles – says it is being "bullied" by an over-bureaucratic council. It calls Westminster’s action perverse, coming as it does after a council crackdown on smokers that involved handing out £80 on-the-spot fines to people seen discarding cigarette butts.

Addison Lee chairman John Griffin told the Standard he hoped to call Mayor Boris Johnson as a witness when the case goes before City of Westminster magistrates on September 29. The hearing was postponed this week.

His company began giving pubs and restaurants the metal bins, at a cost to Addison Lee of about £50 each to buy and maintain, after England’s smoking ban was introduced in 2007. They are fixed to walls in external smoking areas and enable smokers to dispose of cigarettes without littering.

A further 5,000 bins are planned. Some featured an advert for the taxi company, but the latest ones do not because, it says, the post-pub trade is not its target market.

Mr Griffin said: "There is a law now which requires businesses to make receptacles available so people don’t throw cigarette butts on the floor. As part of our attempt to help people to comply, we supply these bins at zero cost to them. Westminster are trying to say we need planning permission.

"But whenever we put the bin up, we get the permission of the restaurant. If the restaurant needs planning permission, that’s a matter for them."

Mr Griffin added: "He [Boris] has said the Adbins are a commendable effort to keep London tidy. In the meantime, Westminster have decided they want to bully us. Nobody else is bothered about it."

Murad Qureshi, a Labour London Assembly member, said: "This is daft action by the City of Westminster, considering most of the cigarette butts would have ended up on the streets."

Westminster declined to comment