Category Archives: Uncategorized

The supporters of new roads across the Thames are stuck in the past. Without rail links they’d be a disaster for east London

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Alex Grant

The new road link would, the experts say, create a “corridor of opportunity”. It would “relieve congestion”, “improve accessibility” and “be of inestimable benefit to the capital”. It will, one supporter argues, “take longer-distance traffic off the existing main roads… … Continue reading →

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Far from being “dismal”, Euston’s Concourse is one of the best public spaces in London. Let’s hope HS2 doesn’t wreck it

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Alex Grant

A curious bidding war has been going on in London in the last few years: who can say the rudest thing about Euston Station. Last year, when it emerged that Euston’s 1960s building might be remodelled rather than demolished, Building … Continue reading →

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Emily Thornberry quitting does little to solve Labour’s southern discomfort. Miliband should have defended her right to tweet

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Alex Grant

The decision of Emily Thornberry to resign as shadow attorney-general – or Ed Miliband’s decision  to sack her, depending on who you believe – must be one of the loopiest political acts of modern times. Rather than lance a boil, … Continue reading →

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A Garden Bridge? No thank you, Joanna Lumley: London is ‘Bosky’ enough already

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Alex Grant

What’s not to like about the proposed Garden Bridge across the Thames? It’s designed by Thomas Heatherwick, a walk-on-water design superstar who came up with the Olympic Cauldron as well as the new Routemaster bus. It would, we are told, … Continue reading →

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Labour can take pride in its school rebuilding programme. Even if this one was finished nine years behind schedule  

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Alex Grant

Last Monday (November 3rd) I was at the grand opening of the John Roan School in Blackheath (the school lies in the ward I represented as a councillor until May 2014, and I used to be a governor there). Despite the big … Continue reading →

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What happens when politicians and developers meet behind closed doors – and why Unite’s wrong to call the meetings off

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Alex Grant

What happens when politicians and property developers meet behind closed doors? According to Vince Passfield, Unite’s deputy regional secretary for London, multi-national investors seek to “stitch up deals that would  hit council tenants and leaseholders in the capital”. As a result Unite … Continue reading →

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Seven months before an election Labour must inspire, surprise and provoke its supporters. Not patronise them

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Alex Grant

Labour Vice-Chair Michael Dugher MP (who’s been charged with “bringing the Obama touch to Labour’s 2015 election campaign”) sent me an automated “Hi Alex” email last week. “You might not realise it yet, but it’s pretty amazing just how much … Continue reading →

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The approval of Mount Pleasant’s “affordable” flats at £2,800 a month shows the rot of our planning system

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Alex Grant

Mount Pleasant matters. Formerly a prison, it’s one of the few large, undeveloped brownfield sites left in central London. Few object to redeveloping the unpleasant wasteland behind the Royal Mail’s sorting office, where Second World War bomb sites are still … Continue reading →

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The new University faculty is the best thing built in Greenwich for decades. Critics should be careful what they wish for

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Alex Grant

There’s a paradox about development in Greenwich (the town, not the borough) in the last 15 years. Schemes that commanded near-universal support when they were first proposed (the glass bubble around the Cutty Sark, which makes it look like its … Continue reading →

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There’s no need for Labour to be apologetic about a mansion tax

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Alex Grant

What’s the average annual household income in London? And what about the average property price? The answers – average household income was £38,688 in 2011 (the last year for which the ONS has statistics) and the average property price, even … Continue reading →

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