The London Minute ⏰ Thursday 19 September 2024
Coal Drops Yard pavilion controversy, Oxford Street bike ban, new Fourth Plinth unveiled + a new publication for the whole city
🌞 Good morning London. Here’s Thursday’s London Minute.
🚇 Overground: ‘Severe delays’ are reported this morning between Highbury & Islington and Stratford. - TfL live status updates.
🚳 Cyclists will be banned from riding through the proposed pedestrianised section of Oxford Street. Mayor Sadiq Khan told The Standard: “I’m quite clear: in that part of the street we pedestrianise, I want it to be for people to walk around.” - Ross Lydall, The Standard.
🛍️ New plans have surfaced for a pavilion-style building at Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross. Some locals have criticised the plans, saying it makes the historic building look like ‘a duty-free mall’. - Alex Marsh, Islington Gazette.
⮑ Artist Sir Antony Gormley, who lives locally, has called the proposal ‘simply a bad idea,’ reports Artlyst.
⮑ Full designs with context notes from Fathom Architects and site owner King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership are online here.
⮑ See the full planning application at this link by pasting in the reference: 2024/3019/P
🎭 Plaster cast faces of hundreds of transgender and non-binary people were unveiled yesterday as the latest installation on the Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth. - Will Noble, Londonist.
⮑ Mexican artist Teresa Margolles described the artwork as a tribute to “all the people who were killed for reasons of hate. But, above all, to those who live on, to the new generations who will defend the power to freely choose to live with dignity.” - Jill Lawless, AP.
✏️ Eight primary schools could be forced to close or merge due to a sharp drop in the number of children in Lambeth. - Jacob Phillips, The Standard.
🏠 Hackney Council has revealed its latest plans for adult social care, proposing hundreds of new homes for supported-living over the next decade. - Joe Steen, Local Democracy Reporter, Hackney Gazette.
⛪️ A Fulham priest was convicted of stealing after being caught on CCTV taking £200 from the offertory collection during Mass at his own church. - BBC London News.
🆕 There’s a new source for The London Minute to link to. With the Evening Standard closing down its daily print newspaper, former Guardian media editor Jim Waterson has launched London Centric; his own ‘modern news outlet for the capital doing journalism in the old-fashioned way.’ Jim said:
“I want a city-wide outlet that can explain the inside story, provide the gossip, and get the leaked plans of what is coming next. Something unapologetically London-centric. I’ve long believed there is an audience for quality, in-depth journalism about London: A publication that finds out what the mayor is really doing, exposes dodgy landlords, and only gives recommendations that are sincere — not because a sponsor demanded coverage. And with that in mind, I decided that I’d better do it myself.” - Jim Waterson, London Centric.
🗞️ The Evening Standard has printed its final daily paper ahead of a move to weekly-only editions. - James W Kelly, BBC London News.
⮑ Business media firm City A.M. has struck a deal to take up some vacant spots in the Standard’s distribution network. - Charlotte Tobitt, Press Gazette.
🍻 The Harrison Pub in King’s Cross has survived ‘by the skin of its teeth’ after having to find £99,000 in backdated rent from the pandemic. - Jacob Phillips, The Standard.
🏡 Singer Boy George’s grade II-listed Gothic Hampstead mansion is available to rent for £65,000 per month, having previously been on market for £17m. - Emma Magnus, Evening Standard.
⮑ “Whether we sell it or whether we rent it, he’s happy with both. He’s very relaxed. He’s not under any pressure whatsoever.” - Julia Garber of listing agents Robert Irving Burns (who are also selling a house in Highgate for £32m).
👀 London Bridge is hollow, and it’s possible to walk/crawl all the way through. - Matt Brown steps inside the bridge in the Londonist: Time Machine newsletter.
🚲 A huge pile-up of Lime hire bikes went viral on social media. - Herbie Russell, Southwark News.
🎨 The first of more than 100 murals has been completed in Camden as a part of a month-long festival spanning 15 boroughs in London. - Caitlin Maskell, Camden New Journal.
🐈⬛ A seven-year-old cat named Marley who lives at a safe house for women in London has been named Cats Protection's National Cat of the Year. - Victoria Cook, BBC London News.
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📌 “Bingo meets Tech meets Comedy. Join the UK’s premiere IT consultants turned comedy double act, Foxdog Studios, as they combine bingo and tech. Expect robots, comedy and chaos. Play along on your charged phone (but in a fun way).” Tickets via Dice. Friday 4 October at MOTH Club, E9 6NU. - Thanks to Foxdog Studios for sharing this.
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