The London Minute ⏰ Wednesday 25 June 2025
Station upgrade, Wimbledon court protest plan, Burgess Park sports centre revamp + a new dinosaur skeleton
🌤️ Good morning London. It’s a relatively quiet news day so far… There’s as much ‘better news’ as the normal news section, which is a first. Here’s Wednesday’s London Minute.
🚉 A £44m upgrade to Pontoon Dock DLR station - including long-awaited new escalators - will start next summer. - Ian Mansfield has photos of the plans on IanVisits.
🏠 Balconies that collapsed on a new-build housing estate in Barking, were so ‘poorly designed’ they ‘posed a risk to life’, report Guy Lynn & Stephen Menon of BBC Investigations.
🗳️ Voters will go to the polls for a by-election in the Shooter’s Hill ward of Greenwich tomorrow, following the resignation of councillor Ivis Williams. - Full voting details via the council here.
🏫 Cuts to nursery subsidies will force families to leave Hackney, parents have said. - Nicky Ford, BBC London News.
🔥 There were dramatic scenes yesterday when a van burst into flames between St Pancras and King’s Cross stations. - Michael Howie, The Standard.
🚦 New air quality sensors will be deployed across the capital, including 10 on and around Oxford Street to monitor the air quality impacts of the newly announced pedestrianisation scheme - if it gets approved. - The Mayor’s office published more details.
🍽️ The ‘Margot Italian’ restaurant in Covent Garden blamed ‘national insurance cost increases imposed on us in this year's budget’ for its closure at the weekend. - Bill Bowkett, The Standard.
👑 A £46m glass bridge to honour Queen Elizabeth II is ‘excessively wasteful and giving off Swarovski vibes’ according to The Guardian’s architecture and design critic Oliver Wainwright.
✌️ Better news
This section aims to include better news from all over London. It’s a wide range of things, and as always you’re welcome to submit yours here. My hope is that it inspires more civic pride and community spirit, new plans in your calendar and a few smiles or laughs along the way.
🦕 There’s a new dinosaur skeleton (‘new’, but old, obviously) in the Natural History Museum's Earth Hall. - See it in Will Noble’s report in Londonist.
⚽️ The sports centre in Burgess Park has opened its doors after a multi-million pount refurbishment. - Issy Clarke, Southwark News.
🪧 A new public artwork will pay tribute to the women who took part in the Dagenham Ford sewing machinists’ strikes of 1968 and 1984. - Sophie England, Barking & Dagenham Post.
🍿 A ‘Wicked’ film singalong in the shadow of Tower Bridge is among the free events planned as The Scoop amphitheatre hosts another two months of al fresco film screenings. - Phil de Semlyen, Time Out.
🍽️ Chef, restaurateur, and food writer Mark Hix will host a one-night-only dinner at Brixton prison’s Clink restaurant in July. - Brixton Blog.
🌯 Streetfood pioneers KERB are launching a new weekly market next month in Leyton’s Francis Road, and Stephen Emms has all the details in Leytonstoner.
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📌 “The revolt of Hackney's Tower blocks: A vivid portrait of years of neglect and cover-ups by the council's housing team — but also reveals for the first time how residents across the borough are fighting back by organising on the ground and going on council tax strike!” - Thanks to Dispatch for sharing this.
📌 “A borough-wide art weekend taking place in Islington, featuring exhibitions, tours, talks, music and cocktails in a surprisingly diverse range of galleries and cultural spaces. Participating spaces include Bobinska Brownlee, Estorick Collection, Flexitron, PostROOM, Twilight Contemporary and WhiteConduit Projects. Saturday 12 July 11-6 & Sunday 13 July 12-4pm.” - Thanks to the organisers for sharing this.
📌 “Save Wimbledon Park: Next Steps - The High Court. Join us on 8th July - Travel arrangements: The SWP judicial review that challenges the GLA’s planning permission to build on Wimbledon Park will be heard in the High Court on 8th and 9th July, in the middle of Wimbledon Fortnight. It has taken 4 years and many thousands of pounds of your money to get us to this point so it is vital that on July 8th we make an impact. We invite anyone who supports us to travel with us from Wimbledon Station via the District Line to Temple, meeting outside the Wimbledon main entrance at 07:30am. If you can’t travel with us, meet us outside the Royal Courts of Justice in The Strand by 9am. We will protest peacefully with humour, banners, singing and SWP badges for all. Please wear supportive tee-shirts, fancy dress and paraphernalia! Let’s make sure that AELTC think again!” - Thanks to Christine for sharing this.
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📈 The most-viewed links from the last newsletter:
🌳 Queen statue & St James's Park revamp design winner revealed.
🏠 “There’s two blokes staring” - Clerkenwell couple’s privacy plea.
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UPDATED with the correct date!
Thanks Michael!