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BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
TfL spends £37,000 on clearing Park Lane homeless encampments
Transport for London (TfL) has spent almost £37,000 on removing homeless people from Park Lane since April last year, it has been response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the transport authority said it had spent the money on court costs and instructing bailiffs and legal counsel, with fairly large encampments basing themselves in the area over each of the last two which owns the green stretch of land running down the dual carriageway, has worked with Westminster City Council to remove the charity St Mungo's called for a compassionate response. TfL said "no-one should be faced with sleeping rough" but that Park Lane was not safe. In its reply to the FOI request, submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), TfL revealed it spent £35,260 in 2024-25 and £1,714 so far this year.A spokesperson confirmed an additional £404 had been spent since the FOI response was received – making a total of £37,378 – with further court charges expected in said people who had been sleeping rough in Park Lane had been made aware they would be removed if they returned and that security staff would patrol the area. In 2021, Westminster City Council staff had to clear piles of rubbish and dismantle an encampment thought to have occupied the space for around seven years. Last October, TfL removed a group of about 40 people from the site having been granted a possession order the month before. Conservative councillors Paul Fisher and Tim Barnes previously said TfL and Westminster City Council needed to "provide a lasting solution" to the camps."Otherwise we will be back at square one," they told the LDRS in May."This is unacceptable at the centre of our capital."A spokesperson for St Mungo's said people facing rough sleeping in London needed to be supported into accessing emergency accommodation, housing in the private rented sector and specialist accommodation. The TfL spokesperson said: "Park Lane is a busy part of the road network that is not a safe place for people to sleep rough and our focus has always been on the safety and welfare of everyone involved."People who have been sleeping rough at this site have been made aware that returning to the site is not an option and that they will be removed."A Westminster City Council spokesperson previously told the LDRS its support services were "comprehensive and there is no reason a person should have to sleep rough – on this site or anywhere else in the city".
New Statesman
23-07-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
The Mouses of Parliament
Photo byMPs and peers have packed their buckets and spades so actual rodents can enjoy a free run of the Mouses of Parliament over the summer. The infestation is worsening in a crumbling palace previously awarded a low two (out of five) catering hygiene rating by Westminster City Council after droppings were found in nearly two dozen places. Only this month the nature minister Mary Creagh's grilling on sustainability by the Environmental Audit Committee in room eight was interrupted by a mouse scampering across the floor. 'Oh my God,' squealed a startled Creagh, 'it must have been a species recovery right here in the room.' The upside was the uninvited visitor at least made her hearing memorable, unlike the Prime Minister's at the Liaison Committee the same day. One cabinet minister purred that Keir Starmer was human Trazodone, which was mission accomplished after a tumultuous first year. Gurgling down the plughole of Steve Reed's water refresher went Feargal Sharkey's prospects of a peerage after the campaigner and former Undertones frontman called for the Environment Secretary's resignation over the 'water industry shambles'. Sharkey was widely floated for ermine, having hosed down the dirty Tories in dozens of target seats in an arduous tour during the election campaign. A snout said a No 10 hitherto fretting about whether Sharkey might go rogue in the Lords had a definitive answer. It's All Over Now, as Sharkey once sang. Donald Trump is often best charmed on the golf course. Japan's Shinzo Abe even gifted him a gold-plated club. But who in the British cabinet could enjoy a round with the president? Not Starmer, who became the first PM to turn down membership of a Chequers-linked golf club. The leading contender ahead of Trump's flying visit to his Turnberry course was the Attorney General, Richard Hermer, who volunteered earlier this year. Could his swing convince Trump that human rights lawyers aren't all bad? Perhaps, if he lets the president win. Having lost out in the Conservative leadership contest to Kemi Badenoch after dim-witted supporters inadvertently rigged the ballot against him, James 'not very' Cleverly returned to the front bench to be the – seriously – 'thinking Tories'' answer to Robert 'generic' Jenrick. Urbane Cleverly will, whispered an admirer, go full video and challenge his more reactionary colleague's domination of the bandwidth. Classic divide and rule from Badenoch. Handbags at dawn in Nigel Farage's big press conference on crime. Laila Cunningham, a London councillor who last month joined Reform from the Tories, kicked off proceedings, before the Runcorn by-election victor, Sarah Pochin, the party's sole female MP, got up to thank her. Pochin noted that thanks to Cunningham's defection 'Reform UK now has two formidable women who speak with bravery and conviction about what needs to be done to bring back law and order to our streets'. But wait! Was she forgetting the existence of former Conservative minister Andrea Jenkyns, now Reform's Greater Lincolnshire mayor and until Pochin's triumph the party's most high-profile woman? Or does Pochin not think Jenkyns is 'formidable' enough on the subject of law and order? Jenkyns was not in attendance, but she has previously been spotted rolling her eyes when Pochin speaks at events. Is the upstart party big enough for both? MPs left for the recess still speculating on what was behind Rachel Reeves' PMQs tears. The latest theory doing the rounds is that shortly before the Chancellor entered the chamber she received a very shouty phone call from burly peer Tom Watson, Labour's rambunctious former deputy leader. Watson is locked in a fiery spat with a member of Reeves' team and, the story goes, called her to vent. Was it Watson's venomous words that reduced Reeves to tears? The official line remains a benefits-bashed Chancellor cracked after a dressing down from the Speaker. No cuddly politics in a Green Party with as many MPs (four) as Reform, yet a fraction of the public attention and prospects. MP Carla Denyer's focus on her Bristol Central constituency is blamed by some for the Greens' failure to take the West of England mayoralty in May. Labour's Helen Godwin pipped Reform squillionaire Brexit bad boy Arron Banks, with the eco brigade back in third. Denyer subsequently stood down as the Greens' co-leader. Voting to elect a fresh top team opens in August. In a fevered internal contest the stark choice is between Denyer's fellow chief, MP Adrian Ramsay, on a ticket with a third MP, Ellie Chowns, and the insurgent Zack Polanski pitching himself as the Greens' populist answer to Farage's turquoise reactionaryism. The Greens are at a crossroads. Predicting which way they'll turn would be a mug's game. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Over in the Lords a new name was heard in the undeclared contest to lead Tory peers: Thérèse Coffey. Briefly deputy PM during the Liz Truss interregnum, Coffey swapped parliamentary houses after voters in Suffolk Coastal issued marching orders and preferred Labour army reservist Jenny Riddell-Carpenter. Sociable Coffey, whispered a snout, is trying to mobilise the Tory turnip Taliban. Snout Line: Got a story? Write to tips@ [See also: Kemi Badenoch isn't working] Related
Time Out
04-07-2025
- Business
- Time Out
Even more of London's West End could soon be pedestrianised, with new plans for Piccadilly Circus
Londoners rejoiced last month when the highly anticipated, and sometimes contentious, Oxford Street pedestrianisation project took a major step forward. Following a public consultation, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that there was 'overwhelming public and business support' for the initiative, and that his office would be 'moving ahead as quickly as possible'. Now, another section of the West End could see vehicles banned completely. Proposals have been put forward to pedestrianise Regent Street St James's – the road to the south of Piccadilly Circus that runs between Piccadilly and St James's Park – and to make the on-foot area of Piccadilly Circus bigger. The scheme by Westminster City Council and The Crown Estate could also see improved cycle lanes on Regent Street and the introduction of two-way traffic on Haymarket. It also wants to see the 'greening' of Regent Street, with better pedestrian crossings and the removal of the island running down the centre of the road. While traffic-free streets might seem like a modern idea, in fact this proposal reimagines a plan put forward by John Nash 200 years ago, Westminster Council said. Geoff Barraclough, cabinet member for planning and economic development at Westminster City Council, said the plans would create 'a new network of public spaces'. He added: 'This is a rare opportunity to reimagine the heart of the West End as a greener, more welcoming and accessible place that works better for residents, visitors and local businesses alike.' Naysayers, you can hold your horses (or cars) for now. We won't know the outcome of the future of this scheme, including how it will be funded, until it is decided by the Crown Estate in 2026.
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Plans to turn London's West End into traffic-free zone continue with another major tourist road earmarked for pedestrianisation
Another road in London 's West End could be pedestrianised in plans which would also enlarge an existing pedestrian area and create new cycle routes. All traffic would be banned from Regent Street Saint James's, the grand road which links Piccadilly Circus with St James's Park, under the proposed scheme. The existing pedestrian space at Piccadilly Circus would be enlarged as part of the same plans while Regent Street would be given new cycle routes. Two-way traffic would be brought in on nearby Haymarket too under the suggestions announced this morning by Westminster City Council and The Crown Estate. Regent Street would also undergo 'greening' to install more plants, while pedestrian crossings would be improved and the central island on the street taken out. The council's draft plan is said to reimagine an ambition set out two centuries ago by famed architect John Nash to connect St James's Park to Regent's Park. The new proposals are separate to the £150million plan already revealed by London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan last September to pedestrianise key sections of Oxford Street. The Mayor confirmed last month that he was pressing ahead with his scheme which would see vehicles banned from a 0.7-mile stretch between Oxford Circus and Marble Arch, with the potential for more changes towards Tottenham Court Road. Regent Street (above) would be given new cycle routes as part of the council's fresh proposals Today, City Hall said it welcomed the council's new plans which 'complemented' the Mayor's proposals for Oxford Street, one of the world's busiest shopping areas. Geoff Barraclough, the council's cabinet member for planning and economic development, said the plans would create 'a new network of public spaces'. He told BBC News: 'This is a rare opportunity to reimagine the heart of the West End as a greener, more welcoming and accessible place that works better for residents, visitors and local businesses alike.' Mr Barraclough encouraged workers, residents and visitors to the area to take part in a public engagement process which will run until August 10. Kristy Lansdown, from The Crown Estate, said the plans would make the area 'fit for the future'. It comes after Sir Sadiq said last month that plans to ban traffic from part of Oxford Street would be implemented 'as quickly as possible' because they are supported by 'the vast majority of Londoners'. But those plans were previously criticised by Steve McNamara, general secretary of the London Taxi Drivers' Association, who raised concerns about crime, saying his members had 'lost all confidence' in the police's ability to keep Oxford Street safe. He told the Telegraph last September: 'Of course, that's compounded by the level of street crime that they witness on a daily basis. 'The big thing that our members witness on a daily basis is phone snatches in London. And so they're thinking, well, what's the point in me ringing up and reporting that when nobody's doing anything about it?' Meanwhile Julie Redmond from the Marylebone Association group warned pedestrianising Oxford Street would have 'several negative impacts on residents in the surrounding areas'. She told of an 'increase in traffic congestion on nearby residential streets, more noise and air pollution in quieter areas, affecting the quality of life for those living there'. Restrictions already in place mean between 7am and 7pm vehicular access to parts of Oxford Street is limited to taxis and buses, except on Sundays. But the redevelopment is set to require 16 bus routes to be removed or diverted - including the 98 and 390 which run the full length of Oxford Street. Sir Sadiq's office said last month that two-thirds (66 per cent) of respondents to a consultation support the pedestrianisation plan. A separate YouGov survey conducted in September 2024 indicated 63 per cent of Londoners are in favour of the project. Detailed proposals for traffic in the shopping area, which has around half a million visitors each day, will be consulted on later this year. A previous attempt by Sir Sadiq to pedestrianise that part of Oxford Street was blocked by then-Conservative run Westminster City Council in 2018. His latest proposals depend on him obtaining permission from Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in her role as Housing Secretary to establish a new Mayoral Development Corporation, which would provide planning powers. The aim is for this to be created by the start of next year.
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
More pedestrianisation plans for London's West End
Plans to pedestrianise another road in London's West End have been put forward. The proposals would make Regent Street St James's - the road directly to the south of Piccadilly Circus, running to St James's Park - traffic free and enlarge the pedestrian space at Piccadilly City Council and The Crown Estate's planned scheme would also see safer cycling routes introduced on Regent Street and the introduction of two-way traffic on Hall said it welcomed the plans, and said the idea "complemented" the Mayor's plan to pedestrianise Oxford Street. The draft masterplan reimagines architect John Nash's original ambition, set out 200 years ago, to connect St James's Park to Regent's Park, Westminster City Council also include the "greening" of Regent Street, improving pedestrian crossings on the road and removing the central island running along the street. Geoff Barraclough, cabinet member for planning and economic development at Westminster City Council, said the plans would create "a new network of public spaces"."This is a rare opportunity to reimagine the heart of the West End as a greener, more welcoming and accessible place that works better for residents, visitors and local businesses alike," the Labour councillor said the council was urging everyone who lives in, works in or visits the area to take part in its public Lansdown, from The Crown Estate, said the plans would ensure the area was "fit for the future". The redevelopment plans for Regent Street come after the Mayor of London said plans to pedestrianise parts of Oxford Street will move forward "as quickly as possible".The mayor said there had been an "overwhelmingly positive response" to the separate pedestrianisation plans for Oxford Street, which were needed "urgently". The future implementation of the proposals, along with the ways in which they are funded, are to be agreed by the council and The Crown Estate in 2026. Members of the public can have their say until 10 August.
