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London's Tube plan

A plan to run an all-night Underground service at the weekend may help London narrow the gap with New York's all-night metro service.

The proposed round-the-clock service was warmly welcomed by night-time businesses in London. Richard Dickinson, chief executive of New West End Company, which represents stores in the entertainment district, said:  “It will increase London’s competitive edge. Shopping and social habits are changing and nearly half of West End shoppers are international and accustomed to a late-night shopping culture, so this change will really enable the economy to continue to grow."

Big venue owners say they will gain from the potential to hold later events. Jeremy King, communications director at the O2, London’s biggest concert arena, said: “Our visitors will be able to spend more time in the bars and restaurants.” The venue will also be able to host more events that start later, such as boxing, where the main bout often does not start until past midnight.

Even London’s cabbies were relaxed about the impact. Mark Williams, a cab driver for 12 years, said: “I think it’s great for Londoners. I don’t think it will harm my trade. And it will deter people from using illegal minicabs.”

All-night trains might also reduce disorder on the streets. The West End Commission said 225,000 people go to Leicester Square alone on an average Saturday night. At closing time, when transport can be thin on the ground, they are more likely to get into a fight or be robbed or assaulted.

Reuben Harley, chief executive of Eclectic, a chain of bars with outlets across the capital said: “It’s good for the late-night economy”

All Tube stations will remain staffed during operating hours and there will be more people to help customers navigate the system and use ticket machines.


WINNERS AND LOSERS

• Shopping

The move will help London’s West End retailers compete on a global scale because it will bring the shopping culture more into line with late-night habits of many of the capital’s international visitors,

• Bars

Bars and restaurants welcomed the decision and not only because of the extra trade it promises. The incidence of fights and theft in the West End is higher when people leave licensed premises at the same time to go home.

• Londoners

London residents will be freer to stay out late without fear of a difficult journey home. For those living close to late-night Tube stations, however, the noise of those returning will no longer end around midnight and may persist through the night.

• Entertainment

Late-night Tube running will allow events to start at a later time and audiences to linger over dinner around the venues.

• Workers

Though the plan extends hours only on Friday and Saturday, employees who work night-time shifts or early in the morning will benefit, particularly low-income groups who live far from their place of work.

• Taxis

Although there are worries about loss of trade, many drivers say it will not affect the preference of many people on a night out for black cabs over the Tube.

adapted from The Financial Times

 

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Europe’s tallest residential tower

                   The 75-storey skyscraper, left, will be called Hertsmere Tower




Tom Ryan, an Irish property investor, will build a 75-storey skyscraper on the site he acquired for £100m on Thursday in the business district to the east of the City of London. The tower will be 7 meters higher than Canary Wharf’s tallest office building. The acquisition is the first in what sources say will be a series of UK property investments by Mr Ryan. Market sources in Ireland were perplexed at the deal.

The 240-metre 'Hertsmere Tower' will cost more than £850m (€1bn) to build and will be completed by 2018

The scheme is one of a string of high-rise housing developments under construction across the capital, including the Heron in the City and One The Tower at St George’s Wharf in Vauxhall.

Savills, one of the UK’s leading estate agents, says that London is facing an affordable housing crisis and sky-high rents and, at the same time, an oversupply of high-value homes because waves of foreign investment are flowing into the capital’s housing market. Four-fifths of purchasers of London’s prime property are foreign and two-thirds of buyers are investors rather than owner-occupiers.

Mr Ryan, however, will have to overcome some hurdles before he can start building. Though the site has planning permission for a 242-metre mixed-use scheme containing offices, a hotel and shops, he will have to ask Tower Hamlets council to allow a housing development instead. Stuart Robinson, of property advisers CBRE, says it will be difficult for the council to turn down his request.

The Hertsmere Tower will be priced as prime real estate – upwards of £1,000 a square foot.  There will be space for 714 apartments covering more than 500,000 sq ft, said Richard Berridge, chief operating officer of Ryan Corporation UK.

 “Canary Wharf is one of the few places in the UK where you can build a tall building. It’s time for a very good residential building of a very high standard; that is something that has been lacking there until now” Mr Berridge said.

Hertsmere Tower will overtake Europe’s tallest residential building, the Sky Tower in Wroclaw, Poland, which is 212 metres tall. But it will not outstrip Europe’s overall tallest building, The Shard at London Bridge, which is 308 metres and is primarily office, restaurant and hotel space.

Hertsmere is the first British scheme for Mr Ryan, who has invested in several other countries, Mr Berridge said. Ryan Corporation would not provide details of Mr Ryan’s past developments.





edited from Financial Times and Daily Mail