London - Full Summary of Projects 20

[Dreamer]

Originally Posted by woodgnome

£1bn facelift to get West End in shape for the 2012 Olympics

-- Link to London Evening Standard article --

The West End will have a £1 billion makeover before the Olympics, it was announced today. Business leaders said the investment, to benefit the capital's retail and leisure sections and infrastructure, is a sign of “growing confidence” in the area. They said the developments, which are being funded by public and private-sector investments, will ensure visitors will be able to enjoy “world-class” entertainment during the London 2012 Games.

New retail developments, including a shop devoted to M&Ms in Leicester Square, are planned on the back of major investment in projects such as the £22 million Hippodrome overhaul, turning it into a “leisure casino”. A raft of new hotels will also open, including Britain's first W Hotel and the first St John's Hotel. The Grosvenor Hotel, Hyatt Regency London and Saint George's Hotel also plan large-scale refurbishments, and a £145 million redevelopment will see the Trocadero house a 495-bed “pod” hotel. Westminster City Council, Transport for London and other partners will inject £100 million into improving public spaces and infrastructure.

Sarah Porter, of Heart of London Business Alliance, which represents Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, said: “There have been lots of elements that have worked towards people thinking it's a good time to be investing in the West End. When the private property owners in the area saw that we were investing in the infrastructure, it encouraged them to invest as well.” She said that investment has also helped to attract new retailers, such as Mars which is opening the first M&Ms World outside America next year.

Richard Dickinson, of New West End Company, representing businesses in Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street, said: “London's West End is the shop window to the world and will be under particular scrutiny during the Olympic Games. These multi-million-pound refurbishments will ensure that the world's most famous shopping district looks great when the eyes of the world are on London.”

Robert Davis, Westminster City Council's deputy leader and cabinet member for the built environment, said: “The West End is undergoing a huge transformation which will ensure, come 2012, when the eyes of the world are upon us, it acts as a showcase for the country.”

Why not have more screens, some could show real time games in 2012

[delores]

There's a few interesting new projects on Allies and Morrison's new website http://www.alliesandmorrison.com/pro...ngton-central/

[london lad]

Hobbit homes it is then!!!!

Riba condemns government for scrapping Core Housing Standards
bd online
25 November 2010 | By Elizabeth Hopkirk

Riba president Ruth Reed has expressed “serious concern” that the Homes & Communities Agency’s proposed Core Housing Standards will be abandoned.

Addressing the National House Building Council today, housing minister Grant Shapps announced he was abandoning the Core Housing Standards.

The Homes & Communities Agency’s (HCA) has spent months developing the standards which would have applied to many of the homes built with government funding or on public sector land.

But Shapps said they would have cost developers an extra £8,000 for every home they built and said he want to give the housebuilding industry a filip.

He said: “Today is the first step of many towards reducing the unnecessary cost and hassle that the people who build our homes are forced to endure. Last year, housebuilding slumped to the lowest level in peacetime since 1924.

“We were in the midst of a recession, but the situation was made much worse by regional targets that forced developers into direct conflict with local communities, and compounded by the alphabet soup of regulations and red tape that housebuilders have to navigate.”

But Riba president Ruth Reed said: “This is a deeply troubling decision that will have profound implications for communities across the country.

“The proposed HCA standards were designed to raise the overall quality of publicly funded housing and ensure that new homes meet the most basic of lifestyle needs – reform was desperately needed.

“We agree that there is too much regulation in the housing sector, but the HCA standards were designed to harmonise regulation and provide clarity for industry. The government needs to ensure that it provides strong, clear guidance which underlines the importance of design quality, and we are concerned that the proposed menu of options for local authorities may lead to further confusion and lower standards.

“UK housebuilders have delivered the smallest homes in Europe, and have built homes which have been consistently judged to be of a poor quality by the government’s own design watchdog. The government should be putting the interests of communities first.”

[Madman]

^ Frankly a disgusting short sighted decision. I don't know what else to say...

[delores]

The Governments attitude is becoming a bit ridiculous, if it sounds too complicated..AXE IT!
Standards need to be improved not reduced, homes need to be larger and I'm sorry but I don't have any sympathy for developers paying £8,000 for every home, the poor dears.

[theqatrick]

I'm excited about what will take place in London. There will host a free holiday in London. Urbanization is modern London. I do not like New York, crumbling old ugly skyscrapers. London is modernity.

[delores]

Chelsea Barracks has gone in for planning
http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/new-c...009941.article

[El_Greco]

I just had to post this here, wish Euston Road and/or other busy central/inner city roads would receive such treatment -



Now



Before



Now



Before



Now



Before



Now



Before



Now

[Langur]

What happeend to the roads? Did they bury them?

[El_Greco]

It would appear so, I mean you can clearly see tunnels.

[chrissus83]

Yes they buried the Madrid equivalent of the M25 or North Circular and built a huge park all above it, creating a great green belt stretching across the entire city, with sports facilities, parks, conference centres etc all spotted along it. It really would be amazing if they could do that to, say, Oxford street? If they just buried the road on Oxford street and placed the bus stops and traffic below ground (they have that in Chicago too), add some nice hard landscaping and some trees and greenery, the west end would be so much more attractive as a shopping destination. As it stands I know many people whose idea of shopping on Oxford street is their living he'll because of the sheer overcrowding.

[Dr Pepper]

What would happen to the Central Line?

[delores]

Europeans really know how to do public realm properly don't they? we do have interesting ideas like that, take Park Lane for example and the fact that could of been a tunnel but nothing ever comes of it, in the end penny pinching bureaucracy rules no grand idea's or anything just make do, unfortunately cars and traffic just will not go away.

[ferge]

Pity is, most of our cities could only aspire to match the 'before' shots in those images, let alone aim for the 'now' shots

[chrissyb]

That is amazing. To have the drive and ambition to deliver such a project, and to prioritise the funds is something else - and not just in one area. If I glanced it I would never believe it was a real project.

Still as mentioned by Dr Pepper the tube system has got to be an issue in London - could it ever be practical...

[Rational Plan]

It's not the equivalent of burying Oxford street, more like the Westway. We abandoned most of out plans of building motorways in inner London, so there is no real equivalent.

The problem is most of the roads that could benefit from chunks of them being buried and the surface turned into bus lanes and much wider streets already have tubes underneath them.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=...04e578b5d02cf6

While I can see loads of roads that would great to be burried the problem, apart from the cost, is the portals to the tunnels and the big ramps needed. Londons streets are to narrow for that, without widespread demolition. The only tow tunnels I could ever see being built I've linked to in Google maps. Both of these replace main roads that run accross London parks.

[DarJoLe]

Well we nearly had this in time for the Olympics. Not buried, but made massively less visible.



And then of course there was this.



image hosted on flickr

[delores]

Rogers proposal is still great but I would like to see it somewhere else along the river, obviously charing cross station is not going anywhere.

[kerouac1848]

It's not the equivalent of burying Oxford street, more like the Westway. We abandoned most of out plans of building motorways in inner London, so there is no real equivalent.

The problem is most of the roads that could benefit from chunks of them being buried and the surface turned into bus lanes and much wider streets already have tubes underneath them.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=...04e578b5d02cf6

While I can see loads of roads that would great to be burried the problem, apart from the cost, is the portals to the tunnels and the big ramps needed. Londons streets are to narrow for that, without widespread demolition. The only tow tunnels I could ever see being built I've linked to in Google maps. Both of these replace main roads that run accross London parks.

It reminds me of Boston's Big Dig project, which I saw first hand in the summer of 2004. Great, although expensive, idea. Would love to see some of it in London. Besides parks and attractive scenery, you also get increased transport capacity (the Madrid pics look like an increase of over 50%) and development opportunities, so essentially killing 3 birds with 1 stone. Rail lines could also be buried, not just roads.

Surely the westway is technically possible? There is no tube underneath it, just besides it. I assume it would be expensive, but private capital could be involved. Depending upon how ambitious you want to be (or how much money there is...), there could then be a sort of Grand Avenue stretching from Shepherds Bush to Kings Cross (ok, the rail-lines heading into Paddington might be a problem).

Perhaps the most ideal location would be the North Circular around Brent Cross; long, wide stretch of urban motorway with little encroaching onto the road. If it is designed as a new avenue with retail, offices, etc, above, I would figure a substantial amount could be paid for via private developer. Public money is justified by the increase in road capacity, public transport improvements (possible tram) and positive visual and audio impact for locals.

The kind of joint-up grand vision London needs.

[El_Greco]

Where theres a will, theres a way.