đŽđťââď¸ Following the independent report into the murder of private detective Daniel Morgan, the Home Secretary announced sheâd written to the Met Commissioner to âdemand a detailed response to the panelâs recommendationsâ. Priti Patel has also asked the police watchdog, Her Majestyâs Inspectorate of Constabulary, âto consider how best it can look look at the issues raised by the damning reportâ.
Donât expect too much from the HMICFRS (their track record isnât great) and donât expect Cressida Dick to be going anywhere anytime soon. Despite many calls for her to be held to account, as Vikram Dodd points out in the Guardian, âDick has previously survived what many thought would have ended her careerâ (the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in Stockwell in 2005), and the Commissioner has already announced she has no intention of resigning, insisting she is an âhonourable personâ.
đŽ Sticking with the Met for a second: A man has been charged after the BBC journalist Nick Watt was abused by anti-lockdown protesters outside Downing Street on Tuesday. The Met initially tweeted that its officers âwere not in the immediate vicinity of the incident,â but after everyone with eyes and an internet connection pointed out the fact that there were literally dozens of officers stood right there, it deleted that tweet and issued another statement saying the force would be âreviewing our actions with a view to improving the policing of eventsâ.
đŚ The big news of the week has to be the plans to pedestrianise part of Oxford Circus. Thereâs a lot of fluffy language (stop saying âpiazzasâ!) and âindicativeâ artistâs impressions (see above) around this announcement, but the basics are: the sides of the junction that face Oxford Street will be pedestrianised, while Regent Street remains as a normal road. The plan is for the two sides of Oxford Circus to be completely car-free from November, and a competition is being run to come up with plans to revamp the area. Oxford Street Tube could also get some new entrances.
đ´ The other big transport-related news is that TfL has won its appeal over the Streetspace programme. It would take us at least two newsletters to give you the full story on this, but the basics go like this: In January, a High Court judge ruled that TfLâs programme to promote active travel (temporary cycle lanes, wider pavements, the controversial Low Traffic NeighbourhoodsâŚ) was unlawful. But TfL appealed the decision and on Wednesday they won that appeal, prompting Sadiq Khan to declare that the decision, combined with his reelection, âforms a double mandate allowing us to continue with our bold measures.â The taxi industry (which brought the action originally) is less happy, and thereâs a chance this could now go to the Supreme Court.
đ The Daily Mail has been digging into Uberâs London prices after âLondoners hit outâ at the company for âcosting more than a black cabâ. Basically, what the Mail âdiscoveredâ after taking a bunch of Uber rides at different times was⌠surge pricing. âMailOnline has compiled Uber receipts revealing how typical prices have not increased - but surge charges can see a journey double in price,â said the paper, before noting that, with lockdown easing, thereâs more surges happening (they could have saved themselves a bit of time and read this New York Times article, as exactly the same thing is happening there).
đď¸ In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a 69-year-old, pro-Palestine activist climbed to the top of a crane at One Nine Elms (reports on the height of the crane have varied, but you just need to know that itâs a really high crane). He eventually spent 37 hours up there, unfurling a Palestine flag and recording some frankly terrifying video.
â´ď¸ On Wednesday we told you about The Canal and River Trustâs plans to reduce moorings for people living on boats along the River Lee. Cyclist magazine claims the removal of 500 or so homes from the river could also lead to an increase in âviolent theft and other serious crimesâ on the river, as thereâd be fewer people in the area, particularly at night. Ironically This Is Money ran an article this week explaining why houseboats could be the next property boom.
đ˘ Weâre not avid readers of ArabianBusiness.com, but this week the site spoke to Simon Murphy, CEO of the company behind the Battersea Power Station development. In the article Simon is very keen to boast that his company has âtaken this old derelict building in Central London and created a community,â ⌠and then he mentions that 20% of the properties have been sold to âMiddle Eastern investorsâ. (A reminder that, during construction, the development company reduced the number of affordable homes it originally promised by 40%, citing âtechnical issuesâ).
đ Crossrail testing has ramped up. The number of test trains running through âthe central core tunnelsâ has recently doubled to eight trains per hour. As always, Ian Visits has all the details.
đ The 'fashion rental service providerâ Rotaro has opened a pop-up on Carnaby Street so they can host âcreative workshops and panel discussions addressing sustainabilityâ (as well as rent you clothes from the âbest and brightest brandsâ) More details here.
đ° If you have a Financial Times subscription the paper has published a couple of good London-related features this week. The first, Inside Londonâs Docklands, traces the âtransformation of this once derelict wasteland into a commercial and residential powerhouse,â while the second, Booming Brixton, examines how gentrification has âencroached on the heart of the UKâs African-Caribbean communityâ.
đś We promised you some nice dog news this week, so here it is: Battersea London has opened a âhydrotherapy suiteâ to âhelp dogs with injury rehabilitation, weight loss, muscle pain, general fitness and mental wellbeingâ(and also to provide LiB readers with cute pictures of wet dogs).
Arts and culture bits
đ The pictures of the restored Trafalgar theatre (above) were released this week, and it does look pretty impressive. The work has restored the 1930s detailing that had been hidden for 90 years, and what was the two small spaces of Trafalgar Studios is now a single â630 seat art deco wonderland.â More pictures and video here.
đ˝ First âbest ofâ list of the week is from the Guardian, who asked the author and photographer behind the new book London's Record Shops to mark Record Store Day by choosing the capitalâs 10 best independent record shops .
đď¸ Also from the Guardian, their architecture critic takes a look at the garden island thatâs been built over the Hudson River in New York, and asks: did London âmiss a trick or dodge a bulletâ when it abandoned the Garden Bridge?
âď¸ Most sci-fi story of the week: PORTAL is a non-profit initiative that aims to build a âbridge leading us to the awareness of unity,â and to, erm⌠âtranscend this sense of separation and be the pioneers of a united planet,â (watch the video to find to a tiny bit more about what this this actually is). Right now thereâs a âportalâ between Poland and Lithuania, but the site promises one connecting London to Lithuania âsoonâ.
đĄ Camden Market may be getting an âobservation wheelâ. Apparently the Marketâs landlords have put forward proposals for a âgiant new installation to be built by 2022,â that would feature âglass pods that are themed on a musical artist or genre that depicts Camdenâs longstanding music heritage.â
đŤ The Arcola Theatre in Dalston has announced plans for âa brand-new outdoor performance space and barâ. The new space, called Arcola Outside, will be built on a site near the existing theatreâs main building and will âbe covered by a giant roof structure, offering protection from the weather whilst maintaining excellent airflowâ. If you want to help make the space a reality, the theatre is looking for donations and sponsorship.
đ° Another week, another âimmersive experienceâ. This time itâs Netflixâs Spanish-language drama, Money Heist, thatâs getting the interactive treatment. Money Heist - The Experience will apparently be housed in âone of the most iconic venues in Londonâ (any guesses?), will last between an hour and 75 minutes and, as well as letting you live out all your armed robbery fantasies, thereâll also be a âthemed bar with appetisers and bespoke cocktailsâ. (N.B. The Doctor Who immersive experience just opened, and so far the reviews have been decidedly lukewarm.)
đ¸ Hoxton Mini Press, the amazing indie publisher behind One Hundred Years: Portraits of a community aged 0â100 by Jenny Lewis (see our interview with Jenny here), have just announced the publication of two new beautiful guides: An Opinionated Guide to Sweet London and Parklife: A love letter to Londonâs green spaces.
đť Dogs in swimming pools not enough for you? How about models in oversized animal heads wandering about Trafalgar Square, playing musical instruments in Piccadilly Circus, and boozing it up in Soho? (Itâs a campaign for Stella McCartney).
Food and drink bits
đ˘ The Sticky Mango restaurant in Waterloo will be celebrating the life of Anthony Bourdain later this month âwith a special menu inspired by the chef-restaurateur and fundraising for hospitality mental health initiative the Burnt Chef Project.â The restaurantâs owner has also commissioned a mural to be painted on the front of the restaurant (above).
đ Top Californian chef Nancy Silverton is bringing her Pizzerria Mozza to the Treehouse Hotel near Oxford Circus. Hot Dinners has all the details about why this is a âbig dealâ and what will be on offer (itâs not just pizza).
đŹđˇ London Eater reports on the âminiature Santorini-on-Thamesâ that has popped up just south-west of Tower Bridge, as part of the Summer by the River event. Although itâs designed to ârepresent a collage of Mediterranean coastal townsâ London Eater notes that the this faux âcontinental public piazza,â (thereâs that word again) is actually part of a huge âpseudo-public space, one of a growing number of privately owned developments designed to look and feel like public landâ.
đŚ Over in Islington a new oyster spot has opened up in the form of Raw Boys. The concession inside the Boutique Grocer has a raw bar serving a range of British oysters as well as shellfish, smoked salmon and some mean looking Bloody Marys. If you live within three miles of Islington, they also have a subscription service that delivers â12 of our Oyster of the Month, plus a matching wineâ to you every month.
đŁ âCult US egg-based restaurant chainâ Eggslut is opening its third London location this summer. The spot near Old Street will serve up signature menu items including âThe Fairfax - a sandwich made from soft scrambled eggs with cheeseâ and âtruffle and rosemary sea salt potato hash brownsâ.
đ Staying in Shoreditch: a new outfit is taking over the old truck yard where Dinerama was until last year. LaLaLandâs incredibly vague website just says that it will be âa multi-level street food market experience opening in summer 2021â alongside a hastily-Photoshopped artistâs impression. Weâre guessing itâs Los Angeles themed?
đˇ Hectorâs is a new wine bar and bottle shop thatâs just opened on Ardleigh Road in Dalston. Well, right now itâs just a bottle shop, and it will remain that way for a few weeks at least. But there will be a bar eventually, and it will be serving up wines by the glass and bottle alongside small plates (obviously - there always has to be small plates).
đ The second âbest ofâ feature this week comes from Forbes and their list of Londonâs Most Glamorous Restaurants. Worth it for the way they describe Hakkasanâs location on Hanway Street as âtucked away downstairs at the end of a dark laneâ.
Long read of the week
Esquire has a pretty amazing feature on the âCondom Kingâ whose business helped to saved hundreds of thousands of lives during the âLondon Rubber Warsâ of the 1980s.