Indigo
You must have had the council press release in front of you. Nearly word perfect. lol

My view.
Well while it may be an honour (of sorts) I do not feel it will make any difference to the area. After 40 years of Labour rule – yes the last time the Conservatives were elected was 1968 – we seem to be no better off in in many areas we have gone backwards.

Oh bring on the Olympics.

It is nothing to do with the Olympics.

Her Majesty has graciously agreed “as a mark of royal favour, to confer royal borough status on the London borough of Greenwich. This rare honour is to be bestowed in recognition of the historically close links forged between Greenwich and our royal family from the middle ages to the present day, and of the borough’s global significance as the home of the prime meridian, Greenwich mean time and a UNESCO world heritage site.” (Ian Lucas, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Business and Regulatory Reform), Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, speaking in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee debate in the House of Commons, 5 January 2010.)

See – links between Greenwich and the royal family since the Middle Ages, home of the prime meridian (since, I think, 1886), and being a World Heritage Site. Nothing so crappy and temporary and obscenely expensive as the Olympics.

Now just waiting for more good news of the planning permission for the equestrian event being granted! Bring it on… Greenwich is changing and it’s about time!

Greenwich in recent decades has been called Greenwich Borough Council, the London Borough of Greenwich and is now plain old Greenwich Council. Each time the name changes the long-suffering Council Tax payer stumps up for all the new letterheads, public signs, street names, a bit of Mayor’s chain of office, departmental memorandum sheets, all local school books and sign boards, and all the other tiresome its and bits which need amendment. An expert graphics designer will be required and his/her fee won’t be small. Remember London Transport’s translation into Transport for London when Ken Livingstone was in charge. It cost a fortune of our money and made no difference whatsoever in keeping the trains and buses running on time.

If Greenwich is to become a Royal borough what will it be called? Surely nothing as drab as Royal Greenwich Council – and will Government hand over a large bag of cash to effect the changes? The money could come out of the £42m budget for the Equestrian Olympics in Greenwich. Now that would be a heritage gain out of 2012.

Also the press release on this royal status from Greenwich Council has notes to editors, which say in para 5: “Greenwich Park will host the equestrian events”.
Is the planning application process just a multi-million pound charade if permission is a foregone conclusion?

Perhaps Czarist Borough of Greenwich may be a more appropriate title!