Greenwich news and information
Articles, essays and features from well known contributors and opinion formers in Greenwich.
By Thames Watch
THE THAMES Barrier was closed for the 175th time to protect London on Saturday.
The closure was ordered to keep the capital safe from a very high tide that was predicted. The closure started at about 10.30 and by midday, all the gates were fully raised.
As high tide approached at about 2pm, water spilled across the path and on to grass at Barrier Gardens. [Read more…]
In the last days of this Government with Purdah kicking in shortly, Eric Pickles decides to strike another blow against democracy by trying to prevent the Royal Borough from publishing Greenwich Time.
This was subsequently followed by him deciding to go the whole hog and include a number of neighbouring Boroughs. They are now considering their legal options. The cabinet met last week and decided to seek a judicial review. This decision was not taken lightly but based on the legal advise given in advance. [Read more…]
In the name of historical accuracy I have just been tangling with how to make a comment on a Wikipedia page – on one hand its all lovey hippy Californiarey and the other hand its impossible. So I thought I would stick with Rob and write something about current historical writing in Greenwich.
Now I am very aware that there are a lot of us at it –every day I see on twitter something someone had published or brought out about our area. Some of it looks a bit dire – and most of it I will never really see. Review copies no longer seem to be around. If it is industrial in nature I do try and track it down and give it a write up on the GIHS blog – but that is sometimes pretty hard work. [Read more…]
Few local issues have been as controversial as IKEA’s plans for a new Greenwich store on the Bugsby’s Way site currently occupied by Sainsbury’s “eco-friendly” low energy supermarket and the former Comet building. I recall vividly the large number of local residents that took the time last year to attend the meeting of the Council’s Planning Board at which IKEA’s outline planning application was considered. They did so not only to express their sorrow at the loss of Sainsbury’s Stirling-prize nominated landmark store (sadly hamstrung by a highly restrictive covenant) but also to raise concerns about what a new IKEA store on the site would mean for an already congested local road network and the noxious air pollution that is its corollary. [Read more…]
By Matt Hartley
After four years involved in local goings-on in Greenwich, I have learned that we live in a borough with a particularly frustrating political culture. With three Labour MPs, 43 Labour councillors and only eight Conservatives on the council, as a member of the opposition, it can sometimes feel like an uphill struggle to get things done. All eight of us on the Conservative benches have a solid track record of local achievements in our wards – but when it comes to the council chamber, I don’t mind admitting that the Labour Party’s huge majority can make the going tough. [Read more…]
Enveloped on three sides by the lower Thames, the Greenwich Peninsula is probably most familiar to Londoners as the home of the O2 arena. Many will be unaware that the 190-acres of land that surrounds the world’s busiest music venue is also the site of one of the capital’s largest regeneration schemes with up to 10,010 new homes and 325,000 square metres of commercial floorspace earmarked for construction over a 25-year period. [Read more…]
By Rob Powell
This is the story of how the grave of John Flamsteed – the first scientist appointed as the Royal Astronomer – went unmarked after his death for the best part of two centuries.
The name of John Flamsteed is a familiar one around Greenwich. He was the first Astronomer Royal and he himself laid the foundation stone for the new Royal Observatory which was built by Royal Warrant as a base for astronomical studies.
Flamsteed House (pictured below), as it’s now known, was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and is the original Observatory building which also housed the astronomers’ apartments. [Read more…]
The consultation on the Mayor of London’s plan to improve our city’s air quality by making central London an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) ends today (if you haven’t submitted a response please do so here, it only takes a few minutes).
The Mayor’s proposals would require all motor vehicles driven within the ULEZ, which would cover the same area as the congestion charge zone, to meet new exhaust emissions standards with the aim of limiting nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions. The ULEZ would take effect from 7 September 2020 and would apply 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. [Read more…]
Transport for London (TfL) is once again consulting on proposals for a new tunnel under the Thames that would link Greenwich Peninsula and Silvertown. Having been designated a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) by the Government, the Mayor of London’s scheme is in the process of being “fast-tracked” through the planning system with this latest non-statutory exercise a precursor to a statutory consultation expected in the middle of next year prior to formal submission of an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO). [Read more…]
Like other long-suffering Southeastern passengers I know the frustration that delayed and overcrowded services cause. It’s one of the reasons why I take issue with the Coalition Government’s decision to extend Southeastern’s franchise until 2018 (a decision that stands in stark contrast to their evident rush to sell off the East Coast line, run by a not-for-profit public operator, that will have returned over £1bn to the taxpayer by April 2015). [Read more…]