West Ham stadium deal: "Londoners deserve to know how much they'll have to cough up"
Posted by GLA Conservatives in 
Andrew Boff, London Assembly Member, Olympic Spokesman and Hackney resident reacts to the announcement that West Ham will become tenants at the Olympic Stadium:
“Now that the deal seems to have been finalised, Londoners deserve to know how West Ham are going to make the stadium work for football. West Ham and the LLDC must therefore urgently release the details of how they will use the stadium, including, for example, details of the retractable seating that will have to be installed. The Mayor must also confirm who will be responsible for paying for the costs of converting the stadium to be fit for football. Londoners will want to know how much they will have to cough up, given the vast amounts that the tax payer has already contributed, and also how much West Ham will be contributing.”
Stricter planning criteria and saturation zones to protect London’s pubs as "community hubs"
Steve O’Connell, London Assembly Member, is today launching a report ‘Keeping Local: How to save London’s pubs as community resources’. In it, he calls for London’s borough councils to adopt stringent criteria when considering the redevelopment or demolition of pubs, and a limit to the number of high street shops selling alcohol.
London has seen over 400 former pubs demolished between 2003-2012 – the South East has fared consistently badly with a net annual loss of more than 30 pubs on three occasions during this period. Lewisham has lost 36% of its pubs in the last decade.
Commuter rebates for home workers could save a zone 6 traveller £350 a year
Roger Evans, London Assembly Member, welcomes the Mayor’s decision to consider flexible ticketing but insists this should be combined with commuter rebates in order to help London’s commuters make significant savings.
“The Mayor’s decision to seriously consider introducing flexible Travelcards is a big step in the right direction. It will mean millions of Londoners have the option of, for example, buying a three-day per week Travelcard. This would make part-time working more affordable for commuters and should encourage those who are able to work from home to do so more often.
Home Works: Why London needs to expand Home Working
Roger Evans, London Assembly Member, is today launching a report “Home Works: Why London needs to expand home working” that calls for a step-change in TfL’s attitude to home working and flexible working.
“Even with Tube upgrades, the building of Crossrail and introducing more carriages on many mainline trains, the rise in London’s population is leading to ever more overcrowding on public transport. Clearly London needs transport investment, but TfL and the Mayor should also be focussing on what they can do to incentivise home working.
“One of the problems is that once people have paid for a Travel Card, there is no financial incentive to use it for less than 5 days a week. In my report I call for more flexibility on ticketing so that Londoners have the option of, for example, buying a three-day per week Travelcard. This would make part-time working more affordable for commuters and should encourage those who are able to work from home to do so more often.
“Oyster technology means this can be easily achieved. It’s time for the Mayor and TfL to make it a reality.”
Roger Evans on ANPR Camera's in London
Roger Evans: "As I have discussed in the past I think Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology has great promise and yesterdays Metropolitan Police action was more proof of that"
River Transport passenger numbers to double by 2020
Richard Tracey AM, London Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth, has praised TfL plans to double river transport passengers by 2020.
Richard Tracey said: “I have long argued that the Thames is a desperately underused resource and have pushed the Mayor and Transport for London to invest time, money and effort in expanding capacity. I am delighted therefore that the Mayor has announced a £10 million investment to boost river transport on the Thames.
"This is a major advance for river transport for which I have been campaigning with my colleagues on both sides of the river for 5 years. We are now clearly opening up the western reaches in our area also with the support for the new pier at Plantation Wharf and the prospect at Battersea Power Station which developers and residents also greatly support"
Gareth Bacon welcomes Boris Johnson's commitment for funding to help homeless veterans in London
Londonwide Assembly Member, Gareth Bacon, has today welcomed the Mayor of London’s announcement that £300,000 of City Hall’s rough sleeping budget will be committed to helping homeless individuals in London with a UK armed forces background. This follows the issue being raised by Gareth Bacon in his proposed alternative budget earlier this month.
Mr Bacon said, “I am thrilled that the Mayor has taken on board this important issue and that action will be taken in the coming year to help some of the most vulnerable people in London. The fact that any individuals who have served for our country end up sleeping rough is an injustice and I hope that City Hall programmes can work towards righting this wrong.”
Our additions to the GLA Budget
GLA Conservatives GLA Budget Amendments – Proposal to end free travel perks for second nominees at TfL & bringing the GLA Precept below £300 for band D properties for the first time since 2006:
Gareth Bacon: "It's time for the London Underground to join the rest of the world and get Tube mobile coverage"
Gareth Bacon, London Assembly Member, is today launching a report “Calling All Stations” to ask Transport for London (TfL) to implement Tube mobile coverage.
“TfL has been dragging their feet for too long and London is far behind in terms of mobile connectivity because of this. Paris and Berlin have had this technology since the late 1990’s and now cities such as Moscow, Rome, Seoul, and Beijing are able to make phone calls, text, and surf the web underground when we can’t.
“Every excuse to why London does not have mobile connectivity on the Tube is weak. The technology exists and TfL needs to make the kind of progress driven deals other world cities have made. This may mean TfL will gain a smaller percentage of the large profits this technology will reap, but at this point London needs to catch up.
“Mobile connectivity is no longer a simple convenience it is a requirement for a growth driven and competitive modern city.
Link to report on Tube Mobile Coverage
- Can thieves and burglars rest assured police will ignore their crimes? Check out Roger Evan's blog on @HuffPostUKPol http://t.co/4VifMHggLS
- "Stop supermarkets swallowing up pubs" urges Steve O'Connell http://t.co/3ZTjTgWZRi #Sutton #Croydon
- Check out Richard Tracey's letter in today's Daily Telegraph on why #Heathrow cannot be a globally competitive hub airport. (P19)
- "Scrap horrendous #Heathrow expansion and look east" says Richard Tracey in today's @guardianletters (P35)