London

Today a good friend of mine asked me ‘ what is going to happen to London ? ‘ I thought now that’s a good question and immediately came to mind as a good topic for the blog.

Having been born and raised in Chelsea, having lived there all my life and seen both the people and landscape changes I conclude that London changes and takes on new meaning with new people. The indigenous Londoner, the street wise cockney and the upper crust echelons all have one thing in common in as much as there is a suitable slice of London that is for everyone to enjoy. Once you’ve lived here the only thing you really notice is that there is more and more to discover.

The Romans did a good job building the place and though the Germans tried to flatten it , the streets of the City are truly paved with gold and because of that it bounces back every time. I’ve seen it’s people riot and I’ve seen them pack the streets for their Monarch. Every time especially in crisis it bounces back. In much the same way, Covid 19 cleared the streets only to give full view to the magnificence of the place, its buildings of unique architecture, its fine laid parks and its history which wraps around you like a security blanket.

London will however now change and going forward there will be a 10 year lull in commercial property development. Less offices will be built as less space is needed. Empty office space is 20 million square feet up 50% on normal. Canary Wharf will be what it was always intended to be ancillary back up space. The Shops will continue to close and some of the fine department stores will become network storage hubs.

Drastic action will be needed to save Transport for London from fiscal ruin as they haemorrhage nearly £90m per annum. I see that being sold and completely transformed as it should and could be. Before that happens there needs to be and will be a dramatic change to residential tenure to allow the workers to fill the City in affordable housing. My strategy of time line ownership is the only model that can achieve this. If you empty the City of workers you will kill the city. Community is the vital ingredient of London and that must be maintained. Bring back an affordable housing market for workers and see the City thrive.

The City must become a 24 hour workhorse and the allowance of deliveries through the night a must with a cycle ban at that time. In fact the City are doing a horrible job trying to price out the motorist and need to wake up to the fact that cyclists don’t add value. London will always be a tourist spot on the world stage. Theatres and Restaurants will thrive again and if the Property owners led by HM The Queen on her Regent Street Estate charge rents linked to turnover the majority will survive. Foreign ownership and safe haven investors will continue to find a home for their money in London unless the UK Government suddenly call on them to pay their Covid 19 bill.

The biggest threat to London is not solving the housing market and if London becomes a combination of ghetto environments then that will break Community and create civil unrest. A better use of the River Thames as a transport conduit is also needed and the infrastructure of sewers and power need enhancement. 5G and digitalisation schemes must be encouraged whoever brings this to us and we need to be cutting edge in all areas to compete as a truly global City.

London needs to prepare for hydrogen / electric powered transport systems and accommodate the flying vehicles soon to come with central landing and takeoff facilities in the city centre. The future is exciting and for London the prospects enormous. If only we had an organisation ( not the Mayors office ) full of politicians but a dedicated commercial team who could get the job done. Speed of foot will be critical. London streets are paved with gold we just need more streets. Bring back the Romans.