"Brooklyn has always been a place where movement is part of daily life. But today, Brooklynites, like all New Yorkers, are moving less, feeling more isolated and dealing with elevated rates of chronic diseases."
The outbreak of war in the Middle East has already affected energy prices, amid concerns that inflation may rise in the coming months. Despite this difficult market environment, most London-based small businesses remain committed to short-term growth plans.
The Exchange is a community hub powered by North Paddington Foodbank who are the UK's first and only cash-first foodbank. Instead of offering food parcels, the foodbank gives out cash and vouchers instead, creating real routes out of crisis. This in turn helps foodbanks evolve into hubs of culture, care and community.
In September Hackney Council gave the green light to the final phases of the Woodberry Down regeneration masterplan. This has been a long time in the making, as the Woodberry Down regeneration officially began 20 years ago. Developers Berkeley Homes have now been given the go-ahead to complete the final stages, officially known as phases 5-8. Berkeley sought permission to build up to a 3,083 new homes in the area across the four phases, of which the developer said 43 percent would be affordable.
Last month, plans were submitted for Whitechapel Healthcare and Research Campus, a £750m development that would provide homes for key workers and supposedly address needs for more green spaces and community facilities. The proposal for the campus comes from investment firm BGO in collaboration with PLP Architecture and Barts Health NHS Trust. It's part of the newly announced Barts Life Science Cluster.
The road between Piccadilly Circus and St James's Park could be transformed into a massive public plaza and vehicles could be banned from Regent Street St James's, Waterloo Place and the south side of Piccadilly Circus. If the proposals are enacted, the pedestrianisation of certain roads would lead to more than 35,000 square metres of new public space, equivalent to more than five football pitches, created in the West End.
A proposal to build 15,000 new homes on a brownfield site at Thamesmead has been shortlisted as one of 12 "new towns" across the country to help meet house-building targets. The plan was given a boost last year with the Chancellor backing a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) extension to the area, but the scheme is still waiting formal government approval.
Despite its height, planning officers say the tower will be in-keeping with the area, pointing to the proximity of the 16-storey Juniper House, the 14-storey Travelodge hotel, and the twelve-storey Gateway Apartments building. It will be part of an existing cluster of tall buildings, the planning team told councillors, and would only lead to a minor loss of open skyline. Though councillors ultimately agreed the public benefits outweighed any harm to the town centre, six formal objections were received ahead of the meeting.
