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With the consultation out on the Olympic Route Network (ORN), you can imagine how Londoners will be responding, particularly those in Central London’s many urban villages, to the idea that whole lanes of precious road space will be sectioned off for the exclusive use of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its sponsors to get across town from their hotels in the west to Olympic venues in the east.
Crucially, this consultation does not explain why IOC officials and sponsors should be based in hotels along Park Lane in the first place. l grant you we have many lovely hotels in that part of town but if the purpose of your visit is specifically for the games, then surely you should be based near the games venues, not hanging around a posh hotel. This is a time of unprecedented expansion of hotels in London. For example the Westfield development at Stratford is scheduled to open in September 2011 with two new hotels. One will be a Premier Inn with 267 rooms and the other a 350 bed hotel for a yet to be announced hotelier. Surely these should be a good enough base during the Olympics for many IOC officials. They could even do their shopping in the Westfield development.
Or if you must be based in central London why not stay near Kings Cross where the Javelin train service will get you from St Pancras to Stratford in less then 20 minutes. In recent years a whole host of hotels have sprung up on the Euston Road, servicing all sections of the market from youth hostels to top range hotels. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that IOC officials and their sponsors stay near good transport links to the main Olympic site rather than where they will cause most inconvenience to Londoners. The only north south movement suggested in the ORN for central London is along Southampton Row, principally for media people based in the square. Quite why they should be based there and not nearer to St Pancras is another mystery.
As for the IOC lanes from the airport on the M4 and A40, why not just use London City Airport for the extra flights, especially for the dignitaries? It is a compact airport and with its proximity to Stratford it would save a lot of criss-crossing across London.
There are also problems with the venues in central London, particularly two l know well, Lords and Earls Court Exhibition Centre, which will be used for volleyball and archery. Volleyball will probably be the most popular of these, with tens of thousands likely to be going to the fixtures. Unfortunately for the residents of Earls Court it will be awash with ORN lanes in what is always a very busy part of town. Those IOC officials and sponsors who are involved specifically with volleyball should be based within walking distance of the volleyball venue in the numerous hotels around Kensington, Chelsea and Earls Court. A similar policy should be adopted for those officials involved in the archery at Lords, as we have plenty of hotels and other accommodation used to coping with the many visitors who come for test matches. It seems illogical to do anything else, and all goes to reinforce my view that we need the IOC to produce their hotel accommodation strategy showing where people will be staying, and why, before we offer these lanes which are in all probability going to be lying empty for most of the time as they did in Beijing, causing even more irritation to Londoners.
Finally l would suggest if you are an IOC official or sponsor running late you’d be better off in a black cab on a bus lane than in an IOC lane. Local knowledge will serve you better than zil lanes any day.
September 3, 2010
As ballots hit our door matts, l’m backing Ken as our Mayoral candidate for 2012.
My support for Ken was made clear early on in this campaign. Not only are “Ken” and “London” synonymous, his vision for London is a London wide one, and not just targeted at either inner London or the suburbs. Also, support for Ken is broadly based across all of London Labour politics. He is supported by all the various party leadership candidate backers in London and by many Councillors and Trade Unionists of varying shades of red.
This vision and breadth of support offered by Ken will formulate the type of coalition that will, not only give us the unity of purpose to win back the Mayoralty in 2012, but also, a major platform on which Labour can build its return to national government.
September 2, 2010
During this last bank holiday weekend, l didn’t bother going to Lords to watch the England Vs Pakistan test match despite having member tickets. The allegations, which came so soon after the collapse of the Pakistani first innings, made me wonder what an earth is happening to their cricket! The depth of damage to this wonderful game cannot be understated, particularly because of the speed in which it has become major global news. I’d heard the newspaper vendor next door to Grace Gates had such a run on the News of the World, (not the normal read of MCC members), that he had to call for further supplies.
It’s often been said Pakistan’s inherent love and passion for the game has often kept it together, even at the most testing and toughest times, reflecting its national importance. However, coming so soon after the recent tragic floods and its ongoing battles against terrorism, this is yet another blow to Pakistani pride which will no doubt impact even further upon the nation’s psyche. If the allegations are founded, well frankly, this nation deserved better from its national team, so I’m not surprised by the very heart felt and emotional responses of disappointment which we’ve heard from Pakistanis, both in the UK and in Pakistan towards the team. In my view, these allegations cut deeper than the, not so long ago, Alex Higgins story of match fixing, for the simple reason that it’s not just about one individual, its about a team and an entire nation’s pride which has been trampled on.
I’ve got a ticket for the one day international at Lords between England & Pakistan on the 20th of September, but unless we see dramatic changes, and swift and decisive action by the Pakistani Cricket Board, I’m unlikely to go. I feel great pity to have to say this, because the last time l watched them play at Lords, they’d beaten Sri Lanka in the Twenty20 World Cup final last year, illustrating well the best of Pakistani cricket.
I, probably like many millions of other fans, will never be able to watch a no-ball in international cricket again, without wondering whether it was deliberate or not. How very disappointing. But whilst such events cost reputations, it does not cost lives in the same way that a flood does, so let’s get our perspective right on these things.
August 31, 2010
On Sunday at Craven Cottage l witnessed some of the best of the premiership with both teams putting up a good performance. United fielded a team with a Mexican, Bulgarian, Ecuadorian and Korean, illustrating well, the global dimension of our game. But it won’t be this, which wins us the World Cup bid for 2018 in December.
Fulham 2 Man Utd 2
With FIFA officials passing through, I’d expect us to put up an excellent technical performance, particularly as we boast some of the best facilities and infrastructure available, both to watch and play the game, and particularly in London. But having the best facilities already available in the world won’t be enough, as Paris learnt to their detriment when they lost the Olympic bid in 2005 to us. We should also learn the lessons of the successful World Cup in South Africa this summer.
Far more important, is the geo-politics amongst FIFA voting members. For example, part of the attraction of having the World Cup in South Africa was to introduce the tournament to Africa for the first time. (so I think the move by some London clubs now in banning vuvuzelas is not a good idea, as it may appear to be a move against the Africanisation of the game) In this context, the competition is coming from Russia but let’s just be grateful that we’re not facing a bid from China!
And if we win the bid, this will, (undoubtedly) improve our chances of winning the World Cup once again as the only time we did win, was when it took place on home soil in 1966. But we’ll need a bit more; we’ll need a change in government. As Harold Wilson pointed out at that triumphant time, have you noticed how we only win the World Cup only when Labour is in power!
August 24, 2010
Woolies HQ, up for rent at least
Yesterday morning l awoke as usual to Radio 4 and a particular news item caught my ear, that is, since falling into administration in November 2008, two fifths of Woolies stores still lie empty, and the remaining bulk have been taken up by pound stores.
Now, the Woolies store near me on the Edgware Road (which was incidentally excellent for last minute xmas shopping, and yes I did actually shop there!) was almost immediately snapped up by Waitrose for a tidy sum (we hear), however, the thing that concerns me more is the empty Woolies Headquarter building on the Marylebone Rd. It’s a local landmark, and if it hasn’t attracted any takers as office space, then perhaps, whoever is marketing these stores, should approach local planners about the potential for a change of use, maybe into a hotel or even an embassy?
The location has many excellent travel connections, with Marylebone station located just behind, Edgware Road tube station nearby, and a short walk away from Baker Street. Not to mention the tide of buses and cabs along the Marylebone road. I’ve no doubt, therefore, that the transport infrastructure could cope with those new demands without a detrimental effect on the lives of local residents. More importantly, however, for both local residents and the local economy, it’s not healthy for such a large iconic building to lie empty in the neighbourhood. Build wise, l suspect that a change of use into a hotel would be relatively easy, but for me a foreign embassy or several of them would be ideal. Takers would not only benefit from a fantastic, central and vibrant location, it would also be a welcome and imaginative addition to the local area.
August 24, 2010
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