Bell Tolls For Whitechapel Foundry (Published on Rising East 5/12/16)

After 300 years, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry is to close its doors for the final time.

 The oldest bell foundry in the world will close its doors in May 2017, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry has confirmed.

Since the company was founded in 1570, the Bell Foundry in Whitechapel has cast some of the world’s most famous bells, including Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell in 1752 and Westminster’s Big Ben in 1858.

The foundry moved to its current premises in Whitechapel in 1738, nearly 170 years after the business was first established. But in May 2017 “its activities will cease at the Whitechapel Road site,” a company spokesperson said.  While the Whitechapel Bell Foundry “intends to complete work on all projects presently in hand during the coming months,” the company “will not be entering into new contracts for the time being whilst discussions regarding the future direction, ownership, and location are ongoing.”

Orders for new bells have been on the rise recently, partly prompted by the table bells featured in Downton Abbey and the foundry’s diversification into online sales for Victorian-style doorbells. But small-scale production cannot compensate for long term decline in the demand for large-scale church bells.

Owners Alan and Kathryn Hughes said they had a “heavy heart” at the thought of closing the family-run company, which has been in the same hands since 1904.

“We have made this decision with a heavy heart, but in response to the changing realities of running a business of this kind. The Bell Foundry in Whitechapel has changed hands many times, but it has always been a family business,” Alan Hughes stated.

The current owners are hoping that the work of the foundry will continue elsewhere and under new ownership. But if they are unable to sell the business, it is set to close by summer next year.

Depending on the scale of the task, producing bells can take as long as 11 years from initial inquiry to installation.

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest manufacturing firm in Great Britain, after the company was formed during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Available at – http://risingeast.co.uk/bell-tolls-for-whitechapel-foundry/

Peruvian Wharf Redevelopment (Published on Rising East 31/11/16)

The Port of London Authority has kick-started the redevelopment of Peruvian Wharf.

Peruvian Wharf will be put back to use after the Port of London Authority sealed a deal to acquire the site from its previous owners, and redevelop the land.

Located in Silvertown, near the Tate and Lyle Plant, the heritage-protected wharf has been purchased for £3 million, with plans to turn the area into a ‘centre for low-carbon transport of building materials’ for London and the surrounding region.

Peruvian Wharf has been unused for several years, with the site turning into a wasteland after the former owner, who remains unnamed, failed to secure planning permission to turn the site back into a cargo-handling wharf.

There will be immediate implementation of plans for the northern half of the site only, due to the status of the dockside as a ‘safeguarded wharf’. These include a regenerated area with 950 new houses and an array of ‘metro-style’ shops.

Mark Watson, the director of Galliard Homes, who secured planning permission for the northern section, said: “We have been working closely with the London Borough of Newham and communities to develop our masterplan and have made a number of additions in response to feedback, such as including space for a local convenience shop and a public station square around the West Silvertown DLR station.”

Further plans to redevelop and reopen the site for cargo-handling are being drawn up as part of a joint venture by the Port of London Authority and the Department for Transport, with a reduction in congestion and pollution as a priority. The site will be leased by building materials manufacturer, the Brett Group.

Robin Mortimer, chief executive of the Port of London Authority, thinks the deal will benefit London in the long term, saying: “We’ve fought long and hard to get Peruvian Wharf back into use. It’s ideally placed to service East London’s growth. This will help keep tens of thousands of lorries off London’s roads every year, reducing air pollution and improving local people’s quality of life.”

On a similar note, Deputy Mayor for Transport, Val Shawcross said: “Over two million tonnes of cargo are moved between wharves on the Thames each year. This keeps more than 150,000 lorry trips off London’s roads, reducing congestion and pollution.”

It is not yet known when full construction works will begin, but it is believed the wharf will open to use for the Brett Group in late 2017. It has been protected since 1997.

Available at – http://risingeast.co.uk/peruvian-wharf-redevelopment/

Quids In For Royal Docks Regeneration (Published on Rising East 18/1116)

It’s a done deal: Chinese investors have agreed to put £1.7 billion into regenerating the Royal Docks.

Chinese developer ABP has promised to invest £1.7 billion in an eight-year project to regenerate the Royal Albert Dock area of East London. The £300 million first stage is due for completion within 18 months.

Supported by investment partners CITIC and Charoen Popkhand, ABP aims to turn a currently unused site adjacent to the University of East London’s Docklands campus, into London’s ‘third financial centre’ (following on from Canary Wharf, built in the late 1980s, and the long-established City of London).

On its website ABP says it has “national and global backing to create a new business district with supporting residential, retail and leisure, the likes of which have never been seen before in the UK.”

Speaking at the East London China Investment Summit, ABP chair Xu Weiping declared: “These major investments are a vote of confidence to the UK and London market following the Brexit vote.” He went on to say that, “East London is fast becoming one of the capital’s most exciting places to do business and we are pleased that other Asian companies have seen the potential and are also now investing in the area.”

Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, stressed that the ABP-funded project is “designed as a comprehensive business-led, mixed-use development, including up to 845 new homes. It is expected to create 20,000 full-time jobs.”

After talks with China’s Vice-Premier Ma Kai, UK prime minister Theresa May welcomed investment from Chinese developers, saying: “As we take the next step in this golden era of relations between the UK and China, I’m excited about the opportunity for expanding trade and investment between our two countries.”

Deals with Chinese-backed investors show no signs of slowing, despite initial fears over Brexit. Developers Greenland Group recently agreed to go-ahead with the ‘Spire’ building in West India Quay, costing £800 million and due to be completed in 2020. Investment group Asian Growth Properties Ltd has purchased property and office blocks across London to the total value of £154 million.

The ABP development site is close to London City Airport and only a few minutes away from Custom House Crossrail station, due to open in December 2018.

A full overview of the plans can be viewed on the ABP website.

Available at – http://risingeast.co.uk/funding-confirmed-for-royal-docks-regeneration/

Bastille Storm The Heights (Published on Rising East 14/11/16)

Bastille rocked the 20,000-seater o2 Arena exactly five years after their first-ever headliner at Camden’s Barfly.

 Playing the O2 to promote their second album Wild World, around 9pm Bastille came out to a rapturous welcome – made all the more intense by the latest news that their song ‘Good Grief’ had just won Q magazine’s Best Track award for 2016.

“We’ve been reminded that five years ago today we were playing our first headline gig at the Barfly in Camden, so we can’t actually believe we’re allowed to be performing here,” admitted lead singer Dan Smith. “So thank you all for making that happen.”

And with that they were away into the first song from an extensive set list, perversely entitled ‘Send Them Off!’ Instead it was the audience who were blown away by an especially intense vocal sound.

While the vocals were high octane, the staging was understated: a large apron (stage), a screen each side and another, triangular screen just above where they were performing. The minimalist set-up meant there was nothing standing between where the speakers were positioned, and my seat in Block 421.

It certainly was a blast!

The set list was the perfect mix of old tracks from Bastille’s first album, Bad Blood, newer tracks from Wild World, and the latest songs which haven’t been released yet on record – a total of 22 tracks altogether. The crowd greeted every old song with a cheer, but responded with less enthusiasm towards the new.

Those that had come for the classics, were in for a treat. Highlights included ‘Things We Lost in the Fire’, ‘Bad Blood’ (the title track from their first album), ‘Of The Night’, ‘Weight of Living Pt 2’, ‘Icarus’, and perhaps their most well-known song, ‘Pompeii’, with its especially catchy chorus. (On my way into the venue I heard one security guard say:“If you can’t sing along with ‘eeh-eh-oh-eh-oh, eeh-eh-oh-eh-oh, you aren’t allowed in.”)

For me, the new songs were a high point of the night. Sure, it wasn’t going to be to everyone’s taste, and sure, not everyone in my section enjoyed these as much as I did. But as a huge fan of their latest album, it was one of those nights when I just wanted to sing along to everything.

However, the real highlight of the whole event was the rendition of what I had previously considered their most overrated song. Even Dan Smith dismissed it as “their first and last attempt at singing an ‘actual’ song.” I can honestly say ‘The Draw’ wasn’t something I’d been drawn to much. But on this night’s showing, there seemed to be so much more to it than I’d ever heard before.

Of course, after the first 19 songs, no one was happy with it being (nearly) over, so of course we clapped them back on for another three songs. Of these it was ‘Two Evils’ which sticks in the mind. It had been merely my dream that Bastille’s lead singer would throw himself in at the deep end and venture all the way up to us in Block 421, but that’s exactly what happened during this track.

After waiting since their first record deal five years ago to see them live, to come that close is something I will never forget: worth every penny of the £40 ticket.

By now Bastille will have played the last date (Newcastle) of the UK leg and now they’re off on a world tour which ends in North Carolina on 12 May 2017.

Available at – http://risingeast.co.uk/bastille-scale-the-heights/

Banks Unsettled by Brexit Vote (Published on Rising East 25/10/16)

The British Bankers’ Association warns that many banks are on the brink of leaving their East London base.

Some of the largest international banks based in Britain are planning to leave London due to the Brexit vote, according to a warning from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

In the run-up to the referendum many banks came out for Remain, and fears that some banks will leave Britain have only increased since the majority of Britons voted to leave the EU in June.

Within weeks of the referendum result, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) felt obliged to issue a statement that it had no plans to move its headquarters out of the East London financial district of Canary Wharf.

However, in a feature for The Observer, the boss of the BBA, Anthony Browne, maintains that re-locating from London is on the agenda for both high street banks and their merchant banking counterparts. Browne says that, “their hands are quivering over the relocate button. Many smaller banks plan to start relocations before Christmas; bigger banks are expected to start in the first quarter of next year.”

According to Mr Browne, there are a number of reasons that banks are looking to move, with the loss of ‘passporting’ within the European Single Market being one of the main causes for concern.

“Businesses can’t wait until the last minute. Most international banks now have project teams working out which operations they need to move to ensure they can continue serving customers, the date by which this must happen and how best to do it,” he added.

Once the UK has left the European Union, passporting via London is expected to cease. This means that banks and insurance companies will no longer be able to sell their services in the European Single Market without having to establish their headquarters in that country.

A government spokesperson sought to quell fears raised by My Browne, stating: “We are determined to maintain the City’s leading position as one of the key centres of global finance as we make a success out of Brexit.”

If the banks do relocate, it is once again likely to undermine London’s status as the financial capital of the world, on a far greater scale than when HSBC first looked to be heading towards a move away.

Canary Wharf is currently home to Barclays, Credit Suisse, HSBC, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, as well as a host of other banking organisations.

Available at – http://risingeast.co.uk/banks-unsettled-by-brexit-vote/

Hipsters Pack Their Bags As Shoreditch Makes Way for Stratford (Published on Rising East 2/5/16)

Drew Goodsell reveals plans to turn Stratford’s East Village into the new Shoreditch, thanks to a new influx of independent businesses.

The former London 2012 athletes’ village is set to welcome a new intake of independent retailers and other leisure-oriented businesses, with Kingsland Road-based bar JaguarShoes Collective at the heart of the redevelopment.

The area, currently host to a Sainsbury’s Local store, is expected to benefit from the arrival of roughly 5,500 workers when Transport for London (TfL) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) open their new headquarters in Stratford between 2017 and 2018.

Property agent CWM has also signed up artisan pizzeria Santi and local café MilkMade as valuable additions to the area’s leisure-time offer.

Get Living London has confirmed that Hackney-based Hand Café will be joining others in creating a new space within the East Village. Neil Young, the chief executive of Get Living London previously told the Evening Standard: “We hope that East Village’s independent retail offer will be of huge appeal to the lunchtime and after-work crowds.”

Although there are no confirmed opening dates for the independent stores and outlets, it is thought they will start to open before the end of 2016.

Available at – http://risingeast.co.uk/hipsters-pack-bags-shoreditch-makes-way-stratford/

Deal of the Decade? (Published on Rising East 2/5/16)

West Ham United’s move from the Boleyn Ground to Stratford’s Olympic Stadium will cost a mere £2.5 million per annum in rent, according to figures contained in the LLDC’s contract with the club.

Both West Ham United and the London Legacy Development Corporation had wanted to keep quiet about the figures involved, but a Freedom of Information request initiated by football supporters, has led to the publication of a 207-page document which reveals how much the Hammers will be paying for use of the former Olympic stadium.

The stadium has undergone a number of changes including the addition of a retractable lower seating tier with a capacity of 21,000 seats. This can be rolled forward during the hosting of events such as Premier League football matches, and retracted for athletics events which typically draw smaller crowds. But overall capacity has been reduced from 80,000 during the Olympics to a 60,000 arena, which would still make the stadium one of the largest in the Premier League.

Costs have risen during the transition period, and it is understood that conversion costs have been settled at £272 million. Of that figure, only £15 million will be covered by West Ham United, leaving the remaining costs to be met by the taxpayer.

The stadium’s running costs also seem to been worked out in the club’s favour. Bills to covered by the LLDC include not only minor items such as corner flags, pest control and Tannoy systems, but also important utilities such as security, CCTV surveillance systems and drug testing facilities.

Although on the face of it West Ham have got one of the deals of the century, with Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger declaring that the Hammers had “won the lottery”, costs to the club will rise as a result of performance based clauses contained within the contract. Each season 25 homes games are allowed for within standard terms, but any more than that, and the club will have to pay £100,000 towards the running costs of every game. Furthermore, West Ham will have to pay the same again if they finish in the top half of the Premier League table, with a further £1 million payable if the club wins the UEFA Champions League.

Responding to the Freedom of Information Act ruling, a spokesperson for West Ham United said: “As the commissioner identifies, the factor which sets the agreement with West Ham apart from that of any other stadium user is our commitment to a 99-year commercial lease, which ultimately secured the stadium’s future and the success it is now guaranteed to enjoy. It will be sold out for every West Ham home game from next season onwards, meaning our presence will bring hundreds of millions of additional people and billions of pounds of extra revenue over the course of the tenancy. But whilst someone renting the stadium for 25 days a year cannot be responsible for 365 days’ running costs, going by our performances this season, we hope to deliver additional revenue to the stadium via extended cup runs and big European nights.”

In contrast, a spokesperson for the coalition of supporters’ clubs said: “The hard work now begins to understand the deal, its costs to the taxpayer, and to football, and any further implications. This is a victory for the power of football supporters: organised, focused and willing to work together to achieve a collective goal.”

The Hammers are due to move from Upton Park to Stratford at the beginning of the 2016/17 Premier League season, after beating off competition from Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient for occupancy of the stadium back.

The move comes as part of the London 2012 Legacy project.

Available at – http://risingeast.co.uk/deal-of-the-decade/

Would You ride the “World’s Longest and Tallest” Slide? (Published on Rising East 2/5/16)

Construction work is underway to turn a monumental work of art into London’s most exhilarating tourist attraction.

The ArcelorMittal Orbit was first designed as part of the London 2012 estate. But since it reopened as a tourist attraction in April 2014, the number of visitors has been less than overwhelming, leading to losses estimated at £10,000 a week. In view of this, the London Legacy Development Corporation took the decision to make the structure more attractive by turning it into a monumental helter-skelter.

Although construction was meant to begin on Thursday 7th April, plans were put on hold due to bad weather. Work began the following day, with the first pieces of the slide being put in place by a team of specialist abseilers.

Once the slide is complete, visitors will have to pay a £5 premium to travel down, having first paid £12 (adults) or £7 (children under 16) in order to climb up the structure.

Designed by Belgian artist Carsten Höller, the slide will spiral around the current Orbit frame, with the length of the addition totalling 178 meters, allowing users to experience speeds of up to 15 mph during their descent.

A spokesperson for the LLDC, which is tasked with managing and developing the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, said: “This is a unique collaboration between two of the world’s leading artists and a major new art installation for London.”

Full costs are not yet known but are estimated to amount to £3.5 million.

Completion is due in early summer 2016, with tickets going on pre-sale shortly.

Available at – http://risingeast.co.uk/ride-worlds-longest-tallest-slide/

Ducking, Diving and Sports Merchandising (Published on Rising East 14/4/16)

Drew Goodsell reckons it’s not true that street stallholders are only interested in ripping us off.

In recent times, mainstream media seem to have taken a dislike to market stall sellers, criticising many of them for selling cheap knock offs and, allegedly, ripping off innocent members of the public as a matter of course.

In some cases, maybe it’s true. But in the majority of instances, it’s far from the truth, with many top quality items being sold on the street – just a lot cheaper than anywhere else.

Some call the market stall sellers criminals, preying on our readiness to think we have found a real bargain, whereas others see them as smart business men and women, tapping into a demand and making money by meeting it.

I have been looking in particular at the sports merchandise market – a market worth millions to clubs and manufacturers year on year. What I have found is that stallholders are not criminals but normal human beings like you and me. Yes, they are out to make money, but that doesn’t mean they are only there to cheat the poor punter. That’s what I’m choosing to think, anyway. Although it did give me pause for thought when the stallholder I interviewed outside West Ham’s Boleyn Ground said he would very much rather remain anonymous.

Could you give a brief overview on how you got involved with selling on a market stall on a match day?

“It was my dad’s stall and I think it has been passed on through a couple of generations at least. That’s what I’ve been told anyway. I’ve been here for five years, since I was a teenager. Obviously, at that age I was learning the way to go about this from my dad, but as soon as I hit 20, he left responsibility to me and I love it. I work full time elsewhere during the week, but growing up in a family of Hammers’ fans, I always wanted to get involved somehow. I love the club, and I love meeting new and old fans, so therefore doing this on weekend match days is perfect for me. I’d want to keep this stall in the family for a lot longer, but that all depends on the stadium move.”

 The media seem to like focusing on the negative side of market stalls, alleging that many of you are selling knock-off items at a steep price. Do you have a response to that?

 “I don’t really know much about that if I’m being honest, because I don’t pay much attention to the media. To work here, you’ve got to be quite thick skinned and be able to take that criticism, because whatever you do you can’t please everyone. All I would say in response to that is that I wouldn’t sell things that I didn’t think were the right quality. I spend money obtaining the merchandise, and therefore I want it to be good quality myself, so I wouldn’t sell poor quality items. That may not be the case for market stalls in general, but here on a match day, I don’t think I’ve ever had a complaint about something I’ve sold to someone.”

 With the items you sell on your stall, do they have to pass any checks before you sell them to members of the public?

 “Not as such. No one comes and checks them. Occasionally we get checked up on whilst working just to meet the trading standards, and if they feel the products aren’t up to standard then we get shut down. But the only quality control I like to follow is my own. Like I said in the previous answer, if I don’t like the quality, it won’t be sold. Simple as that.”

Do you still see a big market for market stalls outside of the ground? Or has the interest died down a little?

“There is no way that interest has gone away whatsoever. I won’t go into exact figures, but the amount we sell here is enough to keep a reasonably sized family going for the month, and be able to produce new items and new ideas to keep the market stall ticking over. 

“Personally, I also think that those that come to the stall prefer the personal approach from us as sellers. We are not like those that work at the club stores, where customers are just brushed off as just another customer. Conversation always flows here, and generally a lot of customers are on first name terms with a lot of the sellers here. It makes the atmosphere around the club feel like family.”

In a previous interview I’ve done with a fan, I was told that he felt the club took advantage with prices of merchandise to season ticket holders in particular. Do you agree with that?

“I wouldn’t say I agree, because at the end of the day, the pricing isn’t down to the club, it’s down to those that manufacture the merchandise, but I can see where that comment is coming from. You get people paying hundreds for a season ticket here, and the least you’d expect as a thank you would be money off of merchandise, or even a free version of the latest shirt, but I don’t think that has ever happened, or ever will unfortunately. Although saying that, it benefits us working on the stalls.”

Are the club accommodating market stalls in the move to the new ground in Stratford? 

“To be honest, I haven’t personally heard very much about it. Initially, when the stadium move was announced, a few of us had a brief chat about it and decided to wait and see if the club had anything to say about it. They didn’t communicate anything, so we decided try and plot the move ourselves, but if you go to the area around the stadium, there is nothing like there is here. The area around the ground is being fully renovated, and the only main road near the stadium wouldn’t accommodate market stalls like Green Street does currently. So as it stands, we are in the dark about a move along with the club.”

 

Available at – http://risingeast.co.uk/ducking-diving-sports-merchandising-2/

London Underground’s Most Dangerous Lines Revealed (Published on Rising East 11/4/16)

Delving through the latest Underground crime statistics, Drew Goodsell finds an uneven track record.

British Transport Police have released crime figures for the London Underground in 2015, revealing the Central Line as the most dangerous.

On the Central Line, which runs from West Ruislip to Epping via Stratford, in 2015 almost 2000 recorded crimes occurred either on the platform or on the train itself, including 198 sex offences. But on East London’s Docklands Light Railway only 633 criminal offences occurred; 35 of these were sexual offences.

More than 1500 criminal acts occurred on the Jubilee Line, which starts at the Stratford hub. Of these, 103 were sexual offences, making it the fourth worst for total crimes committed, and third for sexual activities. The District Line, which passes through West Ham, Mile End and Plaistow, appears next on the list, with a total of 1,292 crimes occurring on the line, 50 of those being sex offences. The Hammersmith & City Line also runs through East London, but figures for this line are complicated, since part of its route overlaps with the Circle Line. For the two lines together, 1102 crimes were recorded, of which 49 were sexual offences.

The most crime-free line on the London Underground was the Waterloo & City Line. Running six days a week with restricted hours, there were only 10 reported incidents on the line, with only one of those being a sexual offence.

British Transport Police (BTP) point out that crime figures across the network are going down, saying: “Over the course of 2014/15, the BTP recorded more than 9,000 offences across the London Underground Network and 46,000 across England, Scotland and Wales as a whole. This was our lowest recorded level of crime nationally in more than a decade and makes it very clear that the changes of becoming a victim of an offence are minimal, especially when you consider that millions of passenger journeys are made on the Underground each day.”

The BTP spokesperson continued: “Many of these stations are very busy hubs with huge numbers of people passing through, so numbers of offences are always likely to be higher than at smaller stations. Larger, busier stations also have a higher police presence, so more offences are likely to be recorded as a result of police-generated activity.”

“We’re committed to providing a safe environment for all passengers and rail staff. The tube network is a CCTV rich environment, and we deploy uniformed officers every day to patrol stations on the tube network to reassure passengers.”

The data takes into account recorded crimes from the 1st January 2015 to the 31st December 2015 which have been reported to the BTP.

Available at – http://risingeast.co.uk/london-undergrounds-dangerous-lines-revealed/