Stratford Sphere Venue Plans Officially Withdrawn By Us Firm

[naomi24]

//The US company behind a proposed Las Vegas-style "Sphere" venue in east London has withdrawn its plans.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) said it could not participate in a process that was "merely a political football between rival parties".   In December, Housing Secretary Michael Gove used his powers to review the rejection of planning permission by London Mayor Sadiq Khan. 

In a letter to the Planning Inspectorate, MSG said it was "extremely disappointing" that Londoners would "not benefit from the Sphere's groundbreaking technology and the thousands of well-paying jobs it would have created".

The letter said: "I write to confirm that we are officially withdrawing our application from the Planning Inspectorate process.

"After spending millions of pounds acquiring our site in Stratford and collaboratively engaging in a five-year planning process with numerous governmental bodies, including the local planning authority who approved our plans following careful review, we cannot continue to participate in a process that is merely a political football between rival parties."//

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67920774

 

What with his extortionately prohibitive taxes on motorists and now blocking what would have been an enormous source of income for the city - not to mention jobs to help re-generate one of the poorest areas in the capital - the ever self-serving Sadiq Khan has proven himself to be London's worst enemy.  Has he any chance of re-election?  I sincerely hope not.

[Untitled]

aside from your saying so i really can't find much evidence that people who lived there were keen on it naomi and there's plenty that they are not... maybe your relations are people who really really like adverts 

i'm sure khan is fine with foreign investment lol but not at any cost 

it is a bit deceptive to use population figures for the whole borough by the way

[New Judge]

"...the site is very valuable and still available... i doubt it's going to remain vacant for very long. a developer that respects the rules will be given the opportunity and that's a good thing."

It's been vacant for so long as I can remember. It was cleared (of nothing much in particular) when the work to develop the Olympic site began. A number of schemes have been proposed, including an artificial ski centre. But all that seems to be wanted is "affordable" housing. No developer is going to do that as there's nothing in it for them. I doubt any "affordable" housing will go there either as the  site is not really suitable for that.

[New Judge]

^^^I dount any "unaffordable" ...

[dave50]

Khan will get voted in again due to his ethnic minority loyal voters. Although saying they are a minority in London anymore is doubtful.

[naomi24]

Untitled. //there's plenty that they are not//

 

Rubbish.  2,700 out of a population of over 360,000 is not plenty - and even if you take the population of the Stratford area alone - 25,000  - 2,700 is still not plenty.   Those figures would indicate that if anything, the population, didn't care one way or another.

 

//it is a bit deceptive to use population figures for the whole borough by the way//

 

Not at all.  The plan was approved by the council elected by the people.  They wanted it - Mr Khan didn't.  The man is a disaster for London.  I hope he's booted out next time around.  London deserves better.

[Untitled]

i am a londoner and i rather like him.

[naomi24]

That comes as no surprise.

[jno]

me too and I'm only partly ethnic.

He scrapped the money pit known as the garden bridge and now he's scrapped an alien  craft from the planet Zod. In contrast to his two predecessors, who both had massive edifice complexes that encouraged wacky skyscrapers around town. Khan's a breath of fresh air. (In more ways than one.)

[naomi24]

Freash air?  Hope you kept some masks after Covid, jno.

 

//The slowest city on Earth: How Sadiq Khan's gridlocked capital is the worst in the WORLD for drivers //

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12946127/worlds-slowest-city-revealed-ulez-london-worst-offender.html

[bednobs]

does a city with such good public transport need to be good for drivers?

[naomi24]

^  :o/

[Untitled]

erm trust the daily mail to print "traffic is slow in london" as if it were news or somehow recent lol. i think we all know what they have against khan... they don't like that he's a muslim. 

[naomi24]

How about the nice BBC, untitled?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67916773

 

Or the Guardian?

 

https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/national/24038962.20mph-speed-limits-make-central-london-roads-worlds-slowest---study/

 

Any better?

 

//they don't like that he's a muslim. //

 

No ... those who don't like - don't like because  he's a disaster for the city.

 

Your accusation is the sort of thing that exacerbates and encourages racism and that creates conflict.   You should be ashamed - but you're not because you'll use any port in a storm however disingenuous.

 

 

[jno]

please stop changing the subject. I didn't say London traffic was fast, I said the air is better. It's been slow since the Middle Ages

So far, the central and inner London ULEZ contributed to: Almost 50% reduction in toxic nitrogen dioxide pollution in central London.

800,000 tonne reduction in carbon dioxide emissions between 2019 and 2022.

5 times faster reduction of pollution in London than the rest of the UK, between 2016 and 2020.

Which was precisely what Ulez was introduced for.

https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/pollution-and-air-quality/ultra-low-emission-zone-ulez-london

[Untitled]

 neither of those two other links suggest that sadiq khan is to blame for it or present london's slow traffic as something new naomi... they report on the survey itself. if you cannot perceive the differences in tone then i can't help you 

[naomi24]

jno, I didn't change the subject - you did.

 

//Khan's a breath of fresh air. (In more ways than one.)//

[naomi24]

You can't have read them, untitled.  Try again.

 

 

[Untitled]

i detect we're now entering the famous naomi funhouse... seems like a good jumping off point before we all get bogged down in a tedious competition for the last word however trivial

[naomi24]

Ahh, the last resort - again.  :o)