Shaping London’s economic future

I just don't feel safe in my local High Street. It's simp y lawless. And you take your life in your hands with all the bikes, many motorised, tearing along delivering food items. The same goes for the local bus stops where you have to step onto cycle lanes to get to the pavement. It's so dangerous. How on earth are people with pushchairs meant to check it's safe to get off the bus? Was no thought given to personal safety when these things were designed?

The bigger problem with London is the private and commercial landlords charging crippling rents. We have too much litter, too many professional beggers  and pickpockets, and far too many prolific thieves. Wandsworth Town is full of non working persons, of working age, who are simply sponging from the state. There are jobs out there if you want one. The Wandsworth bid scheme charge my company money for the local community and spend it how they like but don’t promote the business that they demand the  money from! Most busses that pass my office, it’s a main route , are empty even during rush hour! 

I live in Wandsworth. 
There is no large Marks and Spencer seeing clothes/home products in the borough. There is no department store. There are now mostly shops for things you can’t do on line like nail bars, hairdressers, computer repairs, tanning salons and charity shops. And of course coffee shops and restaurants. We need to encourage and support independent businesses. We need variety. We need market stalls that don’t sell at premium prices.

Battersea Power Station is accessible to disabled people but parking is not free. 

The infra structure is incompatible with the numbers of people-roads are jammed and bus lanes are either empty or full with half empty buses. Cyclists are careless (ear plugs in, no helmet or high viz jacket, using a phone) ditto e-scooter users. 

There’s lots to do to revive the local economy. 
 

There is a lot to be improved in London. It is ridiculously expensive for both essential things for life such as rent (for home) and business rates, transport. It is also really expensive to have any social life as pubs are now prohibitively expensive - at least twice as expensive for a pint of beer for example.(£6.00 - £7.00 a pint). Lots of people depend on these things for social company and the avoidance of loneliness. Pubs have closed and Southwark council appears insensitive to the expensive commercialisation of the area at the expense of social cohesion. Even the parks are increasing paid events which suit those with money but cater to a limited audience.

The local high street (Walworth Road) doesn't have a single clothes store since M&S closed. It's a vast empty space. We have numerous coffee shops and small cafe's and some good hardware stores We also have numerous charity shops which sometimes charge as much for items as if they were new.

East street market is pretty good and offers value for money but where are the facilities for poor young people.

I am retired and now have mobility problems with my knees which have opened a whole new world to me. Things II wasn’t aware of are now glaringly obvious.

Bus pass was great but now buses are out of bounds as  cannot get legs in seats. Special seats are too low and no leg room. Nowhere to put shopping. Drivers do not stop next to kerb most times so cannot get off. New electric bus 450 badly designed

When will designers get the picture that people are taller now. Older people need higher seats not lower so they can get up.

This has impacted a lot on going far and very frustrating. Trains are easier to get on and off but penge east at end of my road have stairs across so difficult .room for ramp but never installed. Did my back in years ago carrying pushchair over it. Still the same.

Could go on and on but frustrating as I love going out and about.

I'm 70, single, a retired community worker. My housing association rent  is £195pw, which takes 90% of my state pension. The new government has just cut my Winter Fuel Allowance so I'm even poorer than three weeks ago. I worked for 50 years before retirement on a lowish wage, so have small savings that are melting away. I have no future in the capital, it's unaffordable for me. The "social contract" between everyday working people and wider society has broken for pensioners.

Your survey did not take into account the needs of older retired people who depend on decent public transport whether buses or trains - it is rubbish  in this part of outer south London. You always assume London equals inner London north of the Thames and forget outer London south of the Thames where we do NOT have the tube, do NOT have the Overground and do NOT have the tram. Already the GLA is talking of taking out the SL7 bus - our only regular sub orbital transport route, and the only one that takes us to Heathrow airport.  Town centres depend on decent transport routes - we need improvements not reductions. As a result we lack decent shops, educational and job opportunities, as well as cultural opportunities.  The GLA only spends £72 on each person in this Borough compared with £3,000 per person in places like Camden etc.  No wonder we are so disadvantaged and the gap is getting wider. Please take us into account and not reject or ignore us!

Economic development continues to take place at the expense of communities' and residents' local living environment - noise pollution increases, air pollution increases, it becomes more and more impossible to sleep through a single night without being woken up by deliveries, rat-running gigantic private waste collection vehicles, by the endless racing 'supercars', by revellers yowling their way their way home at all hours.  This is so unnecessary - it actually is entirely possible to make sure that economic development is fully integrated with packages of measures that improve residential 'amenity' or liveability.  This should be made mandatory, somehow. Residents' needs for a healthy living environment should have much much greater weight and priority in GLA and local authority policies.  The London Plan must surely address this imbalance, make sure the local environment is improved, rather than economic success bringing the deterioration that it has so far. And it is not just economic development that brings problems - dockless e-bike trial parking has been, stupidly, allowed in residential streets. This brings an instant crash in local liveability - noise round the clock from nocturnal servicing and e-bike dumping by companies, gangs of ASB youths riding e-bikes at speed on pavements, shrieking and yelling, noisy people playing on them at night right outside residents' bedroom windows, etc. Residents needs are just not in policy-makers minds at all, it seems.  Each business expansion, each new business, brings deliveries (diesel), waste & recycling collections, customers arriving in taxis and cars, and there is not enough 'amenity' protection to prevent these from happening between 9pm and 7am in residential streets.  Stop dumping it all on the residents, GLA, Mayor, and City Hall staff.

No longer feel safe going out anymore-everyone I know including myself has been a victim of crime. And ulez is just a money making scheme. Khan is the worst mayor ever.

Unsure what my future is in London - I dont particularly want to spend my time in a high street that's overrun by food/drink/vape shops as it seems Banks & 'proper shopping' shops are closing; I dont want to be forced to buy everything online but would still like to browse/look at items before I buy.  It might reduce no of delivery people on our roads or should I say pavements as lots of delivery riders cycle on pavements to detriment of pedestrians!  Although they are not the only ones - lots of hire bike riders use pavements rather than the cycle lanes so whats point of them - please dont allocate any more public money to them!   

Streets are being overrun by gangs & criminals, so no longer safe for residents or indeed visitors.

Transport links are good as are green(ish) spaces/parks, and museuems / galleries etc.  However seemingly never ending roadworks often throw bus routes out the window so keeping to an appt is very hit & miss. Green spaces are more litter strewn now - why cant people take their litter home with them rather than leave it for someone to pick up? (same question for fly tippers - why not dispose of it yourself through the correct channels - its not difficult).   Lets all have a bit of respect for each other & our city please - both resident & visitor alike. 

Re work questions- as I no longer work I can only say that good transport links to/from work place; good working conditions; decent wage and skill/training development are all essential.  [But please remember workers are there to work]

On economic growth - success would mean costs of 'things' would reduce, investment to public service would increase & benefit everyone. 

The mayor is doing his best to destroy London, raising monly from Ulez which he wastes on pointless things. 

Meanwhile crime of all sort gets worse, 20mph speed llimits slow everything down whilst achieving nothing to reduce aaccidents or pollution

I feel the support available for people to improve their skills, so they can be more employable, helps London and its economy a lot

I think London is the UK’s land of opportunity if people do their research and make the most of support that is available. I feel better about my future in the capital since having my child a year ago. Having my child pushed me think out of the box and start to actively research what is available 

My local high street (wandsworth road between nine elms station and wandsworth road station) is in a poor state. The road is too wide with too much space allocated to car circulation and parking.  there are little to no trees and no cycle lane, It is really hard to cross the street leading to the local park (not enough zebra crossings). Most importantly, there are way too many fried chicken or other unhealthy food options and no healthy/high quality independent alternatives (for example Pipoca on brixton road). I think there should be restrictions on fried chicken/fast foods in high streets and more deliberate planning of local services, working with landlords and local entrepreneurs who would like to start high-quality businesses. Having these poor food options puts local people at risk of developing diabetes and obesity, which cause strain on an already overwhelmed NHS. Also, patrons of the local mosque tend to reach it by car, resulting in an overwhelming amount of parked cars at specific time of the day/week. It would be great to work with the community to understand how active travel or public transport could be used as an alternative.

My wife and I have lived in Orpington since 1975 and have, of course, in that time seen many changes especially in the High Street with the loss of Woolworths and the like over the years and increasing number of eating and drinking places!  As far as visiting the High Street is concerned, my main reason for visiting it is to collect medication from a pharmacy  There is very little incentive to visit it otherwise! I used to visit the Walnuts Sports and Leisure Centre but, since the lockdowns, no longer do so as there is no incentive because, apart from anything else, the opening times have been severely restricted!

I love London. I do not love the Mayor (quite the opposite). The two biggest issues I have are:

1. ULEZ and the expansion. That is nothing more than a cynical way to grab money and hurts local residents and businesses (particularly lower income residents). It is disgraceful.
2. The continued ignoring of the growing traffic problems directly due to increased cycle lanes. No, I am not against cyclists. But if "pollution" is really the issue, then the more effective way to reduce it is to speed up the flow of traffic to get OUT of London. A prime example is the Mayor completely ignoring residents around Holland Park Avenue and forging ahead with plans for cycle lanes (which will also require cutting down many mature and beautiful trees). This is going to create gridlock and force cars into neighbourhoods. It is stupid on every level.

My Borough Has become dirty, unsafe at night, overcrowded with learner drivers on mopeds who generally don't follow the highway code or park sensibly. The roads are disastrous with severe potholes. Apparently, stealing cars is no longer a police matter. My sister in laws £35,000 BMW was stolen from her driveway. It had a "tracker" installed and was tracked to one of three single car garages in an alleyway off Green Lanes. When the police attended, they said they couldn't ask any questions of local residents or gain access to the garages to check for the car????. Why are they there. Is it just to protect VIPs or handle PR sensitive cases. So insurance company makes £35 payout and then we all pay higher premiums, criminals enjoy their ill-gotten gains and the police can go back to putting their feet up.   In my view this is not a suitable safe or easy environment to promote economic activity by travelling safely  around the capital.

I have lived in Croydon over 50 years and I have never seen it looking so unkempt, untidy, uncared for and abandoned as it is now. I hardly recognise the place . I no longer shop in the centre or go out locally as all there is are takeaways and barbers shops. It is a dismal place to live now. You don’t even feel safe walking down your local roads.