Shaping London’s economic future

The Tory government starved my borough, Harrow, of funding for years, partly because it had a Labour council (spiteful or what?!) The grant shrank from around £52 million in 2013/14 to £1.6 million in 2019/20. This is blatantly evident in the borough, especially Wealdstone, which not only looks neglected and scruffy, but fly-tipping is epidemic because the council cannot/will not provide the resources needed for waste removal. I live in a converted house with three flats. We only had two household waste and two recycling wheelie bins to start with. One of our household waste wheelie bins was stolen last November, and instead of investigating and replacing the bin, the council said residents must BUY bins for £75. A friend said he knew of an identical bin which someone in a different borough wanted to get rid of which he could donate, but I asked the council if they would still empty wheelie bins not purchased from the council and they said no, all bins must be purchased from the council in order to be emptied. Bin collections are on a two week rotation here, with household waste one week and recycling the next. 

After this experience I understood why there is so much fly-tipping and why the borough is like one giant sh1t tip in general. 

Although I have lived in my flat for 7 years now, all the flats are rented under 1 year contracts, so even the residents who produce the most waste will not purchase a bin. I only need to put out a small binbag every two weeks so I will not be purchasing a wheelie bin, but the bins are right outside my window so it falls to me to sort out the mess or put up with the stink and flies. 

This situation has been caused by the Tories, but now is the time to get this sorted! Ironically, the council fell into Tory hands earlier this year so it is still at odds with the government. I truly hope Labour will not be as spiteful and petty as the previous administration so that we can finally start cleaning up the borough and keep it clean. 

Getting around London by car - essential to my work - is making business life in London for me and others like me unacceptable and feeply frustrating. Almost permanent road works, pedestrianised streets, dangerous cycle lanes, terrible standards of anarchic driving and riding by frustrated travellers. I have lived in London for almost 80 years. It used to be plesant. It is now a dangerous cesspit.  

The problems that London faces are part historic and part futuristic. Housing and lack of affordable social housing and unaffordable rents has created a growing number of London residents who are paying rents far in excess 50 to 60% of there disposable income. 
Climate change is the next great challenge as we all need to change our lifestyles, public transport will need to be subsidised and become much more efficient. The use of public spaces, parks and woodland must be viewed as natural treasures. Community’s need to educated on value of tree lined streets and not view as risk to property values.

For me the main issue that bothers me in my local area (Hackney, Finsbury Park) is the rubbish in the streets and parks.  It's a constant source of blight and makes the place feel like a ghetto.  The mentality of some folks seems to be that it's okay to trash the streets and parks, and there don't seem to be enough resources to keep them clean.  Thus the rest of us who would prefer living in a clean and rubbish-free neighbourhood are forced to accept this extremely unpleasant fact of life.  Quality of life starts with local, city and national authorities looking at the small things, which, if addressed properly, consistently, and over the long term, will have a positive knock-on effect.  But the opposite is true - if local authorities continue to ignore this issue, we are all essentially at the mercy of those who trash the streets with impunity.  It's a terrible quality of life issue for me.  I've tried cleaning up our block myself but it's a losing battle.  There are no bins.  There's seemingly no effort on the part of the local council to regularly keep the streets clean.

Your survey fails to ask the correct questions.

The current plans fail to address the current underlying problems of high density population, the lack of use of common sense and learning from past mistakes.

Plus action to cut crime and anti-social behaviour along with action to protect the rights of pedestrians and for example efforts to stamp out pavement cycling along with major improvements in the maintenance of the footpath to prevent falls and trips.

Locally, the Mayor has (apparently)  granted planning permission on green belt land in our local park. This will reduce the benefit of the local residents - a space where we can walk and relax. ~Living in a town centre, we need this open and natural space. This will set a precedence for future green belt erosion. The relevance for this topic is that it will put more pressure on local infrastructure and services. Yes it will create jobs and expansion but there are other locations - not green belt. The infrastuture must keep up with development. This decision suggests the Mayor doesn't care 

Transport. One other thing - I normally use public transport to get to work. Train,tube,bus and walk. The system simply isnt reliable enough - poorly managed. In addition I had to drive the other day- i was in early and the trains dont run  - 20mph speed limits throughout - this is strangling London 

I will leave London mainly due to the hostility of a vocal minority and very dangerous driving.

Bromley could be a good place to live, but the recent vandalism of traffic lights and pedestrian crossings makes many of us feel unsafe.

There is also far too much motorised traffic which also drives far too fast and quite recklessly.

Surprised not to see certain features in the survey about my local high street

For instance public safety is crucial. Shoplifting and violence against shop workers is rife in my local high street. Businesses don’t invest in the local shops or stock a lot of quality products as stock loss is so high. It’s not nice to shop on high streets with aggressive begging. 
Parking and ease of transport is another one. I will spend more if it’s easier to park without extortionate tariffs or difficulty finding a space. It’s just much better fitting a big shop in a car and not have to juggle it back on the bus or bike massive difficulty.

My local high street is on a TfL Red route. They do an appalling job of maintaining it, the pavements are in a really bad way and the road is ugly. When it rains huge puddles build in the road meaning you get soaked by passing traffic. This is reported but never actioned. They force changes on the local community despite significant opposition from the general public. They don’t engage at all with requests from local people. When the council puts requests forward they don’t engage.

Unless the UK rejoins the EU, London and the rest of the country are utterly f*cked. Furthermore hate preachers like Farage, Braverman and the rest need to be jailed. Immigration, diversity and interconnectivity with its wider continent are the lifeblood of a major city like London, along with quality, affordable housing and decent public transport. Finally, for safety and wellbeing 20 mph speed limits should be enforced on all residential roads in London. 

With the way the standard of living crisis is affecting everyday lives in London,I might consider relocating abroad in the future.I like most the fact that there is  variety , but on the downside ,the High closes too early!

A good job is one where I will earn enough to take care of myself and my family,at present almost half of my salary goes on rent! A good workplace is one where you are treated fairly,equally and like a human, with opportunities for development and progression.

Successful economic growth to me will indicate a better spending ability and not having to rely on loan sharks .Ability to afford food ,shelter and heating,maybe the odd holiday once a year.

Without better wages the outlook is bleak. Wealth inequality has spiralled out of control since the pandemic-unless wealth starts to flow into the pockets of ordinary people as much as it flows into those of the very wealthy the situation will continue to get worse, people already are struggling to keep the lights on and food on the table, the huge cost of rents and mortgages mean people are barely managing to get by-existing rather than living. If matters get much worse then people will have nothing to lose and the rule of law, which is already eroded and in many areas not policed will break down much further and living conditions for everyone will become much more dangerous. The housing crisis is not being addressed and people continue to flow into London and there is nowhere that they can afford to live.

 Plenty of building is going on but all in the commercial sector entirely for profit-so the people who need homes are not being helped by any of the building.

The reckless headlong political race to try any make the housing crisis look addressed is destroying green space and impacting the lives of Londoners who already live in cramped conditions with little natural light-excessive building is exacerbating this, eventually no one will actually want to live in london. At the same time the need for extra infrastructure to support thousands of new residents is completely ignored- a pathetic trickle of money comes through for community projects-and much as first aid for kids and armchair yoga for seniors is nice to have it does NOT address the need for extra GP surgeries, extra schools ,supermarkets, hospitals and public transport-all of which are essential if the population rises in an area significantly.

I live in Stratford ,which is so impacted by these issues from the building of a high rise block of flats every month or so , and has been going on since 2012.

It is completely unsustainable and cannot continue if we are to remain civilized.

London has a 'i can do what I want whenever I want' attitude amongst many of it various communities. There is little local social adhesion where many communities just do not want to mix. The definition of ' multi cultural society ' is meant to mean a true mix of all communities in all areas. But we all know that in many areas, is just not happening. Street after street are taken over, quite deliberately by some sections of society. That does not create social adhesion or understanding. But no ' authority' local or national seems bothered or even concerned to do anything about it 

On transport we are constantly trying to push a quart into a pint pot,to coin a phrase. Now while I'm all for alternative forms of transport including the Cyclist do not understand why we have to take up masses of car parking spaces for bike bays? Why can't we just have both?There are often lots of other off road alternatives but local authorities seem reluctant to use them. I don't understand this car bashing policy when we are all eventually heading for an electric future (albeit delayed) Car park spaces especially on some of our council estates, are precious commoditys. It's bad enough we give up whole roads in some cases to the cyclist. Please leave road parking spaces alone! Local business cannot survive on just bikes and bus passengers. It the situation continues I cannot see me staying in the capital long term. There are too many local shops unused or there is high turn over of owners/empty shops again,due to high running costs. Subsidies for new start ups should be implemented. With a start on interest rates now falling there is some relief but it will take more cuts and time before we start to see any potential growth either locally or nationwide.

What is very poor is the amount of uncoordinated Road works in the Capital. Our road is being dug up AGAIN. Nobody seems to care that this ‘do what you like and leave a huge hole for weeks’ approach, causes huge traffic jams. This must affect businesses and the economy. 
The contractors simply do as they please and charge the local councils what they like. There’s no overall control.

Being retired and not wealthy, I find London an exciting and invigorating place to live and socialise. This is made possible to me by the Freedom Pass and safe cycling. 

Sad to see my local high street gradually going downhill. Big chains like Boots and WH Smiths have gone, replaced by pound shops and nail bars. The pavements are crowded with motorcycle delivery drivers waiting outside fast food shops. In the evening the only people in the high street are the homeless and alcoholics. 

Small businesses are hit too hard with rates. The council need to revise their business rates otherwise we'll just end up with big chains everywhere and no indi shops. 

The High Street looks like the a scene from the Road with mattresses in doorways and money laundering shops. The market has been decimated, it used to sell good cheap fresh food and now it is ready meals for tourists; local people have lost a valuable source of food. The council want to turn the Memorial Gardens with the Holocaust memorial into another theme park ‘Happy Place’ with coffee shop.

The Parish Church does a good line in bouncy castles on the graves of Kingston’s founders. Its the capital for bike nicking but good for coffee shops and Pret is a good work hub. The Curzon roof top is also pretty cool. The Heritage Centre, Museum and Library are very important Town centre services, I just hope they survive.

Public transport is pathetic if you live in the cheap seats, the 131 is always crowded and people with children a disabilities don’t have very positive experiences, but if you want to go to Richmond theres a bus every 5 minutes and you can get the front seat. And  thank goodness for Richmond because without them surrounding us on 3 sides, we would have no green space as Kingston build on everything and  let the green belt rot even though it had a Site of Metropolitan Importance but is now a Go f**k an Ape.

Kingston council are about to translocate the same population of Slow Worms for the second time. We have lost over 100 trees in my ward and most of those planted have died. They claim. A 93% survival rate but if I can count 15 dead on the walk from my home, that should mean 214 planted (if their assertions were true) in fact we are in deficit from tree removal from the regeneration of the Cambridge Road Estate- trees we were told would stay. The council have allowed my neighbours to build a HMO - one of several in the ward. Its a a full width single storey extension over their garden with a first storey flat roof extension and a dormer. It was a 2 bed Victorian cottage & now looks like Fawlty Towers. Thankfully I love London, I love Kew Gardens, Home Park

I am retired but politically active. Leafleting for the GE last month, I spoke to cleaners in housing blocks owned by Peabody and RBKC. Both came from outside London, one from Enfield, because the people who keep London going cannot afford to live here. Unfortunately the questions in the survey do not have enough "Not Applicable" options, which apply to a retired flat-holder who has worked in London and elsewhere. I leafleted many former council estates, now largely owned by 'right to buy' occupants. There must be more council (social rent) houses in London to let the people who keep this city going actually live in it. Also, private landlords should be forced to sell their properties to the local councils - easily done by taxing them appropriately. It has happened before. I live in a borough, which is managed by a Tory council for the wealthy and very wealthy. Its longf-term policy is gentrification of the predominantly Labour north by demolishing council estates and replacing them with a very low percentage of social housing, private "affordable" housing, which is not affordable at 80% of market rent, and property for sale. you, Mr Mayor, and Starmer's government, have a lot of work to do to cut the horrific equality gap in RBK&C and elsewhere in London.

London has an immense problem with the housing needs of the people living there for long term and wanting to settle and make a family. The prices are too high, the offer is too small, the quality is very poor. We are not even offered proper rental contracts unless we pay thousands to rent with a real estate agency. But also the private landlord should do that, we are all humans with the same needs and pay punctually every month! Please do something about that.