Shaping London’s economic future

London is already too overcrowded. Population growth is not the answer. When the "high street" is filled with overpriced coffee shops, pavements full of dumped Lime bikes and roads blocked with LTN planters and daily reports of knife and gun crimes I don't have to much hope for a vibrant recovery - business friendly means open streets, zero tolerance policing and private enterprise, not social engineering. 

I am lucky that I own my house outright, without a mortgage.  I intend to continue living in this house unless I become so disabled that I need a wheelchair:  the corridors are too narrow for a wheelchair and the stairs are too narrow for a stairlift.  If I have to move, I shall sell the house and buy a ground floor flat with an entrance that is level with the pavement. I think there is such a flat very near my house.

My local high street is Willesden High Road:  it has a variety of good shops.  The nearest supermarket is the Willesden Green branch of Sainsbury's.  It has a very limited range of products compared with other branches such as the West Hendon branch, because it is a single-storey building with a small floor area.  I think that Sainsbury's should replace this building with 2 storeys of supermarket, with a lift to the upper storey and 3 storeys of flats above the supermarket.  I am sure that Brent Council would give planning permission for this.  They have recently given planning permission for a similar rebuilding of 2 community centres which were single-storey and now have 3 storeys of Council flats above them.  The builders have told me that the new flats are wheelchair accessible.  

I think I would not be eligible to live in a Council flat, because I would have too much money if I had sold my house.

My favourite shops in Willesden High Road are Happy Value, Fone Us and Sainsbury's.   

The various London local authorities and the Mayor all seem to have forgotten that the city needs a strong economy if it is to afford to invest in making life pleasant and sustainable. That investment cannot come solely from taxing and charging residents. The balance between carrot and stick is all wrong, with far too much stick in the form of ULEZ, road closures and massive hikes in parking charges, and far too little carrot. London must be a good place to do business as well as a good place to live, and the Mayor and councils must realise that stopping climate change is not their responsibility and not within their power to affect. They should concentrate instead on solving the housing crisis, which is their responsibility and is within their power.

I've been stuck in a flat I don't like (mould, condensation etc.) for over 8 years. No choice, as I rent privately and prices have skyrocketed in recent years. Moreover, every time a political party plans something about housing, it is always in favour of social tenants. What about me? I am disable, work part time and Universal Credit sucks nearly half of my wage. Road works and buses delays have become "normal" now, as have beggars, thieves and empty high street shops. A&E are a nightmare to attend and it takes on average three months to see a NHS consultant. It used to be funny and culturally enhancing to live in London, not any more.

I answered the survey as if I was still working. I have only been retired for one week?  Where I live has very good transport links but not for domicelery work if you haven’t got a car? To get from one end of the Borough to another by bus is very challenging?  It is fine for travelling in to Central London but local transport is limited. 
I now have to adjust to a different way of life? I shall have more leisure time and will hopefully meet up with friends? Go to more exhibitions,visit parks, museums and places of interest.
I think there are too many coffee shops and not enough small independent businesses in my local high street. I know business rates are very high and force some people out? There needs to be more activities for youngsters? If they are kept occupied and motivated they are less likely to cause trouble? 
They need to take pride in their neighbourhoods. All people need to have a bit more pride and respect for where they live? Educate them not to litter. To have manners. To queue. To think about their neighbours. Not to be given so much on a plate for free but have to earn things? You respect things more when you have had to work for them. Teach respect for each other. We all want the same things a decent home, food, education,health and jobs. 

I no longer feel safe on my local high street. Women are harrased and abused for simply being out on their own. 

The choice of shops is poor, so you end up online. Transport is over crowded and expensive for shorter journeys.  Pavements given over to eateries. Negotiating bikes and  scooters on the pavement despite so much investment in cycle lanes.   Pedestrian crossing dont give enough time to safely cross.

Whoever designed a bus lane where you have to cross a cycle lane to board or disembark the bus clearly has no mobility problems. 

Discussions about transport need to be re-framed. We do need to move towards active transport - which is 'wheeling, walking and cycling' (in that order) and move away from the unhelpful driver V cyclist positioning we see in the headlines of certain newspapers. There's far too much stereotyping, eg  'the majority of cyclists break the law'. Cyclists are just like any sub-section of the population. Some are responsible. Some aren't. But we all make mistakes on the roads and we could all slow down and be a bit kinder to each other. 

Increased policing on the streets not in cars.

More frequent public transport as currently over crowded

Limited shops in local high street and none are big - easier to go to retail parks locally 

Successful economic growth to me is where we see no boarded up shops, more independent and chain businesses, more council run community facilities i.e. swimming and leisure complexes, improved facilities in parks etc

I see my future in London being very good. 

The streets here seem much less safe than they were a few years ago. There is no deterrent to crime in our criminal 'justice' system so we are a honeypot for the world's thieves and robbers. The pavements are a patchwork quilt of tripping traps and the street lighting in residential roads much too dim. Paying high property taxes and still being asked to pay for green bins is an insult. Our once smart high street is now betting shops and cafes with men (never females) sitting outside all day long smoking and speaking in tongues. Foreign beggars sit in doorways. Shops falling vacant are unwanted by new occupants. New housing plans are making the density of population untenable and the nearby (sacrosanct!) green belt threatened with building upon. Parking is impossible, traffic jammed up, policing sparse and commuting fares prohibitive. All of these factors are a certain pathway to the doom of a city and London is falling faster each year.

Rubbish (especially plastic water bottles, junk food wrappers, fast food containers, beer bottles etc), fly tipping, too much traffic, and noisy vehicles (loud motorbikes, diesels) are the main things that bring down our quality of living (Lewisham North). Would love to see creative ways to tackle these issues and strongly deter those responsible, including noise cameras installed on all residential roads that are used as rat runs as unscrupulous drivers really affect sleep quality. 

Read the scale of the great psychologist Abraham Maslow, please google it, I would consider that London's economy is on the first rung. 

About public toilets? Oh no no no, providing public toilets will prevent people from entering establishments where they are forced to consume something and then use the toilet.

How do you expect people to be happy when they leave their homes if they are worried about finding a place to pee?

Ridiculous and inhumane, but this is London.

The mayor, together with the Council, is building boxes, calling them "affordable houses" that do not meet the basic requirements for human life.

If you live in one of these boxes, even worse if your house is on a high street, you are subject to some mental illness due to sleep deprivation, due to the poor acoustics of these houses, to having panic attacks due to sleep deprivation and other disorders due to the poor structure of these "affordable houses" that the mayor delivers to the community.

I know what I am saying. Unfortunately, even with a degree in psychology, I am unemployed and living under the Council's administration.

Large apps and websites post phantom vacancies every day, vacancies that don't even exist but need to appear in the searches when you look for work.

Jobs? That do not light any flame in people's hearts.

Anyone who has the slightest ambition to grow not only economically but spiritually knows what types of work elevate the soul and edify the spirit. This type of work has not been offered in this society.

A population full of ambition but without support, can you see a prosperous future for a society that does not even care about the basic requirements for good health? Eat well, sleep well, exercise every day and work on something or some activity that ennobles the soul and warms the heart.

When public managers are really willing to work for the well-being of the population (for real). By providing the population with homes and jobs that ennoble them, London's economy will take off.

Years ago high streets were filled with big name shops and be causes of the economy they’ve all closed and moved away or those businesses no longer exist. Where I live in Deptford the high street has improved with lots of new businesses opening up offering a range of services and places to eat and it would be nice to see that growth continue. 

What I do hate seeing however is the graffiti and tagging that seems to be everywhere which makes the place look unsightly.  I would like to see  more talks with young people to appreciating their neighbourhoods and keeping it tidy etc as well as these cleaned. I don’t mind artistic  Muriel’s that you see in some places 

I think ‘high street’ is hard to define… we definitely don’t have one in our locality (ie something you can walk to) it’s a couple of shopping centres … the idea of wandering there for a coffee is not something I would do. My high street is soho and that’s a tube ride away! 

To be honest with even that, the amount of cars and lorry’s are such it is sometimes not that pleasant.

Pedestrian only areas (maybe delivery allowed before midday for instance and allow there to be space for outside eating/coffee!

There are still too many cars driving around. And pedestrians seem to come last in all traffic schemes. Cyclists are rightly catered for, but a large majority of them ignore red lights/ride on the pavements etc making life dangerous for pedestrians.

Public transport is brilliant, but breakdown too often and delays are far too frequent