Shaping London’s economic future

Get rid of all LTNs and ULEZ. Re-open all closed roads (such as Swyncombe Avenue and Clayponds Road)

Remove idiotic cycle lanes - example Chiswick High Road - now a traffic black spot caused entirely by the cycle lane, which is also a hazard to pedestrians.

Remove all bus stop 'floating islands' which cause unnecessary traffic jams and are a hazard to pedestrians.

Stop wasting money on junk vanity projects - prioritise fixing potholes,  clearing storm drains, avoid closing roads for weeks when only days are needed.

Put sensible questions on the survey. Currently you deliberately avoid prompting any comment on experience of using the roads. 

Ban electric scooters and enforce it.

Fix the signalling debacle at the junction of South Ealing Road and the A4. Now we have permanent tail backs on all roads entering this roundabout.

Stop curtailing the route of the 65 bus at the A4 this is causing a serious problem. I now have to use my car for GP appointments because this bus is so unreliable.

London has beautiful aspects and good economic opportunities but the traffic (and seemingly never ending road works), low quality of most hospitals and very expensive public transport let it down. Just to get to central London by public transport I spend almost ten pounds. That adds up if I have multiple business events in one week.

For people to be able to work in London, you must provide cheap, relliable & frequent public transport. If not; you must allow people to commute into work - not everyone can cycle/walk or use an EV - be pragmatic and work with what you have for who lives in London. 

Living in London rents are too and there is no Law & Order. 

My local high street placed signs telling eveyrone that the Mayor of London considers cat calling or staring sexual harassment; yet we have people shoplifting and doing drugs on teh high street in daylight, and rubbish everywhere. 

Mixed cycle/pedestrian lanes have been placed with several incidents leading to people avoiding bus stops on these lanes.

Please explain how as someone living in the community we see these things and nothing being done; yet our council taxes continue to rise? New incentives being put in place for minorities without the good of the many being considered.

Frustration.

We intend to move out of London to a community -  where some common sense still prevails. 

When the Mayor of London goes to great lengths to prevent citizens from driving into the city centre, urging them to use public transportation, yet the TfL under his jurisdiction sets extremely high fares for the Tube, it undoubtedly discourages people from going to the city centre to spend.  With citizens' willingness to spend weakened, how can the economy improve?

In fact, lowering public transportation fares and reducing VAT to stimulate the economy often ends up increasing government revenue.

Lived in London for two years.  My general observations:

i. The tax system and salary structure in place penalize high-income and highly educated individuals, severely weakening the upward mobility of the new generation. How can the economy improve under such conditions?

ii. The post-tax profit for entrepreneurs is usually disgraceful, effectively turning them into "workers for the government treasury", which dampens entrepreneurial motivation and leads to a lack of diversity in society.

iii. Left-leaning policies often target the wealthy to fill the government's fiscal gaps, leading to capital outflows and negatively impacting the economy.

I believe the future of the London economy can flurish and rejuvenate but there will need to be more opportunities for growth through initiatives such as affordable childcare and homes, the recognition given to the misuse of section 21 aand families loosing their homes is a positive good start in the right direction, but London has become stagent growth wise since the pandemic, perhaps new investments in London as a whole and injecting and promoting new businesses into local high streets could see new shoots develop in local communities in addition, see the face of places like Croydon change for the better. In my local area particularly, there is nothing to encourage me to spend a few hours dining or shopping locally therefore I spend very little money supporting any business locally. Local jobs for local people use to be a saying, but local people are travelling further and further away from where they live to access those higher paying jobs, which impacts on their social and family live. Primarily because they spend money on leisure and shopping for clothing and groceries closer to where  they work and not support the local up and comming business in there own areas where they live. But still I remain optimistic about the economic growth of London.

London lack of investment from successive government and lack of business opportunities have substantially reduced since 10-15 years ago.

If you are under the age of 45 - leaving the UK for practically anywhere else is better from lifestyle, tax and living standards perspective.

The only major pull of the amount of talent that still exists in London across all industries that is successively being told to work for less and small business being taxed more so that funds can be redirected to large corporates instead.

Moronic.  

I was like to see job prospects for disabled folks   lIke mmyself 

What a rubbish survey!

There is no proper investigation of reasons.

My experience of London has got worse because TfL and local councils have been jamming up the roads with unnecessary bike lanes, ridiculously low speed limits that turn perfectly safe driving into a criminal activity, applying rip-off parking and congestion charging, introducing vile LTNs to extort money and impede journeys and reduced parking, which make it harder to nip down to the local high street. 

You, TfL are responsible for all this nonsense, which is economically very damaging. I have seen businesses suffer horribly from what you have been doing to constrain their customers from getting to them easily.

There is a direct link between your bad traffic management policies and the appeal of travelling by road in London and therefore the appeal of going to the theatre, the local high street, to visit friends, etc.  

Motor vehicles are popular for good reason - they are comfortable, convenient and should be quick. The job of the roads is to convey the traffic and you have deliberately congested the traffic.

These are vital points and your survey fails to go anywhere near identifying them. 

Having lived in London all my life, the one thing that makes me really angry and want to leave is what YOU have done to clog up the roads.

For the benefit of others who may read my comment, the volume of traffic on London's roads has been close to 20 bn vehicle km/yr for around three decades (apart form during the pandemic when it fell); however, average journey times have continuously increased to the point that it takes nearly 40 mins to travel 10 km, which makes London the world's slowest major city. This is compelling evidence that the problem is not the traffic but YOUR INCOMPETENT MANAGEMENT of the traffic.

If you truly wanted the economy to thrive, you would stop wasting our time and our money on  traffic schemes designed to extort money from people who need to get about.

Councils are at breaking point funding services. Local library cuts planned. When will local authorities receive more.money from.central govt. 

High Street: a local investor is trying to take advantage of the housing crisis by seeking planning permission for an unsuitable hostel. Pressure on councils will possibly affect unsuitable ( tiny rooms e.g.) planning applications. 

Most high streets look shabby, unloved, dirty, cluttered. I work in high street regeneration and planning does not work for high streets. It needs to change. Why would a shop go through planning if they make it complicated and expensive? Planning needs to be localised for high streets, guidance needs to be relevant for the local shops and it needs to be enforced. 

For example, if an awning has writing on it, it needs advertising consent.
If it doesn't, it needs full planning.
Even if it replaces an awning that isn't allowed like a Dutch awning or is falling off and you replace it with a traditional awning, you need permission. But if you replace the Dutch awning which isn't allowed by planning, it doesn't need permission!

The system makes no sense and no one is addressing it. Guidelines offer little encouragement for good quality signage.

We need to stop endlessly ripping up and changing paving, especially in town centres. What gives the most value? Why do people go to town centres? How do you build a community? 

To thrive, town centres need to be places people want to go to that also have shops. Why not make a town centre a park? Or put a playground in a high street (shopping malls do it) and encourage different uses like playgroups, nurseries, childcare into town centres. Encourage proper management  of high streets.

 

The future of the Capital City of London is looking extremely bleak and gloomy for all low and middle class citizens due to lack of affordable housing, broken Educational system contribution towards unemployment and ultimately failure to address youth crime prevention measures projects, which aids towards teaching youths of the consequences of committing a criminal offence to help eradicate the upwards status of criminal activities.

The High Streets in my local area of Whitechapel lack in investment and projects that would encourage top brand such as Boots, Super Drug, Primark etc to investment in East London in order to promote local jobs and growth within East London.

Currently due to very high rental rates and charges most brands will avoid even looking to invest in theses locations which is extremely sad.

All good jobs prospects have always been within the Central London, unless you're willing to take reduction on pay and benefits.

Due to high prices of goods and services most residents are struggling to make end's meet while others are financially benefiting by paying less taxes that are extremely vital to help growth of our economy, which is only due to loopholes within the UK Government’  own Tax system, which must change for the greater good of all our future generation.

The current benefit system goes not promote savings for future investment nor make working a better option than being on benefits, which most also change for the greater good and equality to all that would be a positive outcome for future generations.

I've always worked all my life and encouraged all my children to do the same but the current system is inadequate with many companies not offering any form of work or apprenticeship to inexperience youth, which would have aided towards less unemployment amongst youths group.

As for the youths on the Justice system who have been abandoned by the current system and the local Councils, Colleges and Schools who should do more to help them with education.

Essential that shop theft, stabbings, phone and handbag snatching, drug use, graffiti, pavement cycling and other anti-social behaviour is addressed.

All of these create a hostile environment for businesses and shoppers, driving business online and destroying local communities.

London is increasingly lawless.  Policing is not fit for purpose.

The High Street's Demise: A Consumer-Driven Trend

The traditional high street is facing a crisis. Online shopping and home delivery services have made it easier for consumers to purchase products from the comfort of their homes. The convenience of these options has made it difficult for brick-and-mortar retailers to compete.

The rise of dispersed urban living has also contributed to the decline of high streets. As cities become more spread out, it's harder for consumers to reach central shopping districts. This has led to a decline in foot traffic, making it difficult for businesses to survive.

While the decline of high streets is a cause for concern, it's important to note that this is primarily a consumer-driven trend. Governments should not dictate consumer choices or favor particular businesses. Instead, they should focus on creating an environment that supports economic growth and innovation.

The future of high streets will depend on the ability of businesses to adapt to changing consumer preferences. By embracing technology, offering unique experiences, and providing excellent customer service, retailers can continue to thrive in the digital age.

Like many young people from other UK/international cities, I am here because London offers a range of jobs and industries that simply aren’t available anywhere else. Despite the higher cost of living, there are also areas where I find London to be affordable compared to other UK cities. For example, the range of cultural attractions and gigs, public transport, particularly bus fares, sporting facilities and groceries. There is also good access to green spaces. I am paid better than my friends who chose to stay in other UK cities. 

The barriers to my future - and I believe to London’s success  - are twofold: 

1. Housing. While I am better paid than if I worked elsewhere, this is immediately consumed by rent - the same challenge many Londoners face. I cannot afford to buy a house, nor save much of my income. The stress of the rental market is also underestimated - how can we focus on building a career or life in London when we are constantly preparing for the next rent increase, next flat search, next flat share? Building more is obvious, if easier said than done, but regulation to set max. Rent increases and more stability for renters would be beneficial in the short term
   
   2. Extreme wealth. There is a subset of the London population who earn and own far more than is needed and in doing so worsen the city for the rest of us by pushing up house prices, existing in private school enclaves and, it often seems, insisting on using large, polluting cars. Nationally, the difference in salaries within a company should be set to a maximum multiple to reduce this extreme wealth. In London, Second homes and homes above a certain price should be further taxed to subsidise affordable housing and the city should consider special permits and pricing for using and parking large private vehicles in the inner boroughs.