APPRENTICESHIP LEVY LAUNCHED INTO CHAOS

10 NEWS THURSDAY 6 APRIL 2017
CITYAM.COM
Victorian theatre to stage comeback
with the refurb of Alexandra Palace
HELEN CAHILL
@HelCahill
CONSTRUCTION has started on
Alexandra Palace as part of a £26m
restoration project to save its east
wing.
The project will bring back the
palace’s Victorian theatre, which has
been out of use for more than 80
years. The new theatre will have
seating for up to 1,300 people when it
opens late next year.
The refurbished East Court, also set
to be finished in 2018, will be a public
space for exhibitions and other events
under a glazed roof. There will also be
a cafe, information centre, and ticket
office.
Heritage specialists are working on
the theatre, first built in 1875, in
conjunction with construction firm
Willmott Dixon, to help make sure as
much of its character is retained as
possible.
The Alexandra Park and Palace
Charitable Trust (APPCT) is accepting
donations to help fund the
restoration (people can name a seat in
the theatre), but most of the funding
is coming from the Heritage Lottery
Fund and Haringey Council.
Louise Stewart, chief executive of
Alexandra Park & Palace Charitable
Trust, said: “The public have waited
so long to see this spectacular place,
set high on a hill above north London,
brought back to its original splendour
and glory.”
London musical institution the ‘Ally Pally’ is getting a much-needed renovation
UK car market
revs to historic
high for March
REBECCA SMITH
@BexKSmith
THE UK’S new car market yesterday
posted its biggest month since records
began, after growing by 8.4 per cent
in March.
There were 562,337 new cars registered
in March, more than doubling
the total for the first two months of
the year.
According to new figures from the
Society of Motor Manufacturers and
Traders (SMMT), the rise was driven by
buyers rushing to snap up cars before
the new vehicle excise duty (VED)
came into force.
Since 1 April all new cars, aside from
those with zero emissions, are subject
to an annual flat rate charge. Anyone
mulling the purchase of a low-emission
car would have had a particular
incentive to buy ahead of the incoming
change.
Elsewhere, interest in low-emission
technology is growing.
According to the figures, there was
a 31 per cent rise in registrations of
alternatively fuelled vehicles, which
are slowly building up market share,
rising from 3.4 per cent last year to 4.1
per cent this year.
Meanwhile, petrol car registrations
grew 13.2 per cent, while diesels also
edged up 1.6 per cent on last year.
However, diesel’s share of the overall
car market fell to 43 per cent from 46
per cent in March 2016.
Diesel cars have come under
scrutiny by authorities for the levels
of nitrogen dioxide pollution they
emit. The cars have been falling out
of favour with customers off the
back of this.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive,
said: “These record figures are undoubtedly
boosted by consumers reacting
to new VED changes, pulling
forward purchases into March, especially
those ultra-low emission vehicles
that will no longer benefit from a
zero-rate fee.”
But Hawes said the brakes are likely
to be put on this month.
“This bumper performance probably
means we will see a slowdown in
April, exacerbated by the fact there
are fewer selling days this year given
Easter timing,” he said.
“Looking ahead to the rest of the
year, we still expect the market to cool
only slightly given broader political
uncertainties as there are still attractive
deals on offer,” Hawes added.
Monzo co-founder Tom Blomfield said gaining the full licence was “incredible”
It’s official: Monzo given a full
banking licence from watchdog
LYNSEY BARBER
@lynseybarber
IT IS full speed ahead for digital
challenger bank Monzo which
yesterday was granted a full
unrestricted banking licence by
financial regulators.
The approval from the Bank of
England’s Prudential Regulation
Authority and the Financial Conduct
Authority comes after raising a fresh
round of funding that fulfils the
capital requirements needed for a
bank to holds deposits.
The startup was first granted a
restricted licence last August, but the
full approval now gives it the green
light to launch its current account,
planned for the coming months,
which will also include overdraft
facilities.
Monzo founder and chief Tom
Blomfield called it an “incredible
achievement”.
Economic secretary to the Treasury
Simon Kirby said “Monzo’s innovative
products and services offer a real
alternative to existing banks helping
to increase competition”.
Easter works to
cause Southern
rail disruption
REBECCA SMITH
@BexKSmith
SOUTHERN rail’s parent company
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)
has warned of disruption to
Southern and Thameslink services
over Easter.
Engineering work by Network
Rail is taking place at Victoria,
so there will be no Southern
and Gatwick Express train services
on Easter Sunday in or out
of Victoria.
Most Victoria services will be
diverted to London Bridge, while
Gatwick Express passengers will be
able to use Southern and
Thameslink services to and from
the capital.
There are going to be rail
replacement services running
between Victoria and Streatham
Hill/East Croydon.
Other changes include buses
replacing trains between West
Croydon and Epsom Downs over
the Easter weekend, and between
West Croydon and Sutton on
Sunday. Buses will also replace
Thameslink trains for part of
Sunday morning between St Albans
and West Hampstead Thameslink.
Angie Doll, Southern’s passenger
services director said: “We’re sorry
about the inconvenience but
essential... maintenance works are
planned and are taking place over
Easter when passenger volumes are
lower than in the working week.”
Thousands of BMW workers gear up
for strikes in this month and next
Workers at the firm’s Oxford Mini factory are involved in the row over pensions
REBECCA SMITH
@BexKSmith
UP TO 3,500 BMW workers are
planning eight 24-hour walkouts
spanning April and May, the Unite
union announced yesterday.
Staff across the German car giant’s
plants are set to walk out in a dispute
over what they have called “pensions
robbery” and said “production will be
significantly disrupted” as a result.
The action, which will also include
an overtime ban and work to rule,
would affect the Mini plant in
Cowley, as well as the Rolls-Royce base
in Sussex. The first strike starts on
Wednesday 19 April and will be
followed by action on 23 April, the
3,5, 16, 18, 21 and 24 May.
BMW plans to close the company’s
final salary pension by the end of
May, which the union said will slash
workers’ retirement income.
Unite’s general secretary Len
McCluskey said BMW bosses “cannot
feign surprise that it’s come to this
point” and called on the firm to
“negotiate seriously”.
A BMW spokesperson said the
company was “disappointed by
Unite’s notification of industrial
action” and said it had put a number
of options on the table to help
employees “transition to the proposed
new pension arrangements”.