City Matters Edition 035

CITYMATTERS.LONDON 31 May - 06 June 2017 | Page 3
News Matters
Housing plans
INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE WANTS FIRM PLAN OVER ARTICLE 50
squeeze through
TAYLOR Wimpey will
break ground at the
Golden Lane Estate this
week after plans to build
99 new homes were
rubberstamped.
Despite opposition
from residents,
the planning and
transportation
committee opted to
approve the scheme –
designed for the site of
Bernard Morgan House
– by 13 votes to 10.
Brexit tops agenda for
one of the ‘Fab Four’
“ENOUGH is enough” for Independent
general election candidate Tim Lord,
who’s stepped up to challenge the
Tory’s 16-year dominance of the Cities
of London & Westminster in the wake
of Brexit – something he sees as a
“symptom of the failure in our politics”
and a “worrying direction” the country
is heading in, writes Anahita Hossein-
Pour.
Troubled by the hasty triggering
of Article 50, the specialist lawyer in
negotiations wants to press pause on talks
with Brussels and be a “local voice” to hold
politicians accountable for a successful
divorce case.
Tim told City Matters: “There needs to
be time for conversation, this country is a
large economy in Europe.
“We’ve had 40 years of social, political
and economic integration and we’ve
jumped on this bandwagon of Article 50
which attempts to undo this in two years.
“As a lawyer it’s completely impractical
to expect this to happen. We’re in a weak
negotiating position already, Theresa May
has blamed the EU already; it’s not smart.”
And Tim says he’s not alone in his views.
The 25-year Soho local has discovered
another three political outsiders standing
as Independents with the same Brexit
woes, namely Chris Coghlan for Battersea,
Balham & Wandsworth, James Torrance
for Kensington & Chelsea, and James
Clarke for Bermondsey & Old Southwark.
Such is their appreciation for the others’
cause they have begun to dub themselves
the “Fab Four.”
For Tim his Independent stance gives
him the voice to speak up on behalf of
constituents, and avoids the predicament
of toeing a party line while the City
comes to terms with the plethora of issues
thrown up by Brexit.
Backtrack
Tim said: “The loss of jobs in the City
is happening now, and the 20,000 EU
nationals are being affected now.
“They can’t really plan because they
don’t know if they’re going to be here in
two years.”
In a bid to backtrack on Article 50 and
stop the country looking “ridiculous”,
Tim wants to push politicians to draw up
a credible position of what a post-Brexit
UK, in terms of the economy, welfare,
health and education, will look like
before trusting them to negotiate with
Europe.
“All they want to do is move power
from Europe to Westminster, not to the
UK parliament but to a small part of the
Tory Party, and they have said nothing
about what they want to do with that
power.
“Until they say what they want this
power for, why would you give it to them?”
The Linklaters-trained solicitor, who
grew up on a Lancashire sheep farm, is
also out to defend his adopted home
of Soho after it was hit by rising
business rates.
Tim said: “One of the
reasons I think Soho is
lovely is partly because of all
the independent retail shops;
that’s across specialist food
retailers, suit makers, the
vinyl record shops – they are
being really badly impacted
by the rates increase.
“If we lose those shops, the
thing that is really good about
Soho, the reason people come
here will be lost – we need to
look at that big time.”
fed up: Tim Lord
is dissatisfied
with Britain’s
“hasty” approach
to Brexit
Flower power
is on its way
“BLOOMING Barbican
Balconies” will return
to the estate on 3 June,
celebrating one of the
proudest traditions of
City residents.
Held next to the
estate office between
Lauderdale Tower and
Seddon House, the
annual event salutes
the work of locals in
growing the iconic
flowers that add a
dash of colour to
the Square Mile’s
residential hubs.
Featured
throughout the
morning will
be talks, tours and
demonstrations, and
free plants for residents’
window boxes.
praising the lord:
Tim Lord with some
of his supporters
Old Street
Barbican
Long Lane
BARBICAN DENTAL CENTRE
BARBICAN
DENTAL
CENTRE
Goswell Rd
Fann St
Old Street
Golden Lane
Fortune St
Beech St
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Treatment
Orthodontics
Dental Implants
Sedation
Tooth Whitening
Hygienist Service
Police storm tense
Bishopsgate scene
WITNESSES in Bishopsgate thought they were
watching police apprehend a terror suspect on
Thursday as the City remains on edge in the
wake of the appalling attack in Manchester.
Two men were handcuffed to the steering
wheel of a BMW outside St Botolph’s Church, by
Liverpool Street Station, while two others were
quizzed by officers nearby during an intense
afternoon.
Custody
More officers, 20 in total, were reported to
have rushed to the scene, which City Police
HQ confirmed related to an assault across the
Square Mile earlier the same day.
A spokesperson confirmed that two men
were taken into custody: “They were arrested
for assault occasioning actual bodily harm after
an allegation made to police on London Bridge
earlier that afternoon.”
Photo by André Gustavo Stumpf
Estate cost hike
From Front Page
with more parking than is required now and
in the foreseeable future. This is the Barbican
Estate’s problem, not that of the residents.
“We urge the estate to drop this proposed
increase in parking costs and, if anything, to
reduce parking costs to stimulate demand.”
The Barbican Residents’ Committee is due
to meet on 5 June to deliver its verdict on the
price increase.
Providing NHS and Private Dental Care in the City
Call to make an appointment
0207 253 3232
16 – 18 Goswell Road, London, EC1M 7AA
www.barbicandentalcentre.com
info@barbicandentalcentre.com