Lidl gets green light to build new £70m London HQ in Tolworth

Business reporter(wp/es):

Discount supermarket chain Lidl has been given the green light to build a new £70 million London headquarters.

The German firm was granted permission by Kingston Council to relocate its head office across south-west London to Tolworth after it bought land off Jubilee Way.

The company moved into its current headquarters in Wimbledon back in 1998 but said it had now outgrown the site.

It argued the move was crucial to support its 19,000 employees and create more jobs across the UK.

A final decision to rubber stamp the development is expected to be made by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in the new year, with bosses hopeful the site will be ready before 2020.

The approval, which was given on Thursday, comes as the firm announced it wanted to ramp up its investments in London.

Bosses revealed plans to build 250 new stores in the capital which will create up to 5,000 new jobs.

Ingo Fischer, Lidl UK Board Director for Expansion and Development, said: “We have worked very closely with the Royal Borough of Kingston’s planning officers since July 2015 and are greatly encouraged by the committee’s resolution to grant planning consent. 

Our new headquarters not only signify an investment in our own infrastructure and workforce, but also highlight our wider investment ambitions within London as Lidl UK continues to experience incredible growth. 

"Once the planning commitments have been agreed with Kingston, the consent will be referred to the Mayor’s Office to be concluded.

“We hope to receive the Mayor of London’s feedback and to progress with the plans early in the new year.”

Leader of Kingston Council, Cllr Kevin Davis, said: "We welcome what is one of the biggest investments in London this year coming to Tolworth. It will act as a foundation stone for the regeneration of the wider area.

"This is not only good for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames but also demonstrates that a forward-thinking council, working with a supportive Mayor, can deliver a post-Brexit London that is 'open for business'."

In November, Lidl UK became the first supermarket to announce its staff would receive a pay rise in line with the latest Living Wage Foundation rate.

London Muslims donate 10 tonnes of food for homeless at Christmas

Pic: Local community leaders including Dilowar Khan, director of the East London Mosque and Bernadette Hegarty of St Pauls, Bow Common Church outside the East London Mosque 

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Muslims have donated 10 tonnes of food to feed the homeless across London at Christmas, religious and charity leaders said. 

Hundreds of Muslims flocked to the East London Mosque on Friday in a drive to feed London's homeless during the festive period.   

Pictures showed members of the 7,500 strong Muslim congregation donating food as they attended Friday prayers at the mosque in Whitechapel. 

Members of the congregation stood proudly in front of crates of shopping bags filled with rice, pasta, cereals and other tinned goods, ready to be distributed to people living on the street. 

Organisers estimated that over seven tonnes of food were donated with local businesses, schools, a university and leaders from other faiths chipping in. 

British Airways slam 'calculated and heartless' cabin crew strikes

Pic:Multiple airline strikes look set to cause festive misery to travelers
Staff reporter(wp/es):

British Airways has branded planned strikes by thousands of cabin crew over Christmas as “calculated and heartless”.

Staff voted overwhelmingly to stage a walk-out on Christmas Day and Boxing Day in a row over pay.

Unite, the union representing workers, said 80 per cent of members backed the strike on Wednesday which has raised the threat of flight disruption.

The row involves the airline’s “mixed fleet” employees who have joined British Airways since 2010.

Unite claims the cabin crew earn less than other staff and have been forced to take on second jobs to make ends meet.

The union alleged earnings were advertised between £21,000 and £25,000 but in reality started at just over £12,000 plus £3 an hour flying pay.

It emerged on Saturday that no talks have been organised in a bid to avert the industrial action. 

BA, which employs around 16,000 cabin crew, said in a statement: "We are appalled that Unite proposes to disrupt customers' travel plans on such special days when so many families are trying to gather together or set off on well-deserved holidays.

"This calculated and heartless action is completely unnecessary and we are determined that it will fail.

"We will plan to ensure all our customers travel to their destinations so that their Christmas arrangements are not ruined.

"Meanwhile, we have also approached the conciliation service Acas to seek their assistance in reaching an outcome that would avoid any possibility of disruption."

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "Unite remains ready and willing to talk to BA at any time. This dispute can be sorted but the company needs to come to the table with a positive offer."

However, talks aimed at averting strikes by baggage handlers and other staff at 18 airports will be held at Acas next week.

Officials from Unite and aviation services company Swissport will meet at the conciliation service on Tuesday.

More than 1,500 check-in staff, baggage handlers and cargo crew are due to strike for 48 hours just before Christmas in a long-running pay dispute.

Members of Unite employed by Swissport will walk out on December 23 and 24 at airports including Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted and Luton. 

Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Doncaster, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton airports will also be affected.

Mr McCluskey added: "This is clearly a positive development. We are pleased that the company will sit down with us in an effort the resolve this dispute. We are confident that our members' case is extremely strong, and that fairness will prevail."

In a further threat of chaos, Virgin pilots will work "strictly to contract" with a removal of "goodwill" from December 23, their PPU union said.

Postal and rail workers are also planning industrial action in a Christmas of discontent.

A dispute between Southern Railway and train drivers has already brought a large portion of the travel network to a standstill this December.

Post Office workers will strike next week, including on Christmas Eve, after their union said an offer it made to resolve a row over jobs, pensions and closures was rejected.

Postal workers from the Communication Workers Union will strike for five days, including three days of walkouts by staff in Crown offices - larger branches typically in high streets.