Hundreds of empty London railway arches to be reopened after £1.5bn sale

Pic:Network Rail has agreed to sell its commercial property portfolio ( AFP)
Business reporter(wp/es);

The new owner of Network Rail’s £1.5 billion commercial property portfolio has revealed plans to invest in reopening up to 430 empty arches in London.

Property investors Blackstone and Telereal Trillium, which yesterday won the bid to buy 5200 properties, including over 4000 railway arches, today outlined the proposals and tried to calm tenants’ fears over rental hikes.

Telereal Trillium’s managing director Adam Dakin told the Standard there are 930 vacant arches across England and Wales, and he wants to look at reopening swathes of the 430 that are located in London. They are spread throughout the capital, from Stratford to Herne Hill, to Battersea and Camden.

Dakin said his firm wants to support existing trader tenants in London, including breweries, gyms and hairdressers, who number more than a thousand.

Dakin said: “We want to keep the quirky and independent nature of the tenant mix.”

He added that the landlord is prepared to put money aside to help small businesses if they are struggling.

The buyers beat rival bidders including Kildare Partners and Guy Hands’ Terra Firma. Network Rail hired Rothschild to put the portfolio up for sale last year.

Will Brett of the New Economics Foundation think-tank, which is supporting the Guardians of the Arches campaign group, said many tenants had already been forced out by “eye-watering” rents.

“Any new owner is going to have to work very hard to prove they are genuinely on the side of small businesses based in arches.”

Sammy Forway, who runs The Underdog gallery at the Crucifix Lane Arch, London Bridge, said: “My message to the new owner is please work with and nurture the existing businesses, and promote new ventures to keep a loyal and long-term tenancy.”

Network Rail said it will reinvest the proceeds of the sale. 

Pregnant mothers warned: eat a child’s leftovers and you could make baby deaf

Health reporter(wp/es):

Pregnant women were today advised not to kiss their children on the lips or finish their uneaten fish fingers to avoid contracting a “stealth virus” that could seriously harm their unborn child.

Experts at St George’s, University of London have launched a trial to raise awareness of the dangers of the common but little-known disease CMV (cytomegalovirus), which is a major cause of childhood disability.

It can be passed by children via saliva on part-eaten food, blood, urine and other bodily fluids — but is eradicated with only soap and water. 

Hand hygiene after nappy changing is crucial, while other common parenting habits such as licking clean a baby’s dropped dummy are discouraged.

Everyone should know ... this virus changed my life

 

Soon after their second son Toby was born, Gayle and Alex Book were told he was profoundly deaf. 

Nine months later, a full diagnosis revealed he had multiple disabilities due to CMV, which she had contracted while pregnant. 

“It has changed my life,” said Mrs Book, 40, from Greenwich, who has given up her job in finance to care for Toby. 

The couple have another son Joshua, seven. Toby, now four, is enrolled at a special needs school. 

He has cochlear hearing implants to help him communicate, but he is unable to speak or eat unaided and has mobility and development issues. 

Mrs Book said it was “insane” awareness of CMV was so low.

Project leader Dr Chrissie Jones, of St George’s and Southampton universities, told the Evening Standard: “The most important message is not to come into contact with the saliva of a young child. 

"We would discourage women from sharing food. It’s quite common for parents to finish uneaten meals, such as fish fingers. Don’t kiss your children directly on the lips, kiss them on the forehead.”

CMV affects about 1,000 babies born in the UK each year, of which 200 suffer problems such as cerebral palsy, deafness, mobility problems, small head size, epilepsy and developmental delay. 

It can also cause miscarriage and stillbirth. Babies born with the infection but who do not display symptoms immediately remain at risk of hearing loss later in life. 

There is no NHS screening due to the difficulty of establishing which infections are likely to cause harm, nor is there a vaccine.

The trial aims to recruit 400 mothers with a child under three who are planning another pregnancy. Researchers want to see whether showing the women a video with advice on improved hand hygiene can reduce the spread of the virus.

The researchers do not want to cause unnecessary alarm: CMV is common in adults and children and unlikely to cause harm in the majority of cases. 

Dr Jones added: “For pregnant women, the most common way [to catch it] would be from a young child who is shedding the virus in urine and saliva. It’s those children who are going to nursery or playgroup who are most likely to pick up CMV from another child, where they are playing with toys that have been in another child’s mouth. 

"The virus is transmitted from the mother to the baby in the womb. The pregnant woman may think they have had a heavy cold or feel a bit under the weather.”

Dr Anna Calvert, research fellow at St George’s, said: “One of the frustrations that families have is that they didn’t know anything about this virus. Their passion for raising awareness has really motivated us to undertake this study."

Scotland Yard to transfer 122 traffic officers to task force tackling gangs

Pic: File Photo-Met police officers as Scotland Yard is to boost the fight against violence in London ( AFP)
Crime reporter,London(wp/es):

Scotland Yard is to boost the fight against violence by transferring 122 officers from traffic policing to a task force tackling gangs and knife crime.

The officers will be seconded to the Violent Crime Task Force from the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing for the next three months as violent offending usually surges in the autumn.

Officials described the move as a temporary measure.

It came as the Met tackles rocketing knife crime and violence, with more than 100 homicides in London so far this year. 

In another measure Met Commissioner Cressida Dick announced plans for a new “Dad’s Army” of officers to boost police numbers in London. 

All those who have retired in the last two years are to be asked to rejoin at the same rank while officers who are about to leave are being asked to stay on. 

The move could mean an extra 2,500 officers engaged in fighting crime.

The task force, launched in April with funding from the Mayor Sadiq Khan, has made 895 arrests so far targeting gangs and violent offenders in high-crime boroughs. 

With a new total of 272 officers, it will be able to patrol more areas.

Labour MPs dash Theresa May’s hope of forcing Chequers deal through parliament

Pic:Prime Minister Theresa May's hopes of getting her Chequers Brexit deal through Parliament have been dashed ( EPA )
Political reporter,London(wp/es):

Theresa May’s hopes of forcing her Chequers blueprint through Parliament with the help of Labour Remainers were dashed today.

A survey of opposition MPs by the Evening Standard, covering backbenchers and shadow cabinet members, reveals outright opposition to the Prime Minister’s plans for leaving the European Union. It means her chances of rescuing her proposals may rely on whips averting a rebellion.

Leading Brexiteers today complained that the whips, led by Julian Smith, were already “shouting at and bullying” Tory backbenchers in an effort to impose discipline ahead of a potential EU deal. They claim that up to 80 MPs are prepared to rebel if Chequers is put to a vote, although pro-EU Tories estimate the number to be less than half that.

In theory, it would take only six Conservatives to vote against Chequers to see the Government defeated, but some Tories believe Labour might split if the Commons was given a “take it or leave it” ultimatum of accepting Mrs May’s plan or crashing out with no deal.

However, leading Remainer Chuka Umunna told the Standard: “There is no Labour Remainer I know of who would support Theresa May’s Chequers deal or prop up her government — full stop.”

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer indicated that Labour would not accept the plan without significant changes. “If the Prime Minister thinks Labour MPs will simply wave through her fatally flawed Chequers plan or give her a blank cheque to crash the economy, then she has another thing coming,” he said.

Former minister Chris Leslie, another leading pro-EU MP on the backbenches, said: “Chequers ignores 80 per cent of our economy by leaving the service sector in the lurch, with unrealistic proposals for customs and the removal of Britain’s voice from around the table in Europe.”

A No 10 source denied that Mrs May had ever relied on opposition MPs to win a vote on the Chequers plan. “What we have said is that it is the only credible deal on the table that delivers on Brexit,” he said. 

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, a Brexiteer, said the whips were out in force. He added: “The Government seems to think the enemy is in our own party. Instead of telling MPs to shut up and vote for whatever comes back from the talks in Brussels, they need to recognise that the party is beyond that — both in Parliament and in the country.” 

Speaking to the ConservativeHome website, Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg accused No 10 of authorising criticism of Boris Johnson by ministers at the weekend. 

Banking chiefs have also warned of the risks to the City from the Chequers plans. They voiced “disappointment” that the blueprint had not pursued a close “mutual recognition” system for financial services with the EU.

The Commons Treasury committee was told that the Government is very unlikely to be able to reach a deal on financial services before Brexit Day next March and that there was a lack of “clarity” and “certainty” on its proposals.”