Luke Johnson: My ten point growth plan to fire up the London economy
Luke Johnson: My ten point growth plan to fire up the London economy
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Economic growth is the magic elixir which would lift living standards and the capital’s spirits – it would make our city more dynamic, and more popular. But how on earth does London make growth happen? I list below ten ideas to start the growth engine – helping to create jobs, tax and prosperity.
* Dramatically streamline planning regulations - probably by creating a temporary window to commence work of say three years, so developers and landlords are forced to start construction quickly, so growth is boosted quickly - rather than in many years’ time. This would rapidly increase construction, and create more homes and commercial facilities in time.
* Immediately introduce permission for all autonomous vehicles to be legal in London - cars, vans, lorries, buses etc. It would swiftly cut the cost of transport and ultimately make travelling around the city much more efficient. The technology is here (go to California and see Waymo in action).
* Give immediate permission for the extra runway at Heathrow and permission for all London’s other main airports (Stansted, Gatwick, City) to also expand if they want. This would in time reduce airport congestion and grow tourism. * Help fund a commercial hub linking all London’s world class academic institutions - Imperial, UCL, King’s, LSE, LBS etc and especially key research institutions like Francis Crick, ICR and so forth. The centre would help exploit valuable IP and discoveries from these establishments, and create spins offs and start ups.
