黑洞社区

Pie in the sky

London airport Gatwick is going on a tour around the country in an attempt to convince the regions that expansion at Gatwick will benefit them. The airport claims giving it a new runway and not Heathrow means more regional airports will be able to offer international flights. It paints the picture of a three-runway Heathrow as an all-absorbing monolith which will draw in all of the long-haul airlines, lured by charging passengers higher fares for flying out of a 鈥渄ominant鈥� Heathrow. A new runway at Gatwick, Gatwick claims, will address the issue of capacity in the South-east but will be a smaller airport than Heathrow, meaning it won鈥檛 steal
all of the growth from regional airports. That makes sense, right?

Not a fan

I鈥檝e heard a lot of unlikely reasons cited for why development shouldn鈥檛 take place. But Greg Dyke has come up with a new one for me. The Football Association chairman complained that the safety of fans on match days could be jeopardised if Quintain鈥檚 plans for 5,000 homes close to Wembley stadium get the go ahead. Extra traffic on surrounding roads could delay fans鈥� departures from Wembley by up to two hours, forcing many to be penned in, the former BBC director-general grumbled. The plans are now due to be referred to new London mayor Sadiq Khan, who made great play of his credentials as a football fan - he鈥檚 an Arsenal fan - in the run up to this month鈥檚 mayoral election. We鈥檒l have to see what counts most now he is in power - the beautiful game or the capital鈥檚 housing targets.

Marxism reaches City Hall

Speaking of which 鈥� The sound of crunching gears is emanating from City Hall as Khan appears to back-pedal on his commitment that half of all new housing in the capital should be affordable. The new mayor鈥檚 team have briefed that 50% benchmark is a 鈥渟trategic, long-term target鈥�. It reminds me of the old Groucho Marx quote. 鈥淭hose are my principles, and if you don鈥檛 like them 鈥� Well, I have others.鈥�

Keepy uppie

There鈥檚 been no shortage of partying in Leicester since the city鈥檚 football club was crowned Premier League champions a fortnight ago. And they鈥檙e going to keep that spirit going at Pick Everard as the city-based firm marks the 150th anniversary of its foundation with 150 days of sporting challenges. The real enthusiasts will be able to take part in the Pick Everard 150 Challenge bike ride from Inverness to London, taking in all the firm鈥檚 offices en route. But those of a more sedentary disposition may prefer the 10-mile mile walk in the Leicestershire countryside.

鈥業f you can鈥檛 make them there 鈥︹��

It may be a city full of iconic skyscrapers, but New York would look very different if contemporary building codes had been in place there in years past. Quantierra, a real estate firm, ran the rule over 43,000 of the city鈥檚 buildings to see if they would have been allowed if current zoning rules had been in place when they were developed. They discovered that around 40% of the buildings they examined turn out to be taller, bulkier, bigger or more crowded than would be permitted these days.