Here’s the news that’s got us talking here at LOTI HQ – in bite-size chunks
Get Unlimited Weekend Bus and Tram Travel for £1.75 This Summer
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is making bus and tram travel on weekends cheaper this summer by introducing the Weekend Hopper fare. From 25th July – 31st August, you’ll be able to make unlimited trips on buses and trams on Saturdays and Sundays for just £1.75 per day.
The extension of his popular Hopper fare, which gives users unlimited journeys within a one-hour window for £1.75, is designed to help Londoners and tourists make the most of the city during the summer holidays.
Speaking about the scheme, Khan said: “My Hopper fare has enabled millions of people to enjoy cheaper bus travel. I know how expensive the summer holidays can be for families and my new Weekend Hopper – which is a whopper of a deal – will make it cheaper and easier for Londoners and visitors to enjoy all that our great city has to offer this summer. I know that buses and trams are a real lifeline for many Londoners, and I’m determined to keep them the most accessible and affordable mode of transport in the capital as we continue building a greener, fairer, better London for everyone.”
A New Banksy Statue Has Appeared in Central London
Street artist Banksy has confirmed that a statue depicting a man in a suit walking forward carrying a flag that’s covering his face is one of his works. That statue, which was installed on a plinth in Waterloo Place, St James’s on Wednesday morning, with safety barriers around the piece put up on Thursday. The Banksy piece is located near statues of Edward VII, Florence Nightingale, and the Crimean War Memorial.
Better known for his graffiti, Banksy has put up a statue in London before; he installed The Drinker, based on Rodin’s The Thinker, on Shaftesbury Avenue back in 2004 and was taken down soon after it was erected, so it’ll be interesting to see how long this one lasts.
Neko Health Brings Its High-Tech Health Checks to Victoria
Neko Health, the preventative healthcare company founded by Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek and Hjalmar Nilsonne, has opened a new London spot in Victoria, its fourth in the city, bringing its fast AF health checks to one of the capital’s busiest corners. And true to form, this one looks less like a doctor’s surgery and more like the set of TV show Severance.
Set right by Victoria Station, the space has been designed as a “sensory exhale” from the chaos outside. Think soft lilacs and lavenders instead of sterile whites, sweeping fabrics and white terrazzo instead of hard edges, and a cocoon-like layout that guides you through the experience with shifting colours rather than endless signage.
The journey through the lilac-toned corridors leads to Neko’s signature yellow scan rooms, where the brand’s tech-led preventative health check takes place, followed by a sit-down with a doctor who talks you through the results. They take your blood, send it up a chute in the ceiling, and you get your results back 15 minutes later, alongside scans of every mole on your body, checks on your grip strength and heart health, and much more. For busy Londoners who don’t have time to sit around at the doctor’s, it’s a futuristic, fast full-body health MOT that’s worth the splurge. Read our full review of the first Neko here.
The 2027 London Marathon Could Be Run Over Two Days
Following another record-breaking year for the London Marathon ballot – over a million people applied for the 2026 race, up from over 800,000 for 2025 – organisers are in talks to make the 2027 Marathon a two-day event across 24th & 25th April, allowing 100,000 runners to take part. Nothing has been confirmed yet but the plan is said to have the backing of the Mayor’s office. As well as raising millions more for charity, it could also be a massive boost for the economy, and, as reported by the Guardian, it would be a way to bring people together during a time of increasing social division.
One Hackney Pub Has Banned Children Due to Bad Behaviour
The Kenton landlord Egil Johansen has banned children from his Hackney pub after deteriorating behaviour and “entitled parents” not intervening. He said that kids running around unsupervised, colliding with staff carrying drinks, climbing on furniture and poking dogs has become too difficult for the team to manage.
In November, Johansen had introduced additional signage across the venue and online to make it clear that children were not allowed at the pub, which only serves drinks and regularly shows the football, after 5pm, saying that “lately, a few have mistaken The Kenton for a crèche” and that kids needed to be supervised at all times. Despite this, behaviour has not improved so the decision for a full ban has now been made.
The Felix Project Is Launching a Charity Restaurant Campaign
The Felix Project (one of our Heroes) is launching its annual charity campaign, Restaurants Feed London, and celebrity chef Bettina Campolucci-Bordi is joining the call for restaurants to sign up. The campaign asks London restaurants to take part by adding an optional £1 donation to their diners’ bills. All proceeds go towards The Felix Project’s mission to redistribute high-quality surplus food to community organisations in the city that need it most, such as food banks, homeless shelters and primary schools.
In 2025, 67 restaurants took part, including Gymkhana, Kitty Fisher’s, Spring and all five London Local & Wild sites, raising enough money to provide 189,000 meals. This year’s campaign will kick off on World Hunger Day on 28th May and will run for 9 weeks over the summer.
The Former Birch Hotel in Selsdon Is Auctioning Off its Contents
Birch Selsdon, the design-led hotel in Croydon aimed at offering escapes for creatives, went into administration back in 2023 and has been closed ever since. Now its contents are going under the hammer. Furniture, fixtures and fittings from across the property’s 181 bedrooms, two restaurants, three bars, wellness facilities and meeting rooms are being sold, including bespoke cabinetry, bespoke tables, soft furnishings, commercial-grade restaurant fixtures, bespoke lighting, sculptures and artworks.
The hotel, previously owned by De Vere, was completely revamped by A-nrd Studio and Sebastian Cox when it was taken over by Birch, and given that it was only open for about eight months, most of the contents remain in excellent condition. The auction will be happening on 15th April, with a viewing on-site before the sale begins.
One of Hackney’s Best Clubs Has Been Given a New Late Licence
Not long after EartH in Dalston got its Friday and Saturday night opening hours extended to 5am, popular Hackney club The Glove That Fits has also been granted a new late-night licence. The basement venue is now able to open until 4am on weekends and 2am on Thursdays, with their outdoor space Gloves Off now able to stay open until 1am on weekends.
The basement club has also had a refurb, with a new layout, a rebuilt DJ booth, upgraded equipment and a new lighting rig, which is more good news for the city’s nightlife scene.
Legendary LGBTQ+ Venue The Black Cap Is Reopening
Camden pub and beloved LGBTQ+ venue The Black Cap, which was famous for its drag and cabaret performances (Lily Savage made her debut here in the late 70s), closed back in 2015. In the eleven years since, campaigners have been working tirelessly to keep the venue alive – as well as holding vigils outside almost every Saturday afternoon, they’ve managed to stave off developers and got the pub listed as an Asset of Community Value.
All that effort has paid off as The Black Cap will be reopening on 21st March. The plan had to be to get the pub up and running again before Christmas but some parts of the venue required more extensive renovation works, hence the revised timeline. Ahead of the grand reopening, there’ll be one final vigil held outside on 14th March.
Strut Safe Has Launched Safe Waiting Spaces to Help People Get Home
Volunteer-run phone line Strut Safe, which helps people on their journeys home feel safe, has teamed up with Morley’s to open two Strut Stops in London. The Morley’s in Stockwell and Dalston Junction, which are open until 4am Weds – Sun, are safe spaces that people can wait to sort a taxi, get a lift or organise a journey home, with no expectation to buy anything.
The Strut Stop initiative is designed to make late-night journeys less stressful by offering well-lit and non-judgemental spaces inside familiar venues for people to pause on their way home. The launch comes off the back off a survey from Strut Safe, which found that 77% of respondents feel unsafe walking home alone at night, and 94% have changed or cancelled plans because of safety concerns. The hope is to expand the initiative to other late-night food outlets across the UK to create a network of safe waiting spaces.
The Next Artwork for Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth Has Been Revealed
A rotating selection of artworks have been appearing on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square since the public art commission began in 1999 and have included a giant blue cockerel, a ship in a bottle, a sculpture of a pregnant Alison Lapper, and a swirl of cream topped with a cherry, a fly and a drone. Currently it’s home to Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant) by Teresa Margolles, a piece made up of the casts of the faces of 726 trans people in London and Mexico City.
This September, Lady in Blue by New York-based artist Tschabalala Self will be taking its place. The 10ft bronze and blue statue, patinated with the rare lapis lazuli blue pigment, is designed to represent a contemporary everywoman. Speaking about the piece, Self said: “She is not an idol to venerate or a historic figurehead to commemorate. She is a woman striding forward into our collective future with ambition and purpose. She is a Londoner who represents the city’s spirit.”
A Traitors Theatre Show Is Coming to the West End
The Traitors has been a monster hit on the telly, drawing in millions of viewers and creating genuine water cooler moments each week. There’s already an immersive live experience spin-off running in London, where you can have a go at the game yourself, and now it’s been announced that a stage version of the show is on the way.
Production company Studio Lambert is teaming up with Neal Street Productions for a stage adaptation of The Traitors, inspired by the format of faithfuls working together to root out traitors in their midst. We don’t have any more details on the plot but we do know that John Finnemore (who wrote season two of Good Omens and the radio series Cabin Pressure) is writing the show and it’ll be directed by Olivier Award winner and The National Theatre’s deputy artistic director Rob Hastie. The show isn’t slated to run until 2027, so we should be able to enjoy at least another season of the TV programme before it hits the stage.
One of London’s Most Iconic LGBTQ+ Nights Is Coming Back
After running at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern for a whopping 27 years before bowing out in 2022, LGBTQ+ club night Duckie is returning to London. There’ll be a few big changes: it’s moving to a church hall in Stoke Newington and will be running from 7pm – 11pm, so everyone can be in bed by midnight; it’ll be a bi-monthly Saturday party; Azara will be hosting and Little Cloud, Joe Egg & Stav B will be on the decks; and ‘door butchers’ Libro and Tink will be taking over from ‘door whores’ Jay Cloth and Father Cloth.
It still promises to be an excellent night out, with performances not limited to drag queens, cheap bar prices, a free buffet (!) and an intersectional mixed gender crowd. Duckie returns on 7th March, with parties happening on 16th May, 4th July, 5th September and 31st October – get those dates in your diaries.
You Could Be Going Swimming in a South London Gasholder
A proposal to turn a Grade II-listed gasholder off the Old Kent Road into a wild swimming pond is being discussed by Southwark Council. The pond would form part of a new park, which would be named after gasworks founder George Livesey, around Gasholder No.13, as part of a wider regeneration scheme for the Old Kent Road area.
If the plans get approved, a swimming pond would form half of the installation, with a pond with reed beds providing natural water filtration making up the other half. The council have said that the project would be “a unique health offer, with nothing similar in London, the UK or Europe”. It’s still early days, with the council looking at the business case and the costs, with some potential funding coming from the development of 800 homes on land near the gasholder owned by gas distribution company SGN Networks.
How You Can Apply to Be Part of Pride in London
The Pride in London parade is returning to the capital on Sat 4th July and applications to take part are now open. Over 1.7 million people attended last year’s parade, with more than 30,000 people participating, and if you want to be involved, established LGBTQ+ community groups, LGBTQ+ businesses, non-profits, unions, the public sector, and businesses can apply here. The applications will be open until 28th February, with approval coming in mid-March. If you’d like to participate as an individual, you can register your interest to volunteer here, and you’ll be first to hear when those applications open (expected to be mid-May).
Thousands of People Support London Cafes Fighting Against a Chain Takeover
At the beginning of December, the City of London Corporation put the leases for four park cafes – Parliament Hill Fields, Parliament Hill Lido, Golders Hill and Queen’s Park – up for tender. The future of the cafe at Highgate Wood is also up in the air. It was announced on 19th December that Aussie restaurant group Daisy Green, which currently operates 21 sites in the capital, would be taking them over and the current operators would be evicted within weeks. On the new operators, Gregory Jones, chair of the City of London Corporation’s Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee, said: “Daisy Green demonstrated the strongest blend of quality, sustainability, affordability, and community value – all central to our role as stewards of these wonderful places. Their commitment to enhancing facilities, keeping menus fresh, and celebrating the distinctive character of each café will ensure visitors continue to enjoy warm, welcoming spaces for many years to come.”
Locals, including MPs and celebs like Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy, are unhappy about the changes, believing that bringing in a new chain operator will destroy the fabric of the community. A petition launched to save the cafes has already received over 13,000 signatures at the time of writing. Now a crowdfunder is running to raise money for a legal challenge to force the Corporation to re-run the re-tendering process in a fair and transparent manner – Patrick Matthews, who runs the cafes at the Lido, Queen’s Park and Highgate Wood, argues that the re-tendering has been run as a commercial exercise to raise money and without any community input.
Flying Taxis Could Be Coming to London
We’ve already got driverless taxis but it looks like flying ones could be taking to the city’s skies in the next few years. Aerospace company Vertical Aerospace is predicting that flying taxis will be operating in London by 2028, after unveiling its prototype vehicle, which is currently undergoing testing. The Valo aircraft, which is electric and piloted, can take off vertically, carry up to six passengers and travel at up to 150mph for a distance of up to 100 miles, is designed to be a more sustainable, zero-emissions option compared to road taxis.
If the Valo were to receive regulatory approval from the aviation authorities, Vertical Aerospace would run them from Canary Wharf to Gatwick and Heathrow, as well as Oxford and Cambridge. There’s been no official word on cost as yet but the company is hoping to have them be a similar price as calling an Uber.
Speaking about Valo, Vertical Aerospace chief executive Stuart Simpson said: :Valo is the aircraft that turns electric flight into a commercial reality – clean, quiet, fast and engineered for everyday service. It marks a new dawn in transport, one that will connect people in minutes, not hours.”
Tube and Rail Fares Will Be Rising in the Spring
The Mayor’s office has confirmed that Tube and rail fares in the capital will be going up by 5.8% from March 2026. Single Tube fares will rise by 10p or 20p, with peak pay-as-you-go fares in Zone 1 increasing from £2.90 to £3.10 and off-peak pay-as-you-go Zone 1 fares going from £2.80 to £3. Weekly and daily caps will remain unchanged, and bus and tram fares are being frozen until July.
The increase, which is 1% above the rate of inflation, was a condition of TfL receiving a £2.2bn funding deal from the government, with Sadiq Khan saying that the bus and tram fare freezes were “an emergency cost-of-living measure” funded by City Hall.
A Tourist Tax Could Be Introduced in London
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has already voiced his support of implementing a tourist tax on overnight stays in London and with the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, it’s looking like the Chancellor will give him the powers to do so.
New York City imposes a percentage rate levies on stays (raising £493m every year), in Paris there’s a fixed nightly fee depending on the accommodation type, and Tokyo has a single flat fee for all bookings. It’s suggested that London would likely follow the percentage rate or flat fee systems – it’s estimated that a 5% levy would bring in £240m annually. Speaking about the proposed tax, Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: “The model the government should adopt is already under way in Scotland, where Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen are introducing levies valued at a percentage rate on overnight stays in hotels, B&Bs and short-let accommodation”, adding that, “hopefully, introducing a tourist levy is the start of a bigger programme of devolving tax and spending powers to the capital. London is the most productive big city in the UK, and devolving more fiscal powers would give the capital more policy tools to accelerate growth in the economy.”
A 3,800-Capacity Venue Is Coming to West London
Olympia is being redeveloped into a culture and entertainment hub, and as well as several bars and restaurants, a massive 3,800-capacity, purpose-built music and events venue, called British Airways ARC, will be opening there in 2026. Olympia has a rich musical heritage, having played host to the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Primal Scream, The Cure, Rod Stewart and The Chemical Brothers, so we’ll be keeping an eye out to see who the venue books.
Culture on the Cheap: Southbank Centre Unveils Under-30s Perks
The Southbank Centre has launched a free scheme for anyone aged 18 – 30, offering a fresh way for kids to experience culture without blowing the budget. Members get half-price tickets to the Hayward Gallery, discounts on hundreds of shows including a monumental presentation from Anish Kapoor in 2026 and deals across the site’s bars, cafés and shops. From £5 cocktails and half-price coffees to shop discounts, the scheme packs in plenty of perks. Sign up here.
Chiltern Firehouse Has a Re-Opening Date
Celeb hotspot Chiltern Firehouse has been closed since February after a large fire broke out (which accidentally started from a pizza oven) at the restaurant and hotel on Valentine’s Day. The roof and third floor were destroyed in the blaze, with damage also being caused to the ground and second floors, so it’s been a complex restoration process – at the time, architect Harriet Pillman believed the property would remain closed for a few years. Now the owners have forecasted a re-opening date of April 2027, which would be more than two years since the fire.
Campaigners Call For the Release of Penguins From London Aquarium
Animal welfare campaigners have been calling for the release of 15 gentoo penguins at the London Aquarium, who have “endured 14 years in a basement” with a pool that’s only six to seven feet deep. Around 250 – 300 people attended a protest on 19th October organised by Freedom For Animals, Born Free and The Express. A spokesperson for the Sea Life London Aquarium said that the penguins’ habitat was “designed with help and advice from specialist vets,” and that “it provides an excellent balance of water and land for the penguins which enables them to express their normal behaviours”.
Naturalist and presenter Chris Packham, who was in attendance at the protest, rejected Sea Life’s claims, calling it “a blight on the reputation of London’s attractions” and saying that “we’ve learned sufficiently enough about their (the penguins’) behavioural, physiological and ecological needs to know that if you’re going to keep to these animals in captivity at all, you need a custom-built facility, and it’s certainly not one that’s in the bunker of a building underground, where they never see sunlight and they never get fresh air.” If you agree, you can sign petitions for their release here and here.
The Devonshire Team to Open a Pub in Covent Garden
As reported by The Standard, the team behind The Devonshire will be turning the former offices of The Lady magazine into a pub. Westminster Council approved an application by Charlie Carroll, co-founder of The Devonshire along with Oisin Rogers and Ashley Palmer-Watts, and it’s expected that the six-storey building will be transformed into a pub and restaurant. The offices have been empty since the mag departed in 2019 and it looks like the new owners won’t be in residence until 2027.
Before then, the Devonshire crew is helping to open the Marlborough in Mayfair, along with Carl McCluskey of Crisp Pizza.
A New Overground Line Could Be Coming to West London
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is hoping to add a seventh branch to the Overground network with the West London Orbital route. Running from Hounslow to Hendon and West Hampstead via Old Oak Common, the route would utilise an old freight railway line and include a new station at Lionel Road, costing around £700m in total. Like all the other existing Overground lines, it would be named to reflect the history and diversity of the area.
Khan has announced £400,000 worth of funding to “progress the business case” and progress the designs for the new line, which will still need government backing to help pay for the total cost of the project. There are two other “big ticket” schemes the Mayor is trying to get funded, including the DLR extension to Thamesmead, which has been authorised, and the Bakerloo Line extension.
Lewisham’s Meze Mangal Is Facing a £2.5 Million Fine Over a Kitchen Fan
A neighbour’s complaint to Lewisham Council about cooking smells at Meze Mangal, one of south London’s oldest Turkish restaurants, led to the installation of a ventilation shaft in 2014 – a fix the owners thought was simple. Eleven years later, it’s now at the centre of a £2.5million legal prosecution with Lewisham Council under the Proceeds of Crime Act, a law that’s usually used to target serious organised crime.
The restaurant’s owners and brothers, Ahmet and Sahin Gok say they didn’t realise planning permission was needed and tried to obtain retrospective permission, which was ultimately rejected. The brothers decided to leave the ventilation support structure in place given it appropriately resolved the original complaint. After failing to attend a court hearing in 2023 due to the medical needs of their ailing father, the council is now pursuing this massive penalty, also seizing their passports and freezing their business accounts.
In an effort to fight the case, they’ve started a GoFundMe campaign which has already raised £18,500+ in just over a week.
EartH in Dalston Has Been Granted a 5am Licence
Some positive London nightlife news, following the closure announcements from G-A-Y and Corsica Studios. EartH in Dalston has had its licence extended to 5am on Fridays and Saturdays, despite some objections by local residents around noise and people ‘loitering’ outside the venue.
The extended opening hours will allow EartH to put on a bigger programme and secure a future as a grassroots venue, with Director Auro Foxcroft saying: “Now, we have more certainty – to invest in equipment, to take more artistic risks, and to do the things grassroots music venues do best: creating a future not only for themselves but for artists and fans.” It’s certainly a step in the right direction for London’s late-night culture.
E-Bike Hire in Hackney Now Costs the Same as a Bus Fare
Hackney Council has struck a deal with e-bike operators Voi and Lime to cap bike hire prices at a flat fare for journeys in the borough, in a bid to make cycling more affordable and accessible. Voi rides made within Hackney will be capped at £1.75 for 30 minutes, which is the same price as a London bus fare, while Lime will discount rides through its LimePass+ option, an unlimited monthly pass for £45 that caps rides at £1.
As part of the deal, both operators will introduce a wider variety of bikes to the area, and also be held accountable for any parking compliance issues, so hopefully that’ll mean less bikes badly parked and blocking the pavements.
London Is Getting its First Surfing Lake
Enfield Council has approved plans for the construction of an inland surfing facility at the Lee Valley Leisure Complex, which is already home to a golf course, campsite and athletics centre. The plans for Surf London include a 200-metre wide surfing lake, skateboarding areas, play parks, wellbeing facilities, a restaurant, a cafe, events spaces and accommodation, with the golf course being reduced in size and the campsite being redeveloped to provide the space. The council has given its unanimous approval, so now it’s over to the Greater London Authority for the final go-ahead.
Brewgooder & Taybeh Brewing Co. Have Teamed Up on a Beer That Supports Palestine
Madees Khoury, the first and only female brewmaster in the Middle East, runs Taybeh Brewing Co. in the West Bank. As exporting is often impossible, she’s teamed up with Scottish B Corp biz Brewgooder to brew Sun & Stone, a 4.5% Mediterranean-style lager inspired by the region. All proceeds from the beer (available from Brewgooder and soon to be in1600 Co-Op stores nationwide) will help support communities in Palestine and the humanitarian work of the Disasters Emergency Committee in Gaza.
Troxy Has Launched Tightwad Lager at £5 a Pint
Historic east London venue Troxy is pushing back against the rising cost of a night out by launching its own session lager, the 3.4% Tightwad, and pouring at for £5 a pint. Speaking about the launch, Managing Director at Troxy Tom Sutton-Roberts says: “As a venue for live music, spoken word and cultural experiences, fans are critical to our DNA and we’re saying enough is enough. As London pint prices in venues push past £8 as standard, we wanted to see what we could do to limit the costs of a night out for fans. This launch is about more than just beer. It’s about maintaining access to culture, connection and community at a time when affordability is under threat.”
The London Transport Museum Has a Banksy Artwork on Display
After acquiring a Banksy artwork that appeared on a TfL signal control controller cabinet in Croydon in 2019, the London Transport Museum has put the piece on display. The work, featuring a rat hanging from an arm of a clock, originally appeared in front of Banksy’s pop-up showroom installation, Gross Domestic Product. The door featuring the artwork was removed by TfL to prevent theft or damage and it has since been mounted on a new cabinet body and gone on display at the London Transport Museum so people can see it up close.
Tate Modern Will Be Staying Open Later on Fridays and Saturdays
Good news for all you art lovers as from the autumn, Tate Modern will be extending its opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays to 9pm from 26th September, so you’ll have more time to see all their big exhibitions. The extension comes after a bumper attendance for Tate’s 25th birthday weekender in May, where 76,000 people (70% of whom were under 35) visited the gallery over three days. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has praised the move as a positive contribution to London’s nighttime economy. The gallery already hosts monthly Tate Lates events at the end of each month, which will continue alongside the new extended opening hours.
Yungblud Has Opened His Own Venue in London
He already runs his own festival, BludFest in Milton Keynes, and now Yungblud has opened his own music venue in Soho. He’s set up Beautifully Romanticised Accidentally Traumatized on Denmark Street, an area rich in music history, to give his fans a place to hang out. The ground floor is a clothing store, with a multi-purpose events space and social hub downstairs, which will host poetry nights, live gigs, film screenings and tarot readings.
Speaking to the Daily Star, ahead of the opening, Yungblud said, “I want people to hang out, meet and have a physical space to make real connections in this virtual world.
“My biggest dream is to have clubs all over the world where my fanbase can hang out, seven days a week, open all day and at night. London is hopefully just the first one.”
Could Office Blocks Be Turned Into Nightclubs?
We’ve done a lot of reporting on the state of nightlife in London and the wider UK, covering the difficulties that operators are facing and the amount of venues that have shuttered. Creative studio Bompas & Parr has come up with an innovative solution to help the capital’s nightlife scene level up – turn office blocks into nightclubs. Presented as part of its ‘Future of P-Leisure’ report, in which the team explores “how we will gather, party and connect over next decade and beyond”, the idea is that office blocks could be used for “finance by day, rave by night”.
Once the half a million people that work in the City leave at the end of the working day, there are only 8000 residents left and a load of square meterage of space stands empty. With few people to file noise complaints, the B&P team posit that “empty office lobbies become sought-after DJ booths, rooftops host industry-defining light shows, and any space that isn’t locked morphs into a dancefloor to create a sprawling web of passionate chaos as capitalism and counterculture merge.” Makes sense to us….
The Last Wooden Escalator on the Underground Is Being Replaced
Alperton station, in north-west London on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly Line, has been home to the last wooden escalator on the Tube network, but that’s soon to change as TfL will be installing new lifts to make the station fully accessible. The escalator, taken from the Dome of Discovery at the Festival of Britain, was installed at the station in 1955, and only went upwards and was also limited to the London-bound platform. It was decommissioned in 1988 and has been closed off behind a wall since then, and soon it will be gone completely.
Improvement works on the station are expected to start next summer and be complete by 2027 to better serve the local area, which is seeing 6000 new homes being built with at least 10% of those being wheelchair accessible.
Sadiq Khan Aims to End Rough Sleeping in London by 2030
Ending rough sleeping in the capital by 2030 was one of the pledge’s in Sadiq Khan’s 2024 manifesto and now he’s announced new initiatives to help him achieve that goal. As well as changing the rules (by 2028) to allow homeless people to receive help without waiting for them to spend a night on the streets first, he’ll use £17m of government funding to refurbish 500 empty ‘social homes’ that will be used to house the homeless. His plans also include the establishment of a rough sleeping prevention phone line and a new network of ‘ending homelessness hubs’ with 24/7 support.
Trust for London figures put the number of people sleeping rough in the capital in 2023/24, a threefold increase on the figures for 2008/09, so it’s clear that there’s a lot of work to do. The fivefold increase in City Hall’s budget for rough sleeping – it’s £44.8m for 2025/26 compared to £8.5m in 2016 – is the reason why Khan believes he’ll be able to achieve his ambition.
London’s Oldest Indian Restaurant Is Under Threat
Veeraswamy, which opened way back in 1926, making it the oldest Indian restaurant in the city, is under threat of closure. Located in Victory House on Regent Street, the restaurant’s lease expires in June and the building’s owner, the Crown Estate (the property management company that belongs to the King), has said it will not be renewing it. The Crown Estate has said that Victory House needs refurbishment, including the expansion of the ground-floor reception area to serve the offices above. That ground-floor area, an additional 11 sqm, would eat into Veeraswamy’s entrance, and without an entrance the restaurant won’t be able to operate.
Speaking to The Times, Ranjit Mathrani, co-owner of MW Eat (the group that runs Veeraswamy), said: “I think they’ve come to the view that it’s too tiresome having a restaurant there, they want it to be all offices”, adding that “they don’t care a bugger for history”. Mathrani is looking for an alternative location for the restaurant but if the Crown Estate don’t grant a lease extension until a new site is found, it’ll have to close down.
The ‘King of Bollywood’ Is Getting a London Statue
The ‘King of Bollywood’ Shah Rukh Khan and co-star Kajol appeared together in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ), which is the longest-running Hindi film of all time. The film follows Raj and Simran’s love story across Europe and India and includes several scenes shot in London, including in Leicester Square. And now a statue representing the movie is being erected in that very location this spring, as part of the Scenes in the Square trail.
Speaking about the statue, Mark Williams, Deputy Chief Executive at Heart of London Business Alliance, says: “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is one of the most successful and important Bollywood films of all time, and we’re excited by the prospect of bringing to the trail the first film that features Leicester Square as a location. The statue is a fitting tribute to the global popularity of Bollywood and a celebration of London’s rich diversity. We’re in no doubt it will attract fans from all around the world to Leicester Square, the home of film and entertainment.”
Free Book Exchanges at Tube Stations Have Been Shut Down By the London Fire Brigade
There have been free community libraries and book exchanges at a number of London Tube stations, like Oval and Clapham North, for decades. But no longer, as the London Fire Brigade has deemed the mini libraries, specifically the ‘combustible material’, to be a fire risk and they’ve been shut down – signage posted at a number of the exchange sites reads “Due to Fire Safety Regulations from the London Fire Brigade, we have been forced to CLOSE all Book Exchange Libraries on ALL London Underground Stations with immediate effect. We are all SAD to see this go. Thank you for all your support over the years.”
London’s Air Is Cleaner Following ULEZ Expansion
A new report published by the Greater London Authority that covers the 12 months from September 2023 (a month after the ULEZ was expanded to outer London in August 2023) shows that levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have decreased across London by 27%. The figures, checked by independent experts, also show that air quality has improved at 99% of air quality monitoring sites across London since 2019; small particle emissions (PM2.5) from vehicle exhausts were 31% lower in outer London in 2024 than they would have been had the zone not been expanded; and that the capital’s air quality is improving at a faster rate than the rest of the country.
A Full-Nudity Strip Club Has Been Approved to Open in Soho
Proposals for The Penthouse Club, which is planning to offer fully-nude stripteases in private rooms as well as drag shows and Cirque du Soleil-style acrobatics, to open on the site where Madame Jojo’s used to be, have been approved by Westminster Council. There has been some concern from local residents, stating that a club like this would encourage pickpocketing and drug crime, and that Soho has changed to become a more family-friendly neighbourhood and is “no longer the seedy red-light district of yore.” Others have argued in favour of the club, saying that there’s “no better location” for a striptease bar as it “represents an opportunity to maintain and protect this culturally significant characteristic of Soho”.
An East London Bar Has Been Granted a 24-Hour Licence
Given that most of the news regarding London nightlife is negative, this feels like a big win – Starlane Pizza Bar has just been granted a 24-hour licence to operate around the clock on Fridays and Saturdays. That means the bar, which serves Neapolitan style pizzas and burgers before turning into a dancefloor, can host extended sets from DJs. The bar is launching a new early morning party series on 22nd March, and thery’ve got plans for a 30-hour birthday marathon on 26th April. Long live late night London!
A New Latin American Market Has Opened in Walworth
Following the closure of Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre in 2020, many Latin American businesses were left with nowhere to operate. Now thanks to lots of community campaigning, a new Latin American market has opened on Liverpool Road in Walworth, just down the road from where the centre was. Running 10am – 4pm every Saturday and Sunday, the Latin American Elephant Passage Market offers space for some of the businesses that weren’t able to relocate when the shopping centre was demolished to trade, so head down there to celebrate Latin American craft, food and culture.
Grenfell Tower Is to Be Demolished
Almost eight years after the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people, the government has confirmed that the building is to be demolished. No changes to the tower will be made before the eighth anniversary of the tragedy on 14th June, with the building being carefully and sensitively dismantled over a two year period. There has been a mixed reaction from the local community – some of the survivors and the bereaved, who are part of the Grenfell United group, feel they were not properly consulted about the plan before the decision was made and others want the tower to remain standing until there have been prosecutions over the fire, while some locals find the presence of the tower distressing and believe that taking it down would provide closure.
Once the building is demolished, a memorial will be erected in its place, with the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission having shortlisted five design teams to submit plans.
Pretty Decent Beer Co Is Doing a Crisp Set Menu
With the largest selection of Czech-style side pour taps in the UK and retro games inside, the new Pretty Decent Beer Co taproom in Victoria Park was already pretty great but they’ve totally won us over with their crisps set menu, put together by a crisp sommelier. The sets include Surf & Turf (Scampi Fries, Roast Beef Monster Munch, and Skips) and Ploughmans (Pickled Onion Monster Munch, Mini Cheddars, and Ready Salted Big Hoops), and they’ll even be able to recommend you a pairing beer. LOVE.
There Are More 24-Hour Gyms Than 24-Hour Nightclubs in London
Analysis by BBC London has shown that there are more 24-hour gyms in the capital than there are 24-hour nightclubs. The number of bars and clubs with 24-hour licences has decreased from 183 in 2021 to just 58, while the number of gyms open around the clock is up around 300. Speaking about the issue Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, says “not being able to get home post-midnight midweek has been a real challenge. There are 24-hour licences that don’t operate within those hours, and that’s based on the fact that if the infrastructure’s not there to keep people safe and get people home, then they’re not going to be supported by the market.
“Becoming a 24-hour city is more than just intimating we’re going in that direction. I think it’s an involvement of a multitude of stakeholders – transport, developers, policing – all that needs to be on board.”
A New Wetland Is Coming to Clapham Common
Wild Clapham, a joint initiative by The Friends of Clapham Common and The Clapham Society, has secured funding and planning permission to turn a large area of the park into a wetland habitat in an effort to boost the biodiversity of the area and provide an educational space for children. With open water and reed beds, the habitat will be the ideal home for frogs, toads, newts, dragonflies and damselflies, and there’ll also be underground shelters for hibernating animals. The boardwalk and viewing platform, which’ll have detachable rails, will allow kids to observe the wildlife and even dip for tadpoles. The work is already underway and is scheduled to be completed in the spring.
Heat From the Tube and Sewers Could Be Used to Warm the City
As we move to a future without fossil fuels, the government is looking at alternative ways to provide heating and hot water for buildings, one of which is heat networks (where heat is supplied to consumers from a central source). Plans are being worked up to implement the UK’s biggest heat network in Westminster by using excess low-carbon heat sourced from the Tube, the sewers and the Thames transferred by an underground pipe network to power hot water and central heating in buildings in the area, including the Houses of Parliament and the National Gallery. The scheme would save around 75,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.
The NTIA Has Warned That UK Clubs Could Vanish by 2029
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has issued a stark warning about the nation’s nightlife: if clubs continue to close at the rate they have been since March 2020 (three clubs per week, 150 clubs per year), then our ‘Last Night Out’, when the UK’s clubs have vanished, could be 31st December 2029. The NTIA is calling on the government to combat the decline by providing financial support, granting cultural protection and reforming regulations, and you can help by signing the petition here.
Nine New Banksy Artworks Have Appeared in London
We’ve now had nine new Banksy artworks in the space of a week (all confirmed by posts on his Instagram) after two new pieces appeared on the weekend of 10th & 11th August. The first, popping up on the side of a building in Kew Green, is a goat perched on top of a small ledge where some rocks have tumbled down, with a CCTV camera pointing towards it. The second, on the side of a house in Chelsea, is silhouettes of two elephants in windows reaching their trunks out toward each other. The third is three monkeys swinging along a bridge on Brick Lane. The fourth was a howling wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham, but two men in balaclavas stole it within an hour of it being revealed. The fifth was two pelicans eating fish above Bonners Fish Bar in Walthamstow. Then it was a stretching cat on an empty billboard in Cricklewood (which has since been taken down), and then a tank of piranhas on a City of London police box. The eighth, a rhino seeming to climb a broken-down Nissan Micra in Charlton, has already been defaced with graffiti and the car has been removed. The latest, on a London Zoo shutter, depicts a gorilla lifting it up to help seals and birds escape. Banksy has left no captions or comments about any of the animal-themed pieces, leaving people speculating about their meaning, but a spokesperson close the artist has told the Guardian that they’ve been done to cheer people up.
These Yellow Plaques Mark London’s Rave History
Taking inspo from the city’s blue plaques, which honour notable historical figures and the buildings connected to them, artist George Georgiou has designed and installed yellow plaques on the sites of legendary London parties, to celebrate the city’s acid house culture. You can see plaques honouring the likes of Shoom, Screamadelica, and Special Branch, and there’s also a virtual map of prominent rave locations here.
