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The negotiations we report today between the Mayor and the United States over the new embassy building are important ones for the capital.
Taken together, Nine Elms and the area including Battersea Power Station represent the last really large regeneration opportunity in inner London.
Making a success of the new embassy, which will employ 800 people and attract 1,100 visitors a day, will help prompt investment in an area which has huge potential to create new jobs and homes.
The Mayor believes, however, that plans for a substantial earth mound between the embassy and the river, will look ugly. This and other aspects of the proposal such as a re-routing of roads would conflict with his London Plan.
New developments have to comply with the plan so the Mayor has a negotiating lever with the Americans. He is is expected to ask for changes to the design. He may also ask for a contribution to Crossrail or to a possible spur of the Northern line, which would include a station near the embassy.
America is Britain's principal ally, and naturally Londoners see the need for high security for Washington's representatives here.
A successful strike against the US embassy in London would be a terrorist coup on a 9/11 scale, far exceeding previous hits against US missions in Kenya, Tanzania, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. But the architects who are eventually chosen cannot ride roughshod over planning rules here.
There is, in addition, a good case for an American contribution to Crossrail or the Tube spur. Either would be an expression of goodwill, with great publicity benefits — and we recommend the idea is given serious consideration.
Stop the sub-letters
Council tenants who illegally sub-let their homes are exploiting the social housing system, and the measures against them announced today are long overdue. In London there are extensive waiting lists for people who are in genuine need of council accommodation.
So it is unacceptable that those who have been granted a low-cost house or flat at public expense should then rent it out for whatever they can get and live off the proceeds, possibly on the Costa del Sol.
Many of the capital's council estates are located close to central London workplaces and have benefited from substantial public spending. So high rents can be charged to illegal sub-tenants, particularly if several crowd into a small flat.
Even on the worst estates, there is money to be made from new migrants who have nowhere else to go. Council housing is not there to create a nice little earner for a few tenants who know how to work the system.
It is supposed to be a safety net for those who cannot afford other accommodation. The Government should make this crackdown a priority.
Congestion charge progress
Possibly the worst feature of London's £8-a-day congestion charge has been the short time available in which to pay. On a frantic day, the chance of forgetting to pay by midnight was high, leaving drivers with a fine of £50 and potentially £180. Only fleet owners had the option of paying in advance.
An extra day's grace was granted — for an additional £2 — but the regime was sufficiently tough that at times as much as a third of the money it raised came from fines. Indeed, many drivers suspected it was deliberately designed to extract as much penalty revenue as possible.
The Mayor promised to make paying easier. Today he announces an automated system which will take the £8 from a nominated credit or debit card if the cameras detect the car in the zone. That eases dilemmas over whether one has driven over the boundary or not.
TfL claims overall revenue will not fall, which seems surprising. But the Mayor deserves congratulations for putting his promise into effect.
