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John Lewis deal set to create 500 jobs
Kingston is set to benefit from 500 local jobs and a new creative hub after Kingston Council sealed a deal with John Lewis. The agreement will see John Lewis lease the basement and parts of its ground floor riverside Kingston store to create a new affordable workspace for local businesses and a creative performance hub for young people. Over the next ten years, the spaces will enable the creation of at least 500 new jobs across the local economy by supporting the activities and growth of local
businesses. The council has appointed Town Square Spaces (TownSq) as managing operator of the new affordable workspace and Creative Youth to deliver cultural enterprise and events on the Kingston Riverside. This innovative community and business partnership-focused venture will include co-working spaces, workstations, a cafe and performance and event space for the public to enjoy. TownSq will also provide start-up support enterprise programmes, including an accelerator scheme, to support fast-growing new businesses.
Cllr John Sweeney, portfolio holder for business and leisure at Kingston Council, said: “This agreement triggers the creation of two amazing Kingston Riverfront spaces in a section of a building closed to the public for decades. Town Square have the experience to provide a thriving flexible workspace – and a hub for entrepreneurship, innovation and job creation in the heart of Kingston. Importantly, they also offer support to local people looking to take their first steps in starting a business. Creative Youth, already a fabulous Kingston
institution, will undoubtedly bring excitement and fun to the Undercroft and the surrounding area.” Mandy Weston, COO at TownSq, said: “When people from different businesses and industries are working alongside each other, there can be a complementarity of ideas, and that can lead to some incredible collaborations. When you create the environment for individuals and businesses to grow, that ripples out to the benefit of the wider community and the local economy. We can’t wait to get started.”
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Local London Assembly member welcomes ULEZ expansion The extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has been welcomed by London Assembly member, Marina Ahmad AM, as “one of the biggest public health interventions we have seen in London”. The ULEZ has now been expanded to the North and South Circulars, covering an area eighteen times larger than before. Motorists driving into and around the expanded zone could face a daily charge of £12.50 if their vehicles do
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not meet new emissions standards. For drivers of non-compliant buses, coaches and lorries, this charge increases to £100. Ms Ahmad said the extension will build upon the success of the Central London ULEZ, which was introduced in April 2019. In the lead-up to the pandemic, alongside other measures taken by City Hall to improve air quality in the capital, the Central London ULEZ led to a 44% reduction in roadside nitrogen dioxide emissions and a
97% drop in the number of schools in areas where there are illegal levels of air pollution. A recent study has also showed that these interventions to tackle toxic air also contributed to a 50% reduction in the gap between the most and least deprived areas for exposure to harmful nitrogen dioxide emissions in 2019. Other research has projected that the ULEZ and the Mayor of London’s other air quality policies will help to save the NHS £5 billion by preventing more
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than one million hospital admissions over the next three decades. Local London Assembly member, Marina Ahmad AM, said: “The extension of the ULEZ will spread the benefits of cleaner air for thousands more people in our borough. “Tackling air pollution is an urgent matter of social justice. We know it disproportionately impacts the health of Londoners from BAME backgrounds and poorer communities, contributing to 4,000 premature deaths each year in the capital alone.”
