Lambeth

Residents launch petition against ‘dark kitchens’ in rail arches

People living opposite so-called 'dark kitchens' supplying hot food for home delivery say their lives are being made hell by delivery drivers who defecate outside their flats and shout abuse at them.

Southwark

Peabody 'sorry' for series of ceiling collapses on local estate

Residents of a Peabody estate in Southwark have spoken of their fear after at least seven ceilings collapsed in four homes.

Elephant & Castle

Optical illusions at Elephant axed to protect neurodiverse people

The designs for hoardings around the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre site have been updated to remove optical illusions after concerns were raised about the impact on "people with neurodiverse conditions".

Parliament

Government quizzed in Commons on future of COVID memorial wall

A minister has given a non-committal answer to a question tabled by a Labour front bencher asking what the Government has done to secure the future of the COVID memorial wall on the South Bank.

Politics & local government

Florence Eshalomi backs calls for pedicab regulation

Vauxhall MP Florence Eshalomi has backed calls for pedicabs to be regulated, telling Parliament that patients leaving St Thomas' Hospital have been "harrassed" by unscrupulous rickshaw riders.

Old Kent Road

Bakerloo line extension 'completely out of reach' - Sadiq

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has given his most pessimistic assessment yet of the prospects for a Bakerloo line extension beyond Elephant & Castle, declaring the scheme "completely out of reach".

River Thames

New Year’s Eve: terror threat prompts Thames pleasure boat alert

Pleasure boats navigating on the Thames in central London on New Year's Eve will have to undergo a special risk assessment due to a heightened threat of a terrorist attack.

Transport

Westminster Bridge: work to start on barriers and cycle lanes

Work will start this month on the installation of permanent anti-terrorist bollards to protect pedestrians and cyclists on Westminster Bridge.

Transport

Old Kent Road cycle lanes: Mayor non-committal on timescale

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan says that better facilities for cyclists on the Old Kent Road "remains a key objective" but has not put a timescale on the introduction of segregated cycle lanes.

Parks & green spaces

Day of the Dead: image of La Catrina presented to Crossbones

A La Catrina figure has been presented to Crossbones Graveyard by the Mexican ambassador.

Transport

Council drops Blackfriars Road area Low Traffic Neighbourhood

Plans to create a low traffic neighbourhood in the streets west of Blackfriars Road have been pared back by Southwark Council citing 'safety concerns'.

Lambeth

Old Lambeth rectory turned into £15 million mansion

The former rectory of St Mary-at-Lambeth church next to Lambeth Palace is up for sale with an asking price of £15 million.