Boris Johnson has announced new tax rate Photo:©Crossrail

Local traders  have expressed anger at a looming “tidal wave” of tax that is set to hit businesses in April.

Business rates are not set by local authorities. They just collect it for central government.

Business rates in Hackney, for example,  are likely to balloon by an average of 36.5 per cent this year, following the first revaluation of business premises since 2005. Tower Hamlets will also see one of the steepest increase in rates in the Greater London area.

Companies rated above £50,000 will also see a further 2 per cent increase on the official estimate of the property’s value under conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s new business rate supplement to help fund Crossrail. It is estimated this will cost the borough £150,000 annually.

Similarly, in the borough of Croydon, businesses with rateable values of more than £55,000 will also have to pay an extra 2 per cent. (more…)

A window cleaner scales a high-rise building in Canary Wharf. Photo: Ermell

Employers of the daredevil window-cleaners charged with maintaining Britain’s tallest building are backing a government campaign to emphasise safety in the workplace.

Canary Wharf Management Ltd are supporting the Health and Safety Executive’s ‘Shattered Lives’ initiative, which aims to highlight the risk of injuries at work.

Safety is a matter of particular importance to the company, who contract cleaners to wash the glass façades of the Docklands’ numerous skyscrapers.

(more…)

Pupils can play maths games on their Nintendo DS console. Photo: Dekuwa

Afro-Caribbean pupils in twelve Hackney schools are being given handheld games consoles to improve maths scores.

The new Learning Trust pilot scheme encourages students to play brain training games such as Sudoku on the Nintendo DS consoles.

The consoles are being lent out so that the young mathematicians can practice both in school and at home.

A number of schools are involved in the project including Daubeney Primary School, Northwold Primary School, and Tyssen Community Primary School.  (more…)

Photo:Metropolitan Police

Police have released an artist’s impression in a bid to identify a man whose body was discovered in the River Lea.

A member of the public discovered the body in the river, near the Bow Bridge, last December. The man has still not been identified and police hope the artist’s impression and an image of his T-shirt will help establish who he was. (more…)

Members of the Hackney Young Women's Group Photo:Hackney council

A day of arts activities is being held in Hackney on Thursday to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Young women  aged 13-19 are invited to take part at the  ‘We Can Do It!’ event at the Ocean Music Venue in Mare Street. (more…)

Photo:miskan

McDonald’s in Croydon seems to be taking a leaf out of Burger King’s book by flame grilling…

A fire broke out in the Collonades, Purley Way branch of McDonald’s yesterday afternoon at around 4:20pm, leaving up to 200 people out in the cold, as the fast food restaurant and surrounding buildings, including a gym, were evacuated. (more…)

Photo: Proposed Bethnal Green Memorial The Stairway To Heaven Memorial Trust

The worst civilian disaster of World War Two was remembered this weekend in Bethnal Green.

The 67^th anniversary of the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster was marked in memory of the 173 that lost their lives in a panic on the stairs of Bethnal Green underground station on March 3, 1943.

The Tube station was being used as a shelter to protect civilians from German bombs but the panic that set created the accident was the result of friendly fire when the British army  tested their guns in Victoria Park.

Amongst the people attending the service were the few remaining survivors and those who lost their loved ones in the tragedy.

Derek Spicer of the ‘Stairway To Heaven Memorial Trust’ said: “The service is even more important this year than ever.  Some of the local community weren’t even aware of it”.

The ‘Stairway to Heaven Memorial Trust’ was set up to raise more than £600,000 to erect a statue to commemorate the lives of those who were crushed. If the Trust receives enough support, it will be placed above the underground entrance, displaying the names of those who were lost.

At the moment, all that marks the fatalities of 1943 is a plaque at the station staircase.

So far, the charity has raised £200,000 and representatives from the Trust will be collecting at Bethnal Green tube station this Friday.

Alternatively, if you would like to donate, please visit http://www.stairwaytoheavenmemorial.org/

Photo: Frankybaby

Workers went without showers, punters peered through closed shop windows, and lunchers went hungry in Shoreditch yesterday as a seven-hour power cut plunged part of East London into darkness.

Nearly 2,000 homes and businesses from Aldgate to Old Street lost electricity at 7.23am yesterday morning, and power was not fully restored until mid-afternoon. Even traffic lights went out, causing chaos at the busy four-way junction of Bishopsgate and Shoreditch High Street. (more…)

Photo: Andy Pag with his trusty Biotruck The Biotruck Expedition

A Croydon environmental activist faces up to three years in jail in northern India, for using a satellite phone.

Andy Pag from Thornton Heath was forced to abort plans to travel the world in a vehicle run from vegetable oil, after spending all his money on legal fees.

The campaigner was arrested on January 13 in Rajasthan for violating local communication laws. He was given a bail of 40,000 rupees (£540) but is still awaiting trial after almost two  months.

He was initially charged with terrorism offences, carrying a jail sentence of up to 10 years, but reported on his Twitter account that these had been dropped.

His plight contrasts with that of a Polish man arrested for a similar offence; Bronobis Robert was fined 1,000 rupees and released after only a day’s trial. Police said he was dealt with rapidly because he did not have any “ill intentions.”

Mr Pag, who has dual Italian and British nationality, has driven through France, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia and Greece. He used more than 500 litres of fuel made from used cooking oil found thrown out by restaurants along the journey.

On his blog, Mr Pag describes The Biotruck Expedition as “a 12 month expedition to drive around the world to discover how people are using and generating energy, and their attitudes towards carbon emissions… I want to see if I can travel on a sustainable carbon budget.”

He is appealing for people to write to the Indian Minister of Home Affairs, the Indian High Commissioner in London and the Indian High Commissioner in Rome to put pressure on the investigating officer, Superintendent Tak of Ajmer police, Rajasthan, to speed up the trial.

To help, email Mr P Chidambaram, the Indian Minister of Home Affairs on hm@nic.in, Mr Nalin Surie, the Indian High Commissioner in London on administration@hcilondon.in and Mr Arif Shahid Khan, the Indian Ambassador in Rome on gen.email@indianembassy.it.

Photo: Artist impression of proposed Hijab Gates

After sparking 158 objections and not a single letter of support, residents of the Brick Lane area now have reason to celebrate. (more…)