241125 BBC London, Evening News

Thanks, Rita. Good to have you with us on BBC London. Coming up tonight, with the budget imminent, cashstrapped London council's call on the chancellor to help

balance their books.

>> A number of savings have been uh taken over a number of years, and you're getting to the point now where, you know, it's getting to real rock bottom.

Also on the program, why this smooth resurfaced road is causing concern for hundreds of residents in South London.

Plus, the race to rescue London's rare and endangered and very tiny hairy snail found along the temps.

And taking us back to the golden age of London Underground, art deco style posters from the 1920s and 30s go on display.

Hello and a very warm welcome to the program. With the budget fast

program. With the budget fast approaching, London's local authorities are calling on the government to give them financial stability. The funding

gap for the capital's burers is expected to rise to almost5 billion pounds over the next three years. That's according

to London councils as the cost of providing statutory services like temporary accommodation for homeless residents as well as adults and children's social care soarses. Our

political reporter Susanna Mandansa has been finding out what some burers want to hear from the chancellor on Wednesday.

>> 2-year-old Omar and his dad have come in for a checkup. This family hub in Wolf Stow run by the local council offers help with everything from health to housing.

>> It's good for us um to get support and when they got they got support we going to get the same support as well. And I'm

happy to see this service running.

>> And do you want the government to be giving more money to councils?

>> Definitely. Yes.

>> That's what Wolvin Forest which is expected to overspend by 31 million this year and London councils as a whole want to see in the budget. We've got one in 50 Londoners who is in temporary

accommodation. That's one in 21

accommodation. That's one in 21 children. To house them, which we must

children. To house them, which we must do, we get less money from government than we do for social housing. So, we're

asking for that kind of um reform to make it fairer so that we can really as well as um house building, we can help those families out of temporary accommodation into settled

accommodation. Temporary modular homes

accommodation. Temporary modular homes like this one could be one answer to cutting the cost of housing homeless families in host and hotels. According

to Havering Council, which is planning to put up some of these on a plot of land in Romford, where a building project stalled, this burough is one of seven in London so far that have needed emergency financial support from the

government, otherwise known as permission to borrow, just to keep balancing its books. You're getting to the point now where, you know, it's getting to real rock bottom. And

obviously, you know, last year we had to close libraries, which wasn't very very popular, but it wasn't something that we particularly wanted to do, but again, it was a necessity to ensure that we can

make those savings. London Council says the funding gap across all of London's local authorities combined is expected to be1 billion pounds this year and it's warning that around half of London's

burrows could need exceptional financial support within the next 3 years to avoid effectively going bankrupt. I asked

shoppers in Romford what they thought the chancellor should do >> just to reduce the bureaucracy. That is

the most important thing. So I don't think the council needs additional funding.

>> You need to pay tax. We don't get these the hospitals and the police and our rubbish collected and the schools for nothing. We have to contribute and but

nothing. We have to contribute and but it's got to be done fairly. New powers

to get tourists to pay a so-called overnight stay levy or tourist tax is another idea that London councils have been pushing for as well as transport infrastructure to unlock new home building projects. But suggestions the

building projects. But suggestions the government could be looking at charging higher taxes on more expensive properties is getting less of a warm welcome. That won't really help a

welcome. That won't really help a burough like Orphan Forest. It might

help some of the inner London burs because most of our council tax uh comes from people who live in much smaller, less valuable properties. So what I would really like to see is the

government take this time to properly reform council tax. The treasury said the chancellor would take the fair choices needed to build a secure future in London and beyond. We'll hear what

those choices are on budget day. Susanna

Mandansa, BBC London.

>> Well, our political editor Carl Mercer is with me. Hi Carl. Um Susanna outlines a lot of the issues facing councils there, but they might have to wait a little longer to find out what sort of money or help they might get.

>> Yeah, and they are really tough choices for the councils. They've been warning for for months that they are in serious financial difficulties. Um, I think

financial difficulties. Um, I think we'll get a broad steer about the direction the government want to go in in terms of local government funding, but they won't get the numbers until just before Christmas. What a nice

Christmas present they will be hoping for. Um, then they'll crunch the numbers

for. Um, then they'll crunch the numbers and Londoners crucially probably won't find out what they're paying in their council taxes until the early spring.

>> Now, we have been hearing for a while some sort of drip feed speculation. What

about the potential wealth or mansion taxes that could be heading London's way? We've heard a lot of this being dri

way? We've heard a lot of this being dri as you say one of the proposals that is is floating around is a 1% charge on the value of homes over2 million which would disproportionately affect London

something like 2/3 of the homes over that value um in the country are in London something like 85,000 homes and the other thing being floated the idea of possible increases for bands FG and H

in council tax the highest bands again something that would hit the capital the most but after all the speculation Just two more sleeps to go till we find out.

>> I have a feeling we'll hear from you before then. But Carl, thank you very

before then. But Carl, thank you very much indeed. Our political editor, Carl

much indeed. Our political editor, Carl Messer.

Now for a look at some of the day's other news. Detectives hunting the

other news. Detectives hunting the killer of a 62year-old man in South London have called it a senseless and shocking act of violence. Michael Burrow

suffered a head injury in the attack in Kennington last Thursday and died in hospital two days later. His family say he was a devoted father and grandfather with a heart of gold.

Injunctions stopping environmental protesters from blocking major roads in London have been lifted by a high court judge. Two orders against Insulate

judge. Two orders against Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil were made in May and June 2023, preventing activists from blocking major thorough affairs such as Marble Arch Park Lane and

Vauxhall Bridge. Today, a judge

Vauxhall Bridge. Today, a judge concluded it wasn't appropriate for the injunction to continue.

And a consultation's been launched over plans to expand an official beauty spot in Surrey. National England wants to

in Surrey. National England wants to make an order designating another 50 square miles to the Surrey Hills national landscape. First assigned in

national landscape. First assigned in 1958, its boundary has not been reviewed since, despite repeated calls by campaigners over the years.

And you can always find more stories and the latest updates where you live on your local BBC News website or via the BBC News app.

A man who's accused of murdering a woman in Tottenham has now been charged with a second murder. Simon Levy, who's 40, is

second murder. Simon Levy, who's 40, is accused of carrying out the attacks months apart. Well, our home affairs

months apart. Well, our home affairs correspondent Sonia Jessup joins me. Um,

what have police said? Well, Simon Levy is 40 years old. He's from Tottenham and he is already due to stand trial next year over the murder of a 39year-old

woman, Cheryl Wilkins. She was found dead in High Road in Tottenham in August. This afternoon, the police and

August. This afternoon, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service have said that he has also been charged with the murder of a second woman and she's

Carmensa Valencia Trueilla. Uh she was 54 years old from Colombia. She was

found dead in the stairwell of a building on the Ellsbury estate in Soduk in March. Now, Simon Levy was arrested

in March. Now, Simon Levy was arrested at the time in connection with that, but not charged. He's due to appear before

not charged. He's due to appear before Westminster magistrates via video link tomorrow. He's also awaiting trial for

tomorrow. He's also awaiting trial for the rape of another woman. Uh this that attack's alleged to have taken place in January in Haringay as well as charged with grievous bodily harm with intent

and nonfatal strangulation. Police are

appealing for anyone with information that could assist their inquiries to come forward.

>> Okay, Sonia, many thanks for the latest on that. That's our home affairs

on that. That's our home affairs correspondent, Sonia Jess.

You're watching BBC London. Still to

come this Monday evening.

How 72 lives and a community in West London will be remembered took a step forward today as a design team was selected to create a permanent memorial on the site of the Grenfell Tower. The

architect company Freehouse from London will work with berieved families, survivors, and the local community in North Kensington to produce the final design. The company say they're honored

design. The company say they're honored to be chosen. Aisha Bak can tell us more.

Grenfell Tower is slowly disappearing from the skyline of West London. And for

now, these are the tributes to the 72 people who lost their lives as a result of the fire. Now, a design team has been chosen to create a permanent memorial here. It follows lengthy research and

here. It follows lengthy research and consultation with bereaveved survivors and local residents, including Abbas Dadu, who lives on the local Lancaster West estate.

>> This company was the best out of all of them. Um so I encourage everybody to get

them. Um so I encourage everybody to get involved. This is a exciting uh phase of

involved. This is a exciting uh phase of the collective effort to create a fitting memorial that um brief survivors

and local community deserve to have.

>> The architects Freehouse have previously worked on the Africa Center in Suk and the refurbishment of the Clement James Center in North Kensington. The company

say they're honored to have been chosen and designing the memorial is a responsibility not to be taken lightly.

>> Local resident Sam Badani says their involvement in Grenfell is about more than their technical ability.

>> There's always technical experts you can bring in. But if you lack committee

bring in. But if you lack committee engagement, if you are not able to build trust with the grful community, then the design and this process will fail. And

Freehouse were quite great at that.

Well, not everyone is so positive about the design team chosen and the process of how they have been picked. Some

people have left the commission. Others

say they're angry at the way the government has handled the tower being brought down floor by floor without justice.

And there are many different ideas around what the final design could eventually contain. What we're hoping

eventually contain. What we're hoping for is a place of peace, tranquility, a place for reflection. We also want the names of our uh loved ones who have been

lost to be represented in the garden.

For me personally, apart from the sound of maybe water and the visuals of flowers in the garden, I do want height as well so it can be seen from distance

just like the tower was and just like the fire was on that night. What I'd

like to see is also a piece of the black burnt tower perhaps behind glass and also a part of it that you can go near

it and smell it because that is really the result of negligence and greed and putting uh profit before human lives. As

the Grenfell community waits for justice over the next few years, the architects say they will work closely with all those affected. Aisha Buck, BBC London.

those affected. Aisha Buck, BBC London.

Now to something that can divide opinion, speed bumps and the residents of a South London suburb who say their street has become more dangerous after speed humps were removed during recent

works to resurface the road. Some people

claim drivers are now regularly hitting speeds of up to 50 mph and want the speed humps reinstated. Michael McKenzie

reports from West Wickham.

>> Hall's Lane was once dotted with speed humps. Now it's a newly resurfaced

humps. Now it's a newly resurfaced stretch of smooth tarmac, but residents say the improvements have come at a cost. But the savings are about

cost. But the savings are about 24,0002,000 a hump given that they last at least 10 years, maybe 20 years. That saving is

minuscule compared to the cost of accidents. And

what we saw right from the very beginning immediately was a very substantial increase in speeding and the use of this road as a rat run.

>> And Gary's not the only person to be disappointed. I was a member of the

disappointed. I was a member of the people that fought for the speed humps.

Then after we got them, the cars never hit each other.

>> Since we haven't had the humps, we've seen a large number of cars going well over 30. Um, we've got three schools at

over 30. Um, we've got three schools at the end. Um, and when you come out of

the end. Um, and when you come out of your drive with a car, you know, you think there there isn't a car then, then suddenly it's there.

>> When the speed humps were here, there was a disincentive to come down here and and that disincentive has gone. And with

a long straight road, new smooth surface, uh it seems to be a lot more cars come down here and they come down a lot faster.

>> In a statement from Brmley Council, they said it has been our policy for many years not to install road humps and not to replace existing ones when a road is

resurfaced. Speed humps impede emergency

resurfaced. Speed humps impede emergency services and cause vibration to neighboring properties. Four of the

neighboring properties. Four of the roads here in West Wickham have been resurfaced that did have speed humps, including the one we're on now, Hall's Lane.

For now, most of the road remains humpf free, but the campaign is gathering momentum. Michael McKenzie, BBC London.

momentum. Michael McKenzie, BBC London.

>> It's 6:46. Thanks for being with us.

Later on, Kate will have the full forecast for us. And after a soggy Saturday afternoon, is there anything brighter on the horizon? I'm not sure about brighter riz. It's certainly been quite a chilly start this week, but

there is something just a little bit less cold as we head towards the end of the week, but I'll have the full details at the end of the program.

>> Okay, we'll see you later. Thanks, Kate.

To something slower now. and the rare and endangered German hairy snail found along the banks of the river temps. The

hunt for them made all the more challenging as they are smaller than your fingernail. Conservationists hope

your fingernail. Conservationists hope to map the snail riverside habitats to protect them. Bry Williams has the story

protect them. Bry Williams has the story for us.

>> Hunting for an extremely rare type of snail. Ah,

snail. Ah, >> Bri, I think we found some.

>> Oh, excellent.

So, these are the German hairy snails that we're looking for.

>> Come on over. Come on.

>> I will try not to fall over as I come to you, but these are most amazing. Very

smaller than you first expect. You can

see here we've actually got one, two, three, and I think there's a fourth hiding over here. But you can see they're really small, but they're

covered in these amazing tiny little hairs that help give them their name.

Luckily, Elliot Newton from Citizen Zoo is an expert and knows where to find them along the river in Richmond upon temps.

>> What we think they like is of near the river's edge. The temps is just here and

river's edge. The temps is just here and this is like the tidal temp. So, the

water is coming in and out. You can see it's quite wet underfoot. They love

hiding in these little nooks and crannies and they'll help to sort of in part they'll help to break it down part of that sort of nitrogen cycling. But

this this is the sort of perfect habitat that we think and these these hairs have helped them in a way to stick on to these these sort of these bits of sort of fallen deadwood.

>> They're an endangered species in the UK and for the first time conservationists have teamed up to find out more about them to understand and protect them better. The German hernail is really

better. The German hernail is really rare basically because we've built on their preferred habitat. As you can imagine, as they sort of survived in London um over the last few thousand

years, London's grown and become our capital city. So, incrementally over

capital city. So, incrementally over time, we've begun to lose the really important wetland habitat. Um because

they love living on that strand line between between the rivers and the dry land. So even though we're here in

land. So even though we're here in London, you might be wondering why they're called the German hairy snail.

Well, it's thought they've been in the UK since the ice age or even before when the river Temps and the river Rine in Germany were still connected. The

mollisks are also found in East London around the Bobac rivers and along the river Medway in Kent. The snail survey has already been running for the past few weeks and finishes at the end of

November. Over a hundred volunteers are

November. Over a hundred volunteers are going across the tempames and its tributaries looking for these amazingly rare mollisks and just trying to see how they're getting on. And then hopefully next year we'll have a good understanding of how many there are and

then we can put forward some really good conservation recommendations for them.

>> And all with the hope the preservation of the species doesn't move at a snail's pace. Bri Williams, BBC London.

pace. Bri Williams, BBC London.

>> Now if there's a footballer flying high this year, it's him. Eberi. In May, he won the FA Cup for his former club Crystal Palace. While yesterday, he

Crystal Palace. While yesterday, he became the first Arsenal player since the 1970s to score a hat-tick in a North London derby. It was against Spurs. Not

London derby. It was against Spurs. Not

bad for a boy from Southeast London who played football as there wasn't much else to do with his friends. Here's

Assad Ahmed >> on the big stage.

>> You can understand the smiles. Crystal

Palace waited 120 years for a trophy and a winning goal in the cup final. Eberz

came along and in May he provided both by >> that might be enough of a career highlight for most 20somes but not EZ.

As an Arsenal fan and now player, he knows the North London derby is a big deal. Scoring in it is an even bigger

deal. Scoring in it is an even bigger deal. getting a hat-tick in it or a

deal. getting a hat-tick in it or a hat-tick as we've seen at the weekend in the North London derby of all games uh would have been something that he could have only dreamed of maybe a few years ago. He talked about um his faith. He

ago. He talked about um his faith. He

talks about his faith a lot and he talked about the fact that he prayed for that ahead of the game. Well, it's come good on the day and you have to say it's fully deserved.

>> I have a feeling it might a hometown hero there. Next, let's take you back

hero there. Next, let's take you back more than a century to a golden age for design. The art deco movement was at its

design. The art deco movement was at its peak and it was a time when poster advertising was just taking off. These

designs were put up at tube stations in the 1920s and30s. The aim was to encourage people to travel and explore on the network. Anna O'Neal has been to

the London Transport Museum where they're now on display.

London in the 1920s. The First World War had recently ended and people all across Britain were looking to shake off the past and look to the future. The poster

was the main form of advertising and the head of London Transport as it was known was ahead of his time.

>> Frank Pic, the man that's depicted behind me there, he was in charge of the undergrounds publicity. He saw the

undergrounds publicity. He saw the opportunity for commissioning pictorial posters for the first time, which was quite a new thing at that point in history. Um and that became a really

history. Um and that became a really useful and dominant marketing tool that the underground used for decades afterwards.

>> People are always also encouraged to go out and enjoy the green spaces.

>> At the same time, a new art movement was flourishing here and abroad, a style which we now call art deco and whose bright colors and simple graphic lines

worked perfectly for posters.

>> It's a mass art movement. It's artist

and decoration is being produced on a scale that's never been seen before. A

lot of these goods are mass and and posters are mass- prodduced and everybody's getting in on the act.

>> This exhibition called the golden age of poster design features more than a hundred posters from the 1920s and 1930s, a time where people really wanted

an aspirational lifestyle. And London

Underground's graphic art in the form of the poster embraced and encouraged that.

A lot of the posters, their emphasis was on uh the destination, where you were going, you know, what you could enjoy by using the network to get you there. So,

it was often, you know, visits to the zoo, to Q gardens, to museums and galleries like this one, um the countryside in and around London, the kind of historic occasions that you could go to, the sporting occasions, all

of these kinds of things. So, it wasn't about showing, you know, a tube train or a bus.

>> These artworks are timeless and they're also really varied. So we had a lot of well-known designers who designed for London Transport, but also some lesserknown designers and a lot of

female designers as well. You know, it was quite difficult for women to be um artist and designers in the 1920s. Um so

it really showed how modern London Transport was um how progressive they were. A lot of the posters show uh

were. A lot of the posters show uh people doing aspirational things dressed in the latest fashions. So, I think it really has kind of a glamorous and opulent feel that I think people will enjoy.

>> Art Deco, the golden age of poster design runs at the London Transport Museum until spring 2027. Anna O'Neal,

BBC London.

>> Right, she teased us earlier with some milder weather. Let's get a check on

milder weather. Let's get a check on this week's weather with Kate. And

that's quite a picture behind you.

>> Thank you very much. It's not mine. It's

Nicholas in Kensington or Chelsea.

Earlier on today, we had a lot of cloud.

That's how we've started this week.

We've also got a bit of a northerly flow. Now, it's fooled us a little bit

flow. Now, it's fooled us a little bit because last week it was very cold. It

was chilly today, but not as cold as last week. And we had a lot of rain over

last week. And we had a lot of rain over the weekend. We had some light rain and

the weekend. We had some light rain and drizzle through today and we just hung on to this cloud. There were a few brighter spells mixed in, but this is what's been happening. The low pressure around the outside. We've had the cloud

feeding in and with it those outbreaks of rain as well. Now, as we head into this evening, we're still going to get a bit of cloud. We still could get one or two of those showers driven through on that northwesterly. But as we head

that northwesterly. But as we head further through the night, it does become drier and it should become clearer as well. That cloud will start to disappear. Quite a chilly night, 2 to

to disappear. Quite a chilly night, 2 to four Celsius. So, in single figures, but

four Celsius. So, in single figures, but a bright start as we head into Tuesday.

We should see a bit more sunshine in comparison to today. There is more cloud in the afternoon seeking south, but on the whole, it's dry and it's bright.

Temperatures tomorrow getting up to somewhere between 6 and 8 Celsius. We

still have that northwesterly. It's

still going to feel quite cold. Then

overnight Tuesday, ridge of high pressure. It starts to build. It will

pressure. It starts to build. It will

squeeze that cloud out of the way. The

wind a bit lighter. The temperature

drops. So we're looking at a widespread frost as we head into Wednesday morning.

Minus 3. So quite a chilly start to Wednesday, but a bright one. Sunshine in

the morning, but as we head further through Wednesday, we'll start to be see a bit more cloud moving in from the west. And that marks this milder air

west. And that marks this milder air when it's likely to arrive. Still going

to be cold on Wednesday, 67 Celsius the maximum. Then overnight Wednesday, we've

maximum. Then overnight Wednesday, we've got some rain. This is happening. You

see this milder air flooding in the colder air exiting out towards the east.

So between these two fronts, the warm front and the cold front, the temperature dragged in is going to feel quite warm in comparison to today, tomorrow, by Thursday, we're looking at

14 Celsius. So quite the leap, but it

14 Celsius. So quite the leap, but it also means overnight as well. In fact,

overnight Wednesday or rather Thursday into Friday, the temperature is not going to drop much below 10 Celsius in central London. So certainly frostfree,

central London. So certainly frostfree, a much milder end to the week. And

>> welcome 14 degrees. Thanks, Kate.

A quick reminder now of the main headlines. The US says big progress has

headlines. The US says big progress has been made on the Ukraine peace talks as Ukraine's president Zalinski warns giving territory to Russia is the main

obstacle in securing a deal. And here a three-year-old boy has stunned doctors with his progress after becoming the first person in the world with his devastating disease to receive a

groundbreaking gene therapy. Oliver Chu

has a rare inherited condition called Hunter syndrome, which causes progressive damage to the body and brain.

And that is where we leave you. By the

way, if you're planning some festive shopping this week and you missed our story on the Royal Christmas Market outside Buckingham Palace that doesn't exist except on AI, check it out on BBC

London's Instagram. It's been viewed by

London's Instagram. It's been viewed by millions. Also there, the London church

millions. Also there, the London church that's had a green glow up. From all of us on the team, thanks very much for watching and do have a lovely evening.

Bye-bye.