9:48am Thursday 13th November 2008
I read with interest the challenge to Boris Johnson laid down by the Guardian and South London Business in last week’s newspaper, calling on the Mayor to support business across the 12 boroughs in south London.
The Mayor has already announced that he is developing an economic recovery plan, to be published by Christmas, in conjunction with a range of sectors including small companies and business groups. The plan will involve the whole of London, including the economies of the outer boroughs that are so vital to keeping London going.
Expected elements of the plan will involve refocusing the £400m London Development Agency budget towards skills training, promoting jobs and economic growth; investing £600m in training; pushing ahead with infrastructure projects, such as the East London extension to West Croydon and the tram network’s expansion; delivering more affordable housing by removing the restrictive targets that made many developments unviable in favour of more realistic and flexible targets; and bringing in more energy efficiency programmes to help London businesses cut their energy bills.
These are just a selection of the schemes that will be brought forward by the Mayor over the coming months to benefit Londoners and London business, including those across south London, and ensure that the capital remains a world class business city in a prime position to recover from the slump as soon as possible and in as strong a position as possible.
STEVE O’CONNELL
London Assembly Member for Croydon and Sutton
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