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influencermagazineuk · 6 months

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Pedaling into the Future: Electric Bikes Redefine Transportation Norms in the UK

The United Kingdom, a nation known for its rich history, cultural diversity, and iconic landmarks, is also at the forefront of a silent revolution in transportation. In recent years, electric bikes, or e-bikes, have been steadily gaining popularity across the UK, reshaping traditional commuting habits and redefining the norms of transportation. This shift towards e-bikes represents not only a response to environmental concerns but also a testament to the evolving needs and preferences of modern urban dwellers. The Rise of Electric Bikes in the UK Electric bikes have emerged as a compelling alternative to conventional modes of transportation in the UK. With growing concerns over air pollution, traffic congestion, and the need for sustainable mobility solutions, e-bikes offer a promising avenue for addressing these challenges. Their popularity has surged in urban centers like London, Manchester, and Edinburgh, where commuters seek efficient and eco-friendly ways to navigate through bustling city streets. Advantages of Electric Bikes E-bikes provide numerous advantages over traditional bicycles and motor vehicles. One of the most significant benefits is their ability to effortlessly tackle hills and long distances, making commuting more accessible to a wider demographic. Additionally, e-bikes offer a cost-effective and environmentally friendly mode of transportation, as they require minimal maintenance and produce zero emissions during operation. Furthermore, with advancements in battery technology, modern e-bikes boast impressive ranges and charging capabilities, allowing riders to travel farther distances with ease. Overcoming Barriers to Adoption While the adoption of e-bikes is on the rise, several barriers still exist that hinder their widespread acceptance. High upfront costs and concerns over battery longevity remain primary obstacles for potential buyers. Moreover, the lack of dedicated infrastructure, such as bike lanes and charging stations, poses challenges for integrating e-bikes into existing transportation networks. Addressing these barriers will be crucial in fostering a more conducive environment for e-bike adoption across the UK. Government Initiatives and Policy Support Recognizing the potential of e-bikes to transform urban mobility, the UK government has taken proactive steps to encourage their uptake. Initiatives such as subsidies for e-bike purchases, incentives for businesses to invest in e-bike fleets, and funding for infrastructure improvements have been introduced to accelerate the transition towards sustainable transportation. Additionally, local authorities have implemented measures to promote cycling, including bike-sharing schemes and the expansion of cycling networks, further supporting the growth of e-bike usage. Changing Commuting Patterns The growing popularity of e-bikes is reshaping commuting patterns in the UK, with more people opting for two-wheeled electric transportation. Commuters are embracing e-bikes as a practical solution for short to medium-distance travel, particularly in congested urban areas where traditional modes of transportation struggle to keep pace with demand. This shift towards e-bike commuting not only reduces traffic congestion but also contributes to improved air quality and public health outcomes. E-Bikes and the Gig Economy E-bikes are also playing a significant role in the gig economy, where delivery riders rely on them for efficient and reliable transportation. Companies like Deliveroo and Uber Eats have integrated e-bikes into their delivery fleets, enabling riders to fulfill orders faster while reducing operational costs. The agility and versatility of e-bikes make them ideal for navigating crowded city streets and making multiple deliveries in a single trip, enhancing the efficiency of last-mile logistics operations. Environmental Implications The transition to e-bikes carries profound environmental implications, as it represents a shift towards cleaner and more sustainable forms of transportation. By replacing traditional gas-powered vehicles with electrically assisted bicycles, the UK can significantly reduce its carbon footprint and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. Moreover, e-bikes promote active transportation and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, thereby fostering a healthier and more environmentally conscious society. Technological Innovations and Future Trends As technology continues to advance, the future of e-bikes holds exciting possibilities. Innovations such as regenerative braking, integrated GPS navigation systems, and smart connectivity features are poised to enhance the functionality and user experience of e-bikes. Furthermore, the emergence of lightweight and compact e-bike designs, coupled with improvements in battery efficiency, will make electric cycling even more accessible and appealing to a broader audience. Challenges and Opportunities Ahead Despite the promising outlook for e-bikes in the UK, there are challenges that must be addressed to fully realize their potential. These include concerns regarding road safety, regulatory frameworks, and public perceptions of electric cycling. However, with proactive measures and collaborative efforts from policymakers, industry stakeholders, and the community, these challenges can be overcome. By leveraging the opportunities presented by e-bikes, such as reducing congestion, improving air quality, and promoting active lifestyles, the UK can pave the way for a more sustainable and inclusive transportation ecosystem. Embracing innovation and embracing change will be essential as we pedal into the future of electric biking in the UK. Conclusion The rise of electric hybrid bikes in the UK represents a transformative shift in transportation norms, driven by a combination of environmental awareness, technological innovation, and evolving consumer preferences. As e-bikes become increasingly integrated into urban landscapes, they offer a sustainable and efficient solution to the challenges of modern mobility. With continued government support, infrastructure investment, and technological advancements, electric bikes are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of transportation in the UK and beyond. Pedalling into the future, e-bikes are poised to redefine the way we move, ushering in a new era of cleaner, greener, and more accessible transportation for all. Read the full article

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lm25courier · 7 months

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Sameday Courier London: Delivering Efficiency at Your Doorstep

Introduction

In today's fast-paced world, the need for swift and reliable courier services has never been greater. Whether you're a business in need of urgent document delivery or an individual requiring a last-minute parcel sent across London, the demand for same-day courier services is undeniable. That's where Sameday Courier London steps in, providing a seamless solution to your urgent delivery needs.

Understanding Sameday Courier Services

Sameday courier services are tailored to meet the urgent delivery needs of businesses and individuals. Unlike traditional courier services, which may take days to deliver packages, same-day couriers guarantee prompt delivery within hours of booking.

Benefits of Sameday Courier Services

Prompt Delivery: With same-day courier services, you can rest assured that your package will reach its destination swiftly.

Convenience: Say goodbye to long waiting times and tedious tracking processes. Sameday Courier London offers a hassle-free experience, allowing you to focus on your priorities.

Reliability: Whether it's an important document or a fragile item, you can trust Sameday Courier London to handle your package with care and deliver it intact.

How Sameday Courier London Works

Upon booking a delivery, Sameday Courier London dispatches a dedicated courier to collect your package promptly. Utilizing advanced route optimization algorithms, the courier navigates through London's bustling streets to ensure the fastest possible delivery.

Coverage Area and Delivery Network

Sameday Courier London boasts an extensive coverage area, encompassing all corners of London and its surrounding areas. Whether you're in the heart of the city or the outskirts, rest assured that our couriers can reach you promptly.

Pricing and Affordability

Despite offering premium same-day delivery services, Sameday Courier London remains committed to affordability. Our transparent pricing structure ensures that you get value for your money without compromising on quality.

Technology Integration for Tracking and Updates

With real-time tracking capabilities, you can monitor the progress of your delivery every step of the way. Receive instant updates on your package's whereabouts, giving you peace of mind throughout the journey.

Customer Support and Satisfaction

At Sameday Courier London, customer satisfaction is our top priority. Our dedicated support team is available round-the-clock to address any queries or concerns you may have, ensuring a seamless delivery experience.

Environmental Responsibility

In addition to providing efficient delivery services, Sameday Courier London is committed to minimizing its environmental impact. Through the adoption of eco-friendly practices and sustainable logistics solutions, we strive to contribute positively to the environment.

Ensuring the Safety and Security of Shipments

Your package's safety is paramount to us. From secure handling during transit to rigorous quality checks upon delivery, Sameday Courier London goes the extra mile to safeguard your shipments.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q: Is Sameday Courier London available 24/7?

A: Yes, Sameday A: Courier London operates round-the-clock to cater to your urgent delivery needs.

Q: How soon can I expect my package to be delivered?

A: Depending on the pickup and delivery locations, Sameday Courier London strives to deliver your package within hours of booking.

Q: Are there any restrictions on the type of items that can be delivered?

A: While Sameday Courier London accepts a wide range of shipments, certain hazardous or prohibited items may be restricted. Please refer to our guidelines or contact customer support for clarification.

Q: What if my package is damaged during transit?

A: In the rare event of damage during transit, Sameday Courier London offers comprehensive insurance coverage to compensate for any losses incurred.

Q: Can I track my package in real time?

A: Yes, Sameday Courier London provides real-time tracking capabilities, allowing you to monitor your package's journey from pickup to delivery.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Sameday Courier London offers a reliable and efficient solution to your urgent delivery needs. With prompt service, transparent pricing, and a commitment to customer satisfaction, we are your trusted partner in navigating London's bustling logistics landscape.

#Sameday courier London #Safe courier service #Same day delivery service

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spacenutspod · 10 months

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On Dec. 17, 1903, humanity’s long-held dream of flying came true. Ideas of flying date back centuries, from the Greek legend of Icarus and Daedalus, to kite flying in China, to the development of hydrogen-filled balloons in 18th century France, to early experiments with gliders in 19th century England and Germany. Around the turn of the 20th century, advances in engine technology and aerodynamics enabled powered flight using heavier-than-air machines, but attempts by leading designers proved unsuccessful. The honor of the first sustained and controlled flight of a powered heavier-than-air aircraft went to two bicycle shop owners from Dayton, Ohio, Orville and Wilbur Wright. The brothers combined the mechanical experience from their business with the fundamental breakthrough invention of three-axis control to enable them to steer the aircraft and maintain its equilibrium. Their 12-second flight changed the world forever. Left: Orville Wright during the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft; Wilbur is standing to the right of the aircraft. Right: The Wrights’ third flight on Dec. 17, 1903. Image credits: courtesy National Park Service. After several unsuccessful attempts, on Dec. 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright completed the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft known as the Wright Flyer. The flight lasted just 12 seconds, traveled 120 feet, and reached a top speed of 6.8 miles per hour. Amazing for the day, one of the five people to witness this historic first flight snapped a photograph of the event. The brothers completed three more flights that day, taking turns piloting, the longest traveling 852 feet in 59 seconds. The highest altitude reached in any of the flights was about 10 feet. The aircraft sustained damage at the end of its fourth flight, and gusty winds tipped it over, wrecking it beyond repair. The aircraft never flew again, but Orville took the wreckage home to Ohio and restored it. It went on display at the London Science Museum until 1948 when the Smithsonian Institution took ownership. Visitors can view the Wright Flyer in the Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C. Distant view of the Wright Flyer, at left, after its fourth flight on Dec. 17, 1903. Image credit: courtesy Library of Congress. Bronze statues recreate the day of the first powered flight at the Wright Brothers National Memorial near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Image credit: courtesy National Park Service. Left: Wilbur, left, and Orville Wright. Image credit: courtesy Carillon Historical Park. Right: The Wright Flyer at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C. Image credit: courtesy NASM. The Wrights continued flying, building more and more advanced aircraft, and paving the way for future aerial explorers. By 1905, they completed a 24-mile flight in their Flyer III. Others in the United States and Europe made advances in the rapidly expanding field of aviation, and World War I (1914-1918) saw the first use of aircraft in warfare. The first scheduled commercial passenger flight took place on Jan. 1, 1914, between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, shortening travel between the two cities by more than 90 minutes. The Post Office emerged as one of the first major users of airplanes to speed up the delivery of mail across the country. Left: Seal of NACA, including an illustration of the first flight at Kitty Hawk. Middle: Seal of NASA. Right: Apollo 14 Lunar Module Kitty Hawk on the surface of the Moon. Within a dozen years after the first powered flight, the U.S. government formed the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) to advance the field of aeronautics. Research conducted at NACA facilities – Langley Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia; Ames Aeronautical Laboratory in Mountain View, California; Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio; and Muroc Flight Test Unit at Edwards Air Force Base near Lancaster, California – led to breakthroughs that greatly advanced the field of aeronautics including supersonic flight. In 1958, in response to Soviet advances in space flight, the U.S. government established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a civilian agency to lead American space activities. At its core, the new agency incorporated NACA’s facilities and employees. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave NASA the goal of landing a man on the Moon within the decade. Just 65 years after the Wrights made their pioneering flight on the sands of Kitty Hawk, Apollo 11 astronauts left humanity’s first footprints on the dusty surface of the Moon. To honor the Wrights’ accomplishment, the Apollo 14 astronauts named their Lunar Module Kitty Hawk. Left: Display of the wood and fabric pieces of the Wright Flyer that Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong took to the Moon. Image credit: courtesy National Air and Space Museum. Right: Display of the pieces of wood and fabric from the Wright Flyer that launched on space shuttle Challenger’s STS-51L mission and recovered from the wreckage. Image credit: courtesy North Carolina Museum of History. Pieces of the Wright Flyer, sometimes called Kitty Hawk, have flown in space, carried there by astronauts with a geographic connection and a sense of history. In 1969, under a special arrangement with the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, like the Wright brothers a native of Ohio, took with him a piece of wood from the Wright Flyer’s left propeller and a piece of muslin fabric (8 by 13 inches) from its upper left wing. The items, stowed in his Lunar Module Eagle personal preference kit, landed with him and fellow astronaut Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin at Tranquility Base, and returned to Earth with third crew member Michael Collins in the Command Module Columbia. Visitors can view these items near the Wright Flyer at the NASM. In 1986, North Carolina native NASA astronaut Michael J. Smith arranged with the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh to take a piece of wood and a swatch of fabric salvaged, and authenticated by Orville Wright, from the damaged Wright Flyer aboard space shuttle Challenger’s STS-51L mission. Although Challenger and its crew perished in the tragic accident, divers recovered the artifacts from the wreckage and visitors can view them at the North Carolina Museum of History. Astronaut John H. Glenn, an Ohioan like the Wrights and Armstrong, took different pieces of the Wright Flyer when he returned to space aboard STS-95 in 1998. In October 2000, North Carolina native NASA astronaut William S. McArthur, on behalf of North Carolina’s First Flight Centennial Commission, flew a piece from the Wright Flyer donated by the National Park Service. McArthur carried a fragment of muslin fabric from the aircraft’s wing to the International Space Station during the STS-92 mission, the 100th space shuttle flight, to promote the then-upcoming 100th anniversary of the first powered flight. Left: The autonomous helicopter Ingenuity, near center of photograph, makes the first powered flight on Mars, imaged by the Perseverance rover. Middle: Routes of the Perseverance rover, white, and the Ingenuity helicopter, yellow, in Mars’ Jezero Crater. Right: A piece of cloth from the Wright Flyer’s wing attached to the underside of Ingenuity’s solar panel. A piece of the Wright Flyer has even traveled beyond the Earth-Moon system. When the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landed in Mars’ Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021, it carried underneath it a four-pound autonomous helicopter named Ingenuity. Engineers attached a small piece of cloth the size of a postage stamp from the Wright Flyer’s wing to a cable underneath the helicopter’s solar panel. On April 19, 2021, when Ingenuity lifted off to a height of 10 feet, it marked the first powered aircraft flight on a world other than Earth. Ingenuity’s first flight lasted 39 seconds in an area NASA named Wright Brothers Field. The United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization gave the field the airport code of JZRO – for Jezero Crater – and the helicopter type designator IGY, with the call-sign INGENUITY. With no humans present to record the event, the Perseverance rover imaged Ingenuity’s first flight. As of Dec. 2, 2023, Ingenuity has completed 67 flights over 947 Sols, far exceeding its technology demonstration goal of five flights over 30 Sols (Martian days), with a total flight time of 2 hours 1 minute 5 seconds, traveling a total distance of 9.6 miles and reaching a maximum altitude of 78.7 feet. Its ground-breaking mission continues, paving the way for future aerial explorers of Mars. Share Details Last Updated Dec 14, 2023 Related TermsNASA History Explore More 3 min read Contributions of the DC-8 to Earth System Science at NASA: A Workshop Article 3 days ago 3 min read 25 Years Ago: NASA, Partners Begin Space Station Assembly Article 1 week ago 14 min read 30 Years Ago: STS-61, the First Hubble Servicing Mission Article 1 week ago

#space #astronomy #news #science

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coopdigitalnewsletter · 2 years

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19 Oct 2022: Amazon: bikes not bots. Can insurance fix climate change? Facebook meh-taverse.

Hello, this is the Co-op Digital newsletter - it’s about what the internet is doing to retail businesses, people, communities and society. Thank you for reading - send ideas and feedback to @rod on Twitter. Please tell a friend about it!

[Image: Amazon]

Amazon: cargo bikes in, robots out

Amazon will spend €1bn to add thousands of electric delivery vehicles and micromobility hubs across UK and the continent, as well as installing fast charging points at warehouses.

“The company currently has around 3,000 zero-emission last-mile delivery vans in Europe. Amazon doesn’t say what percentage of its vans are electric, but does say that these zero-emission vans delivered 100 million packages last year. This investment will allow the company to expand that number to 10,000 vans across Europe by 2025.”

Not just vans:

“Amazon also has “micro-mobility” delivery hubs in 20 European cities that enable delivery by cargo bike and on foot, and it plans to double this network of hubs. Amazon will also buy larger, heavy-duty electric trucks for “middle-mile” shipments. These are vehicles like the Tesla Semi, Freightliner eCascadia, and Volvo VNR electric that move large amounts of goods from ports to distribution centers. Finally, the investment will also cover installation of thousands of chargers at the company’s facilities around the continent.”

More detail on the micromobility hub plans:

“Amazon currently has micromobility hubs in more than 20 cities across Europe, including London, Munich and Paris, and expects to double that figure by the end of 2025. These smaller, centrally-located delivery stations enable deliveries via e-cargo bike and on-foot to bring packages to customers more sustainably.”

However, the home delivery robots are being retired (Starship might be happy at the news?), and 400 people will move to other Amazon teams.

Meanwhile, Uber turns to autonomous vehicle startup Nuro for Eats deliveries - Nuro’s vehicles are designed to carry packages and to travel on public roads.

“Uber Eats customers will be charged the same for delivery, regardless of if it’s a Nuro bot or a human gig worker. However, there may be some cost savings as Nuro bots can’t accept tips.”

Which seems a little unfair to the cute Nuro robotcars. Maybe people will chuck cash inside before the door shuts.

Can insurance fix climate change?

2019: Rising sea levels a manageable concern for re/insurers, says climate expert.

2022: “AXIS Re will completely exit its Property Reinsurance business, which it says is part of its approach to lower volatility from catastrophe risk”.

Insurers have to calculate the likelihood of Bad Things happening, a job that’s getting harder as we dump more carbon/heat into the world (more heat = more change = tougher to predict). So you could think of insurance as an early warning system for climate change. When insuring your house on the coast gets more expensive or impossible, your insurer is telling you it’s getting too risky to live there.

It’s not just buildings insurance. From Jan 2023 re-insurer MunichRe will no longer insure new oil and gas projects. There’s a good explainer of what that means here but basically: high carbon fuel projects are going to find it increasingly hard to get insurance. Insurers raising premiums or turning down oil business may strongly nudge energy firms in a lower carbon direction. (MunichRe’s slogan is “Not if, but how”, maybe they’ll update it to “Not if, but why”.)

Does it make sense to think of climate action *as* insurance?

Products and energy

On the other hand, here’s an useful explanation of just how much modern *stuff* is made from oil and gas industry byproducts:

“Almost all synthetic materials in modern life start near the top of the ladder and are engineered downward in a controlled burn. This makes intuitive sense. The embedded energy to run the process is at least partially inherent in the starting material. Certain high-value materials are worth pushing up the ladder to obtain, but industry evolved the way it did for a reason – it is easier to slowly slide down than climb up.”

This is why swapping out carbon fuels for wind turbines is going to be a long slog. More reading: Vaclav Smil.

Food news

Dairy co-op Arla to pay farmers more for milk if climate targets met.

Making the Case for Intercropping - more than one crop in a field at a time decreases the need for fertilisers.

Dry weather sees Evesham vertical farm's produce demand soar - thanks to weather getting more unpredictable.

Supermarket push to cut waste hits Fareshare food bank donations - demand for food banks surges but reducing waste vs charitable giving is a difficult dynamic.

Facebook meh-taverse

Facebook’s Horizon Worlds metaverse thing has 300,000 users and is gradually rolling out across Europe - “Build the World of Your Dreams”. Some insiders are a bit “grumpy about” it, and apparently it is riddled with bugs (which to be fair to organisations building new things is actually pretty common).

But what isn’t common is that even the employees who are building it are barely using it, says the exec in charge:

“A key issue with Horizon’s development to date, according to Shah’s internal memos, is that the people building it inside Meta appear to not be using it that much. “For many of us, we don’t spend that much time in Horizon and our dogfooding dashboards show this pretty clearly,” he wrote to employees on September 15th. “Why is that? Why don’t we love the product we’ve built so much that we use it all the time? The simple truth is, if we don’t love it, how can we expect our users to love it?””

2 weeks after those internal memos the Facebook metaverse overlords commanded its people to fall in love with Horizons:

“Everyone in this organization should make it their mission to fall in love with Horizon Worlds. You can’t do that without using it. Get in there. Organize times to do it with your colleagues or friends, in both internal builds but also the public build so you can interact with our community.”

Yes, a command is definitely the best way to get people to fall in love with something! Sometimes products have fatal flaws that everyone on the team can see but don’t want to discuss, usually because they hope the flaw can be overcome with hard work and inspiration. A cultural blindspot.

In the case of Horizons though, perhaps it is that the teams working on it can see the flaws, and rather than try overcome them by applying their genius they just think meh and go off to do something else instead.

Various things

“For this crew, the early success of their past companies or careers is usually prologue, and their skills will, of course, transfer to any area they choose to conquer (including magically solving free speech). But what they are actually doing is winging it” - reading the WhatsApp transcripts in the Elon Musk vs Twitter lawsuit.

Gen Z has cancelled the thumbs-up emoji because it's 'hostile'.

Paint one wind turbine blade to save birds and bats - it reduces collisions.

From the Scottish news desk: slightly blootered Glasgow pair heroically try pizza from a vending machine, in the wall of an abandoned shop. It is not a good pizza.

Co-op news

How our users influenced our new forms guidance - part of Co-op’s much larger Experience Library.

Co-op trials reduced lighting in stores to lower energy costs - convenience store lucky dip! Have Co-op ever trialled doors on the fridge displays?

Thank you for reading

Thank you friends, readers and contributors. Send ideas, questions, corrections, improvements, etc by replying or to @rod on Twitter. If you’ve enjoyed reading, please tell a friend! If you want to find out more about Co-op Digital, follow us @CoopDigital on Twitter and read the Co-op Digital Blog. Previous newsletters.

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ecofleet · 3 years

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Sustainable delivery services use emission-free or low-emission modes of transport such as bicycles or low-emission cars or minibuses. Read more!!!

#sustainable delivery service #cargo bike delivery in London #last-mile delivery services

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scotianostra · 3 years

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December 2nd 1971 saw the last permanent resident family leave the island of Scarp, off Harris in the Western Isles.

The departure of Mr and Mrs Angus MacInnes and their two sons marked the end of an era on the island which was home to more than 200 people in the late 19th Century.

A newspaper report documented the exit of the MacInnes family, who came ashore half-a-mile away at Hushinish Beach on Harris before settling on a croft at Govig.

The article, printed in the Press and Journal, noted how the island was then “left to the Old Etonians” given its remaining residents were Andrew Miller Mundy, whose father once owned the North Harris Estate, and his school friend Andrew Cox, who temporarily moved to the island earlier that year with his wife and their baby, India.

After the MacInnes family left, life on Scarp continued for several more weeks until a heavy storm cut the island off with provisions running ‘dangerously low’.

Mundy, in London at the time, sent a helicopter in to rescue his girlfriend, a model who he later married, with food also choppered into Scarp - just in time for Christmas. Mundy later relocated permanently to Harris, trained himself to catch lobsters and worked the waters around St Kilda for a decade.

He became a popular figure to many, representing Harris at council level for many years and was admired for his dedication to wildlife and conservation. Scarp, meanwhile, has seen little human life since the early 1970s. Those who inherited the island’s crofting rights still keep sheep on Scarp with rams taken over for tupping and lambs returned to Stornoway for sale in September.

The ruins of several old buildings remain scattered over the island with a handful of holiday homes bringing in visitors from time to time. Scarp is now owned by American musicologist Andrew Burr Bakewell, the founder of the Isle of Harris Distillery, who has had a long affection for the Hebrides.

Traditionally, the Scarpachs, as they were know, were renowned for their sailing and fishing skills with the islanders developing their own long oars, usually around 16ft, to keep them rowing long and hard in heavy seas a daily basis. The oars were often placed under boats as they were pushed from the shore into the water, leaving markings in the wood. If such an oar was found washed up from the sea, it was often a fearful indication that something had gone terribly wrong on the water.

While only half a mile of shallow waters separate Scarp from Harris, the storms that ripped through the channel were enough to cut the island off for weeks at a time.In February 1944, it was reported that the island and its 30 families went without delivery of rationed goods, mail, newspapers or food for a month after gales cut off the island.

“It is now impossible for the islanders to launch a boat when in the past fishermen would have had no hesitation in putting it to sea,” a newspaper report of the day said.

The lack of a sheltered harbour was to be an enduring challenge for the Scarpachs over generations. With no jetty, fishermen had to wade up to their waist to launch their boats each morning and remain soaked and freezing for the rest of the day.

The winter was devoted to lobster fishing, with the shellfish sent for sale at Billingsgate when possible, with the Spring spent preparing the ground for cultivation. According to accounts, every inch of land was planted around the village with a huge variety of crops grown by islanders. Such was the shortage of land, that youngsters had to walk to the island school via the beach so as to not to disturb the crops.

The island population peaked in 1881 when 213 people lived on Scarp with the numbers swelling following clearances on Harris. The population was impossible to sustain with pleas made to the Napier Commission, the inquiry into conditions for crofters in the Highlands and Islands, to allow resettlement on Harris.

Despite a suggestion from a factor Kenneth Macdonald that emigration may be a better option, several Scarp families were allocated crofts in the late 1880s.

According to research by Jill Harden for the Isle of Harris online guide, more than 25 families eked out an existence on Scarp until after World War One.

Population records on the Hebridean Connections website show how islanders married into families on Great Bernera, Lewis or Harris

There are some fascinating accounts of past residents of the island.....

They included Peggy Maclennan, of 13 Scarp, who married Murdo Macleod from Enaclete, Lewis, in Detroit. The Michigan state capital was a destination for many Hebrideans, particularly second-generation immigrants whose families had first settled in the eastern townships of Quebec.

The MacLeod's returned to Lewis with their son later born on Scarp. They had been due to return to Michigan when Peggy fell ill and died when her boy was just three years old.

Other residents included Jack Banks Ross, the son of the Scarp headmaster, who ran away to sea in 1899 aged 14 and later settled in Leith.

Meanwhile, Donald McLeod, son of Norman McLeod, of Scarp , was so strong that he once grabbed the hand of an adversary so hard that he forced the blood out his foe’s fingernails.

Scarp, although a small island, made a national impact on at least two occasions.

The trials of island life were highlighted in January 1934 when islander Christina Maclennan gave birth to her first twin, Mary, on Scarp, with the help of an untrained midwife in her eighties. Amid complications, Mrs Maclennan was taken to Harris on a boat and then, lying on the floor of a bus, moved to Stornoway to complete her labour.

Her second baby, Jessie, was delivered two days later - and 48 miles away from her sister.

The case was raised in the House of Commons by Liberal National MP Thomas Ramsay, who called for a properly trained nurse, a pier and new roads for Scarp.

Also in 1934 the island became the setting of a bizarre trial of the Western Isles Rocket Post when German scientist Gerhard Zucker arrived to test out his mail delivery system.

Said to have bee inspired by Ms Maclennan’s dramatic labour and fulled by a desire to “bring the world together” he tried to send a rocket packed with 4,000 letters over to Harris.

The mission failed with a dull explosion and a cloud of smoke - but Scarp was on the map once again. I have posted a more detailed account of this in the past.

There’s a two part post about Scarp, on the excellent Carmichael Watson blog at the link below.

http://carmichaelwatson.blogspot.com/search?q=scarp

#Scotland #scottish #Outer Hebrides #hebrideans #Isolated #history

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debbieflevotomouarchitects-blog · 4 years

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THINK NATURE. The City of Tomorrow is a Smart City. St. James Mayfair.

Existing Plan of St James

Proposed Plan of St James

The City of Tomorrow is a Smart City

The term Smart City is being used more and more recently, describing a city that is equipped with modern technology to gather and process data with the aim to produce, utilise and disseminate information to improve its citizens lives.

Still, it is first and foremost a City, a place where people live, work and play, where businesses grow and thrive and where architecture and the environment give the city its personality and make it a desirable gathering place.

As such, the city of tomorrow, well equipped with data collection points, telecommunication nodes, carbon neutral transportation and sustainable connected infrastructure, it must also be unique in its character and inviting, allowing its residents to feel that it is their city.

Every resident, property owner, business owner, worker, traveller or visitor is a stakeholder and should be made to feel “at home” and “well served” by the city.

The two most prominent Smart City designs, the Toyota City and Fujisawa in Japan, are both concepts developed from a blank canvas and as such, they are free from the constraints of an existing city grid. To turn an existing city into a smart city most elements of the city must be preserved and what changes needs to stay aligned with the remaining city fabric. To see an example of how that might work, let’s examine a case study centred around Pall Mall St. James, Mayfair. We know the area well as 100 Pall Mall is home to our London Office.

According to the traditional urban design Lynchian analysis, a city consists of its edges, its nodes, its districts, its paths and its landmarks. Of those, edges are usually set elements defining the city boundaries and hence would not be changed. However, paths, districts and landmarks and nodes can be modernised to become smart-elements of the city; the city can be further enhanced by the introduction of a smart-promenade.

Paths

The term “paths” includes road, pedestrian areas and footpaths. As the city of tomorrow will have clean air and a very low carbon foot-print, all transportation within the city must be electrified or based on a different zero tailpipe emissions propulsion. Returning to our local example at Mayfair, roads should evolve, making the most of the area’s character and history, whilst at the same time creating bespoke spaces for each category of road users.

· Some of the roads previously used by automobiles, would be redesigned and repurposed for pedestrians to walk, run, etc. on landscaped routes dedicated for such use.

· Cyclists would need their own dedicated routes; these can be part of the main streets of partial use of pedestrian routes

· In our example, utilities, services, public transport and private transportation would share the main routes. Different approaches can be adopted where larger streets and high-speed roads are available.

Districts

Our example area is a single district protected by conservation orders. As such converting buildings to zero carbon emissions must be respectful of current designs. In this case a suite of modern technologies (photo voltaic, geo-thermal, etc.) could be incorporated within each building to enable it to offset part of the energy it consumes, as well as providing a connection point to the grid for electric vehicles of all types.

Nodes & Landmark

Lynchian analysis defines city nodes as places of interest that help people understand the city grid. Looking at nodes in our example area from a technology point of view we can consider where data collection points, charging stations, modal transportation links and last mile delivery ports can interact with architectural points of interest for optimal synthesis of aesthetics and functionality.

We propose a number of nodes all linking with a larger feature node which will serve as a gathering point not only of information, connectivity and technology, but also of people, nature and design.

These nodes can be the new landmarks bringing the new generation biophilic parametric design into our conservation area therefore creating a dramatic fusion of traditional and novel.

Call to action:

University students are invited to participate in a one month competition to design a landmark feature node in plan, elevation and 3-D visuals.

The node should accommodate smart city technology, as well as be a place of gathering in the form of a pavilion.

The concept of the pavilion design is the English Rose.

More information and competition brief is to be published shortly. . . . #biophiliaa #building #buildings #residential #construction #londonbuild #nature #biophilicstorytelling #future #realestate #towers #structures #officedesign #architecture #architect #architecturedesign #architects #design #biophilicdesign

#architectural design #biophilia #buildings #building #construction #nature #thinknature #architects #architecture #architectural services #design #interior design #commercial architecture #real estate

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ecofleetuk · 7 months

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Offering a last-mile delivery service with e cargo bike delivery in London. For us, sustainability isn’t just about environmental considerations. We care about the impactful economic growth of society, reducing congestion to everyone’s benefit, and the safety and well-being of our community. For detailed information. Visit our website now.

#e cargo bike delivery in London #last mile logistics London #sustainable last mile delivery London #b2c last mile delivery London

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jonathannsmith0706 · 1 year

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How Eco-Friendly Delivery Services Can Help Combat Climate Change ?

In today’s world, the fight against climate change is more urgent than ever. The need for sustainable and eco-friendly solutions extends to all aspects of our lives, including delivery services. Eco friendly delivery services have emerged as a promising solution to combat climate change, especially in a bustling city like London, United Kingdom. These services are not only a responsible choice but also a practical one, reducing the carbon footprint of the transportation industry and promoting a greener environment.

Eco-friendly delivery services in the UK, such as eco friendly chauffeur services, eco-friendly courier companies, and eco friendly taxis in London, have been gaining popularity. These services are committed to reducing their environmental impact by adopting eco-friendly practices and technologies.

One key way they contribute to combating climate change is through the use of electric and hybrid vehicles. Eco delivery companies are replacing conventional, fossil-fuel-powered vehicles with cleaner, more sustainable alternatives. This reduces harmful emissions in cities like London, where air quality is a significant concern.

Furthermore, eco friendly delivery services often utilize innovative route optimization software, reducing unnecessary mileage and fuel consumption. By doing so, they not only reduce emissions but also cut down on operational costs.

These services also encourage the use of bike couriers and electric scooters for last-mile delivery, further reducing carbon emissions and congestion in urban areas.

Moreover, eco friendly delivery companies often use eco-packaging materials, minimizing waste and promoting the use of reusable, recyclable, and compostable packaging.

The benefits of these eco friendly delivery services extend to customers as well. They can take pride in making sustainable choices and supporting companies that prioritize the environment. Additionally, many eco delivery services offer competitive pricing, making it a cost-effective choice for consumers.

By embracing eco-friendly delivery services in the United Kingdom, particularly in London, we take a significant step towards a greener, more sustainable future. These services are not only helping to combat climate change but also setting a positive example for the rest of the world, showing that environmentally responsible alternatives are not only possible but also essential for a brighter tomorrow.

#prestigecarsandcourier #prestigeelectric #eco delivery services #eco friendly delivery services #eco friendly delivery companies

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wiadomosciprasowe · 4 years

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Instabox raises $90 million led by EQT Ventures to transform last-mile delivery

https://www.y6.no/instabox-raises-90-million-led-by-eqt-ventures-to-transform-last-mile-delivery/

Instabox raises $90 million led by EQT Ventures to transform last-mile delivery

Alexis Priftis, co-founder and CEO of Instabox and Ashley Lundström, EQT Ventures Dato: 11-02-2021 11:16 CET Opprinnelig tittel på pressemeldingen: Instabox raises $90 million led by EQT Ventures to transform last-mile delivery Kategori: , ehandel Instabox leveringstjeneste

Instabox raises $90 million led by EQT Ventures to transform last-mile delivery

Last-mile delivery solutions set to transform e-commerce logistics, as consumers form new habits during the pandemic and online shopping anticipated to reach new heights Consumers and merchants more environmentally conscious, so a consolidation of deliveries is transforming logistics, allowing for a hyperlocal fulfillment network that brings efficiency gains for all stakeholders Instabox will use the funding to optimise frictionless last-mile logistics services across European territories, with a sustainability focus

Instabox, a next-gen technology company transforming last-mile deliveries for e-commerce, today announces a $90 million Series B round led by EQT Ventures. Instabox makes parcel delivery faster, more sustainable, and efficient, looking to revolutionise the industry with solutions such as fossil fuel-free locker deliveries and the newly launched completely emission-free bike delivery service Instabikes. The funding will be used to further invest in technology that will enhance the value-chain for customers and merchants, plus expansion outside of Sweden.

The global parcels market was worth almost $430bn in 2019, a significant increase from $380bn the year previously, showing an already huge market opportunity now with unprecedented acceleration. Instabox offers fast, hassle-free delivery across its locations in Sweden — with a maximum of six hours between the merchant and the consumer — through its smart locker network, striving to revolutionise last-mile delivery.

The technology platform provides the team with real-time, end-to-end tracking of all deliveries, allowing for optimisation at each step of the way. Efficiently consolidating deliveries through a hyper-local fulfillment network brings not only speed, convenience, and cost benefits, but also creates sustainable delivery alternatives for consumers and merchants alike.

Founded in 2015 by Alexis Priftis, Staffan Gabrielsson, and Johan Lundin, the idea was originally to build an API for physical goods. Realising the difficulty of creating a new player in an ecosystem with century-old market leaders, the team started with e-commerce and approached a well-known Swedish pharmacy to deliver its packages with a same-day service to its eight smart lockers in Stockholm. In less than 15 minutes, the team had its first order. Emails from customers amazed by the speed and convenience of delivery followed. The need from consumers was obvious and so Instabox was born.

Today Instabox is the largest and fastest growing last-mile logistics startup in Sweden, growing by over 300% annually and delivering more than one million parcels each month, with over two million users across the country. Norway and Denmark are also seeing rapid growth, and plans for new markets are in development.

Alexis, CEO and co-founder at Instabox says: “The shipping industry consists of ancient postal companies using fossil fuels and fossil tech – which is why we’re super-excited about this new partnership with EQT Ventures. The new funding will allow us to take our super fast, hassle-free and fossil fuel-free shipping to millions more consumers across Europe and spark a renaissance in online shopping, just as we have done in Sweden.”

Ashley Lundström, Partner at EQT Ventures added: “Instabox is bringing tech DNA and customer centricity to one of the largest and oldest industries in the economy, and the market feedback is crystal clear in their fantastic growth. It’s a great partnership whereby we can bring our expertise to match their hunger and passion. We can’t wait to work with Alexis and team on this important mission.”

About InstaboxInstabox is a Swedish logistics startup that provides lightning quick, hassle-free and fossil-free e-commerce deliveries. Launched in 2015 by founders Alexis Priftis, Staffan Gabrielsson and Johan Lundin, the service has been used by millions of Swedes shopping from merchants such as H&M, Ikea, Apotea and Boozt. The company is operating more than 1,000 automated parcel machines in Sweden, Denmark and Norway and has consistently grown by more than 300% per year since its start, making it one of the fastest growing startups in Europe.

For further information please visit https://instabox.io

About EQT VenturesEQT Ventures is a multi-stage VC fund that partners with the most ambitious and boldest founders in Europe and the US. The fund is based in Luxembourg and has investment advisors stationed in Stockholm, Amsterdam, London, San Francisco, Berlin and Paris. Fuelled by some of Europe’s most experienced company builders and scalers, EQT Ventures helps the next generation of entrepreneurs with the capital and hands-on support needed to build global winners.For further information please visithttps://eqtventures.com/

Kilde: Pressekontor Instabox – PRESSEMELDING –

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Hashtags: # #ehandel Instabox leveringstjeneste ehandel Instabox leveringstjeneste

#ehandel Instabox leveringstjeneste #Instabox #Pressemeldinger

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Sunday, July 4, 2021

Out-Group Hostility (The Present Age) A new research article published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) doesn’t bode well for efforts to fight political extremism and polarization. The paper’s authors analyzed 2,730,215 Twitter and Facebook posts published by members of the news media and U.S. Congresspeople, and came to the conclusion that the quickest way to social media success is to attack members of the “out-group.” Specifically, each additional word about the opposing party (e.g., “Democrat,” “Leftist,” or “Biden” if the post was coming from a Republican) in a social media post increased the odds of that post being shared by 67%. These results are troubling in an attention economy where the social media business model is based on keeping us engaged in order to sell advertising. Facebook knows that its algorithm rewards extreme rhetoric and anger. Last year, The Wall Street Journal uncovered an internal report Facebook put together in 2018 that found that the company’s “algorithms exploit the human brain’s attraction to divisiveness.” Even worse, the report’s authors found that if left in place, the algorithm would continue to serve “more and more divisive content in an effort to gain user attention and increase time on the platform.”

COVID-19 shots are causing social conflicts (Yahoo News) After 15 months of limiting their social interactions to small outdoor gatherings with masks and social distancing—and two COVID-19 vaccination shots apiece for herself, her husband and their teen son—Suzanne (who preferred to not use her real name for this article) and her family are finally easing up and meeting with friends and family members inside. Sort of. While Suzanne’s side of the family is fully vaccinated, most of her in-laws are not. What’s more, they are lax about wearing masks, and have thus not been included in recent gatherings. And so a pandemic that’s already seen fissures form between those who mask and those who don’t now ushers in its new social divide: the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated. At a time when a return to “normal” is touted at every turn, awkwardness, hurt feelings and a sense of being judged are leaving many relationships feeling anything but.

Ransomware hits hundreds of US companies, security firm says (AP) A ransomware attack paralyzed the networks of at least 200 U.S. companies on Friday, according to a cybersecurity researcher whose company was responding to the incident. The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack, said John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs. He said the criminals targeted a software supplier called Kaseya, using its network-management package as a conduit to spread the ransomware through cloud-service providers. Such cyberattacks typically infiltrate widely used software and spread malware as it updates automatically. Brett Callow, a ransomware expert at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, said he was unaware of any previous ransomware supply-chain attack on this scale.

Firefighters are tackling three major wildfires in California in worrying sign as summer begins (Washington Post) Firefighters in California are battling three sizable wildfires in what authorities are characterizing as a worrying sign that this year’s fire season could be even more devastating than the record-breaking destruction seen in 2020. “We’re seeing a large increase in fires on a historical basis compared to where we would be at this time last year,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie said. “This is a large indicator that we’re looking at another busy fire season—all the same scenarios that set up last year for such a devastating year have the same potential for this year.”

Hurricane Elsa races toward Haiti amid fears of landslides (AP) Hurricane Elsa raced toward Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Saturday, where it threatened to unleash flooding and landslides before taking aim at Cuba and Florida. The Category 1 storm was located about 395 miles (635 kilometers) east-southeast of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic and was moving west-northwest at 29 mph (46 kph). It had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), with the hurricane expected to become a tropical storm after hitting Cuba, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. In Haiti, authorities used social media to alert people about the hurricane and urged them to evacuate if they lived near water or mountain flanks.

Vatican judge indicts 10, including a cardinal, for alleged financial crimes (Reuters) A Vatican judge on Saturday ordered 10 people, including an Italian cardinal, to stand trial for alleged financial crimes including embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, extortion and abuse of office. Those indicted include Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was fired by Pope Francis last year, the former heads of the Vatican’s financial intelligence unit, and two Italian brokers involved in the Vatican’s purchase of a building in a luxury area of London.

At least 19 missing as mudslide west of Tokyo hits houses (AP) A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving at least 19 people missing, officials said. As many as 80 homes in Atami were completely buried, according to an official with the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The official said more people, possibly 100, could still be missing under the mudslides but warned that details were not immediately clear. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed that aggressive rescue operations were underway to find survivors.

Australia: Will the mouse infestation ever end? (The Week) The biblical mouse plague ravaging Australia is showing no signs of letup, said Daniella White at The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). The millions of mice now scurrying across the southeast have gobbled some $775 million worth of crops and are gnawing through anything in their path—including barns, homes, and even cars. A rural prison in the state of New South Wales was being evacuated this week because mice had chewed through ceiling tiles and wiring and their stinking dead bodies are piling up in wall cavities. Once the rodents start rotting, says state prison commissioner Peter Severin, “the next problem is mites.” The infestation is so severe “that mice are biting people in their beds, sending some residents to the hospital in a critical condition,” said Lucy Thackray at ABC.net.au (Australia). Dozens of people have contracted leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that if left untreated can cause kidney failure and meningitis. Farmers are baiting fields with the poison zinc phosphide, which is expensive and time-consuming, but the worst part is the ick factor. “Farmers and their families are unable to get a decent night’s sleep,” said John Warlters of the charity Rural Aid, “without mice chewing on toes and scampering across beds.” It’s going to be “a long battle,” said Peter Hannam at The Age (Australia). Population growth should slow now that the Australian winter has arrived. But “the mice are expected to return with renewed menace” when spring crops ripen.

Unable to control Tigray, Ethiopia isolates region (Washington Post) The Ethiopian government’s inability to sustain its military offensive in the mountainous northern Tigray region was laid bare this week, as rebel forces chased their adversaries out of key cities and were met, as they triumphantly marched in, with jubilation from locals who see them as liberators. Now reports from the United Nations and aid groups imply a concerted campaign by government-aligned forces to punish and isolate Tigray, destroying key infrastructure in ways that will complicate the delivery of urgent relief, if not make it impossible, in a region where hundreds of thousands are already estimated to be experiencing war-driven famine. Aid groups report that there has been no Internet, phone service or electricity in Tigray since Ethiopian troops retreated and that no food or fuel are being allowed in. Both of the latter are essential—millions are depending on food aid for survival, and hospitals are using fuel-dependent generators to keep the power on. On Thursday, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordination office confirmed the destruction of a key bridge spanning a deep river valley that had been the main route for aid to be driven in.

Africa’s Last Absolute Monarchy Convulsed by Mass Protests (NYT) As Africa’s last absolute monarch, King Mswati III of Eswatini chooses his country’s prime minister and cabinet, and possesses the power to dissolve Parliament. His grip on the nation’s limited economic resources has underwritten a lavish lifestyle of luxury cars and palaces. About six out of 10 of citizens, meanwhile, live in poverty. Many in this tiny landlocked nation, wedged between South Africa and Mozambique, are on the brink of hunger and have to cross into South Africa to find work. Now, it seems, many of the kingdom’s 1.1 million inhabitants have had it with this imbalance: Over the past week, the tiny southern African nation, formerly known as Swaziland, has descended into the most explosive civil unrest in its 53 years of independence. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in the executive capital, Mbabane, and elsewhere, with many burning and looting businesses in which the king holds a stake. The government has responded aggressively, with witnesses, activists and hospital staff reporting that the military and the police have fired live rounds at protesters and looters.

Facebook tests prompts that ask users if they're worried a friend is 'becoming an extremist' (CNN Business) Some Facebook users in the United States are being served a prompt that asks if they are worried that someone they know might be becoming an extremist. Others are being notified that they may have been exposed to extremist content. It is all part of a test the social media company is running that stems from its Redirect Initiative, which aims to combat violent extremism, Andy Stone, a Facebook spokesperson, told CNN. Screen shots of the alerts surfaced on social media Thursday. “This test is part of our larger work to assess ways to provide resources and support to people on Facebook who may have engaged with or were exposed to extremist content, or may know someone who is at risk,” Stone said. “We are partnering with NGOs and academic experts in this space and hope to have more to share in the future,” Stone added. One of the alerts, a screen grab of which made the rounds on social media Thursday, asks users, “Are you concerned that someone you know is becoming an extremist?”

#headlines #news

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ecofleet · 3 years

Link

Ecofleet is one of the London-based last-mile shipping companies operating with CRP as part of the free e-cargo bike schemes possible across Richmond, Tooting, Wimbledon, Deptford, Soho, and the Northbank. Learn more!!

#bicycle delivery services #sustainable delivery services #cargo bike delivery in London #last-mile delivery and logistics solutions

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orbemnews · 3 years

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How Will Britain Defend Its Financial Fief After Brexit? LONDON — Coming out of Brexit this year, Britain’s government needed a new blueprint for the future of the nation’s financial services as cities like Amsterdam and Paris vied to become Europe’s next capital of investment and banking. For some, the answer was Deliveroo, a London-based food delivery company with 100,000 riders on motor scooters and bicycles. Although it lost more than 226 million pounds (nearly $310 million) last year, Deliveroo offered the raw promise of many fast-growing tech start-ups — and it became a symbol of Britain’s new ambitions by deciding to go public and list its shares not in New York but on the London Stock Exchange. Deliveroo is a “true British tech success story,” Rishi Sunak, Britain’s top finance official, said last month. It was a false start. Deliveroo has since been called “the worst I.P.O. in London’s history.” On the first day of trading, March 31, the shares dropped 26 percent below the initial public offering price. (It has gotten worse.) The flop has put a dent in the image of the City of London — the geographical and metaphorical name for Britain’s financial hub — as it tries to recover from the country’s departure from the European Union. Some impacts from Brexit were immediate: On the first working day of 2021, trading in European shares shifted from venues in London to major cities in the bloc. Then London’s share of euro-denominated derivatives trading dropped sharply. There’s anxiety over what could go next. Financial services are a vital component of Britain’s economy, making up 7 percent of gross domestic product — £132 billion in 2019, or some $170 billion. Exporting financial and other professional services is something Britain excels at. Membership in the European Union allowed London to serve as a financial base for the rest of the continent, and the City’s business ballooned. Four-tenths of financial services exports go to the European Union. The government has begun hunting for ideas to bolster London’s reputation as a global finance center, in a series of reviews and consultations on a variety of issues, including I.P.O.s and trading regulations. For many, the changes can’t come soon enough. “The United Kingdom is not going to sit still and watch its financial services move across” to other European cities, said Alasdair Haynes, the founder of Aquis, a trading venue and stock exchange for equities in London. This will make the next three or four years exciting, he said. But this optimism isn’t universal. The prospects of a warm and close relationship between Britain and the European Union have considerably dimmed. The two sides recently finished negotiations on a memorandum of understanding to establish a forum to discuss financial regulation, but the forum is voluntary, and the document has yet to be signed. The European Union has made no secret of its plans to build up its own capital markets, which could flourish if London is denied access. The “mood music in the E.U.,” said Andrew Pilgrim, who leads the U.K. government and financial services team at EY, is focused on having autonomy over its own financial services and not being reliant on Britain. For Britain, the appeal of writing its own financial rules is growing. The trick is luring more business without lowering London’s regulatory standards, which many consider a powerful draw. A recent survey of global senior financial executives by Duff & Phelps found that fewer see London as the world’s leading financial center but that it topped the leader board for regulatory environment. Here are some of the plans. Taking companies public “I want to make the United Kingdom the best place in the world for high-growth, innovative companies,” Mr. Sunak told Parliament on March 3, the same day a review commissioned by the government recommended changes designed to encourage tech companies to go public in London. It proposed ideas, common in New York, that would let founders keep more control of their company after they began selling shares. For example: allowing companies with two classes of shares and different voting rights (like Facebook) to list in the “premium” section of the London Stock Exchange, which could pave the way for them to be included in benchmark indexes. Or: allowing a company to go public while selling a smaller proportion of its shares than the current rules require. Today in Business Updated April 16, 2021, 10:48 a.m. ET The timing of Deliveroo’s I.P.O. wasn’t a coincidence. It listed with dual-class shares that give its co-founder William Shu more than half of the voting rights for three years — a structure set to “closely align” with the review’s recommendations, the company said. But the idea may be a nonstarter among some of London’s institutional investors. Deliveroo flopped partly because they balked at the offer of shares with minimal voting rights. But others are excited by the ideas in the review, which was conducted by Jonathan Hill, a former European commissioner for financial services. Among them are Mr. Haynes, whose company, Aquis, acquired a stock exchange last year to compete with the London Stock Exchange. “I’m hugely supportive of what Lord Hill has done,” said Mr. Haynes, who wants his exchange to one day become “the Nasdaq of Europe.” It is trying to entice companies with benefits such as a ban on short-selling (a practice in which investors bet against the price of a stock) on some of the larger companies that list with it. The Nasdaq has a coveted reputation for listing tech giants, including Microsoft, Apple and Facebook. London doesn’t have “that alternative for fast-growing companies,” Mr. Haynes said. Space for SPACs Mr. Hill’s review also urges London to become a more inviting home for special purpose acquisition companies, or blank-check companies, the latest craze in financial markets, having taken off with investors and celebrities alike. SPACs are public shell companies that list on an exchange and then hunt for private companies to buy. London has been left behind in the SPAC fervor. Last year, 248 SPACs listed in New York, and just four in London, according to data by Dealogic. In March, Cazoo, a British used car retailer, announced that it was going public via a SPAC in New York. Already there are signs that Amsterdam could steal the lead in this booming business for Europe. There have been two SPACs each in London and Amsterdam this year, but the value of the listings in Amsterdam are five times that of London. Britain’s financial regulatory agency said it would start consultations on SPACs soon and aim to have new rules in place by the summer. A future in fintech London already has a reputation for producing high-flying financial technology companies such as Revolut and Monzo, which both expanded into the United States, and Wise (formerly Transferwise), which was valued at $5 billion last year. All three are so-called challenger banks, which offer financial services through apps without the need for brick-and-mortar branches. The government clearly wants to build on this momentum. In February, it published an independent review of the fintech industry, and it is already acting on some of its recommendations, including setting up a fast-track visa process for people interested in coming to Britain to work for fintech companies. The review also recommended a program that would give regulatory blessing to small companies experimenting with new fintech offerings and services. Making finance green As Britain gears up to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November, the government wants to transform London into a global center for investors who want their money to go into green and sustainable initiatives. Already, Mr. Sunak has said the Treasury will require large companies and financial firms to disclose, by 2025, any risks to their businesses associated with climate change and is working on a taxonomy to define what really counts as “green.” Next, millions of pounds will be invested in new research centers to provide climate and environmental data to financial companies. The government is also seeking to regain ground lost to Germany, France and other European countries on the issuing of green bonds to finance projects to tackle climate change. The City’s future London’s finance industry isn’t in danger of imminent collapse, but because of Brexit a cornerstone of the British economy isn’t looking as formidable as it once did. And as London tries to keep up with New York, it is looking over its shoulders at the financial technology coming out of Asia. The government has continuously billed Brexit as an opportunity to do more business with countries outside of the European Union. This will be essential as international companies begin to ask whether they want to base their European business in London or elsewhere. When it comes to the future of Britain, it’s “almost a back-to-the-future approach of London as an international center as opposed to being an international and European center,” said Miles Celic, the chief executive of the CityUK, which represents the industry. “It’s doubling down on that international business.” Source link Orbem News #Brexit #Britain #defend #Fief #Financial

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architectnews · 4 years

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Palace of Westminster London Building Restoration

Houses of Parliament London Building Restoration, Renewal Contracts News, BDP Refurb

Palace of Westminster London Restoration

Palace of Westminster Refurbishment: Neo-Gothic Building Restoration, UK – Winning Architects

post updated 26 Mar 2021

Houses of Parliament Restoration Programme

Palace of Westminster Detailed Record

Parliament restoration programme launches nationwide invitation for specialist surveyors to help develop most detailed record of the Palace of Westminster ever created.

• Intrusive surveys on Victorian building services, archaeology, stonework and more • Restoration programme will support thousands of jobs and apprenticeships across UK, including through apprentice loan scheme to support small and medium businesses

Specialists from across the UK are being invited to play a part in the first stage of the vital and complex restoration of the Palace of Westminster.

The Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Programme has today launched a procurement drive to invite expressions of interest from specialist surveyors, including small and medium sized businesses across the UK, to carry out dozens of on-site surveys in the Palace of Westminster.

The Palace of Westminster building viewed across the River Thames from the south: photograph © UK Parliament

More than 100 surveys are being carried out during the first stage of the restoration project to develop the most detailed record of the Palace of Westminster ever created.

The survey analysis will map out the condition of all the complex mechanical and engineering systems including the Victorian heating and cooling system.

Expert surveyors will also look at the miles of gas and electric pipes that often run directly alongside one another in the basement, and in thousands of spaces in floors, walls and risers that were originally designed as part of the Victorian ventilation system. Many of the systems reached the end of their expected life decades ago and urgently need replacing.

Other surveys will focus on archaeology and the structure of the building and investigators will also look at fire safety, the condition of windows, walls, floors and stonework, and heat loss from the building.

Restoring the building will create thousands of jobs across the UK, including through an industry-leading apprentice loan scheme that will see around 160 apprentices, including engineers, designers, stonemasons, and carpenters, employed by the organisations overseeing and delivering the restoration of the Palace of Westminster and loaned to UK businesses working on the restoration.

David Goldstone, CEO of the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority said:

“Our experts are carrying out more than 100 surveys to develop the most detailed record of Parliament ever created, as we get on with the job of preparing the detailed and costed plan that will for the first time give a true sense of the costs and timescales of restoring the Palace of Westminster.”

The survey analysis will map out the condition of all the complex mechanical and engineering systems including the Victorian heating and cooling system.

The in-depth surveys are a key part of developing a detailed and costed restoration plan that will for the first time give an accurate sense of the costs and timescales for restoring the Palace, as well as designs for a restored Parliament. Most of these surveys will be procured through the intrusive surveys framework contracts.

The surveys involve specialists spending thousands of hours studying and analysing the building to better understand the full scale of work that needs to be done. The Palace of Westminster is falling apart faster than it can be fixed and urgently needs extensive work to protect it for future generations.

Surveys are expected to begin later this year and every supplier will go through the same rigorous security checks as existing Parliamentary contractors and suppliers.

In total, there are eight categories where suppliers are being invited to apply to be part of an Intrusive Surveys Supplier Framework, making the final procurement of dozens of individual surveys much quicker.

Palace of Westminster Intrusive Surveys Supplier Framework

The categories are:

• Civil Engineering / Structural • Ground Investigations & Geotechnical • Instrumentation & Monitoring • Environmental • Mechanical, Electrical & Public Health • Archaeology • Asbestos Removal • Conservation Contractor

The framework is for up to £80m of survey contracts over the next four years, with around £10m of contracts expected to be procured in the first year. A range of other surveys are already being carried out through existing frameworks. Findings from surveys will be used as the restoration team develops a detailed and costed plan for restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster.

In line with best practice and guidance from the National Audit Office and Infrastructure Projects Authority, this detailed and costed restoration and renewal plan will explore options based on extensive investigations, surveys and analysis with a strong focus on a ‘do essential’ option.

As the programme develops the detailed and costed restoration and renewal plan, it will also continue working closely with Parliament to determine all the functions that the building needs to have in future, as well as what needs to be done to improve the building. With 3000 people working in and visiting the 150-year-old building every day, there are a huge number of requirements to take into account as the programme plans the restoration of one of the most recognised buildings in the world.

The detailed and costed restoration plan will be considered by Parliament, and work on the Palace itself is due to start in the mid-2020s, as previously expected.

Background

The contract framework notice is published here: https://ift.tt/3rpxAA8?

Governance

The organisations which will lead the UK’s biggest heritage renovation project, the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster, were launched in April 2020 as independent bodies, separate from, but accountable to, Parliament. The Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Sponsor Body has been set up to tackle the work needed to protect the Palace, ensuring it can continue to serve as the home of the UK Parliament in the 21st century and beyond.

The Sponsor Body will set the scope, budget and timescale for the project in response to the requirements of Parliament. It oversees the Delivery Authority, which will be responsible for developing and delivering the work to the Sponsor Body’s specifications, and which is responsible for this surveys procurement.

6 Dec 2017

Houses of Parliament Renewal Debate

Discussion about Palace of Westminster

Discussion about how to ensure safe and secure future of Palace of Westminster

The exclusion of historians and archaeologists from the Westminster Hall repair project does not bode well for the rest of the Palace of Westminster, reports The Guardian.

Charlotte Higgins has nailed the dilemma of the Palace of Westminster (The Houses of Parliament are falling down, 2 December). Politicians are the last people who should be managing such a complex and precious estate on their own, says Mike Pitts, Editor, British Archaeology. Those who oversaw Augustus Pugin and Charles Barry, as they struggled to build the thing in the 19th century, have been described as “probably the worst clients in Britain”, and their successors have ever since strived to live up to that dictum.

But the palace is nonetheless valuable, as a work of art, a symbol and a location with a richer, and more enriching, history than any other in the UK. We should encourage parliament to know that making the building safe, accessible and sustainable, while restoring and respecting its architectural heritage, is a project of international significance that, done well, would display courage and vision and earn the nation’s respect.

The Westminster Hall roof is being fixed, but historians and archaeologists have been excluded from the project, with a baseless argument about cost. Without archaeologists on board, one of the great wonders of the medieval world – and the greatest treasure in this world heritage site – is at risk of compromise.

photo courtesy of architects Foster + Partners

Website: Houses of Parliament Renewal Debate

14 Jan 2021

Westminster Hall Restoration

Renovations: Perfect Circle and SCAPE image courtesy of architects practice Westminster Hall Restoration

22 Jul 2017

Houses of Parliament Renewal Contracts

UK Parliament Renewal Contracts awarded to help ensure safe and secure future of Palace of Westminster

British architectural firm BDP win the architectural contract for the Palace of Westminster London Restoration.

In December 2015 the following four major international architects firms were shortlisted:

Allies and Morrison BDP Foster + Partners HOK

CH2M win for Lot 2.

The shortlist:

• Aecom & Mace (Joint Venture) • Capita Property Infrastructure & Gleeds Cost Management (Joint Venture) • CH2M Hill • EC Harris (ARCADIS) • Turner & Townsend

BDP and CH2M have been selected to take forward vital work that needs to be done to protect the heritage of the Palace of Westminster from the substantial and growing risk of failure of its essential services. This follows a procurement process run by Parliament, and will help ensure the continued running of a safe, secure and viable home for the UK Parliament.

The Palace of Westminster is a Grade I listed building, and, with Westminster Abbey and St Margaret’s Church, is part of the UNESCO Westminster World Heritage site.

Since its construction in the mid-1800s, many features and systems in the Palace have never undergone a major renovation, and the heating, ventilation, water, drainage and electrical systems are extremely antiquated. In awarding these contracts, Parliament can take forward the crucial work required to safeguard the Palace and keep Parliament running.

An urgent programme of mechanical and electrical (M&E) repair work which began in 2009 only protects the Palace until 2020 and only addresses those systems at highest risk of failure. These contracts will provide for a new round of medium-term M&E work, to ensure that the Palace remains safe and habitable beyond 2020.

The work will also include detailed exploration of the condition of the building, a building-wide security strategy, planning for a major programme of asbestos removal, and fire safety improvements. Parliament expects to spend around £12 million under these two contracts over the rest of this financial year.

The successful bidders, both of which submitted the best value for money bids, with highest overall score combining quality and price, are:

BDP for Lot 1 – Architectural and building design services.

CH2M for Lot 2 – Programme, project and cost management services.

This preliminary work does not affect decisions on which option the two Houses may want to consider in any future debates on a way forward for a Restoration and Renewal Programme for the Palace of Westminster, but will lay the groundwork for a longer-term strategy that will protect the heritage of the building and ensure it can continue to serve as home to the UK Parliament in the 21st century. Work that companies may be asked to carry out at this early stage will be option neutral, that is, will be required whichever delivery option Members of both Houses may choose.

photo from architects

This next, detailed preparatory stage will ensure Parliament is ready to commission design work once Members of both Houses have made a decision in principle and will ensure that taxpayers, as well as Government and Parliament, can be confident that the final proposal is the most cost-effective, and ensures value for money for taxpayers. Before the final go-ahead for the chosen option is given, a detailed design brief, business case and budget will be developed for Parliament’s approval.

photo from architects

Brian Finnimore, Managing Director of Parliament’s Strategic Estates team, said: “We are delighted to be making these contract announcements today, as an important step towards our goal of preserving the Palace of Westminster for future generations. We look forward to working with BDP and CH2M to ensure the Palace remains safe and secure for the more than a million people, including 100,000 schoolchildren, who visit Parliament each year.”

Westminster Hall London building interior, oldest part of the Parliamentary Estate:

“We welcome BDP and CH2M on board, and the expertise they will bring in architectural and engineering design and in delivering projects. We have seen from other major public projects that effort put into early planning is rewarded later with financial savings, so this appointment now will help put value for money for the taxpayer at the heart of this essential work.”

Tim Leach, Architect Director at BDP, said: “It’s an enormous privilege for the practice to be entrusted with helping to safeguard the Palace of Westminster, this international symbol of democracy and our society’s shared values. This new programme of work presents the unique and very special challenge of responding to the needs of Parliament and its visitors, and conserving its historic fabric for this and all future generations.”

Jonathan Baker, Managing Director of the National Governments client sector at CH2M said: “We are delighted to have been named as the provider of programme, project and cost services for this important work. CH2M has a strong record of delivering solutions for complex and challenging programmes and we are honoured to be working in collaboration with the Restoration and Renewal Team to help preserve and enhance the use of the Palace for future generations.”

The building is both a symbol for the United Kingdom and of democracy throughout the world.

Transforming the magnificent 19th century architecture into a functioning 21st century parliament building within a UNESCO heritage site will be a major challenge. Architects BDP, formerly known as Building Design Partnership, started in Preston, Lancashire, and retains a large office in the area, in Manchester. It is a major British architecture firm with work across the world.

Previously on e-architect:

9 Sep 2016

Houses of Parliament Renewal

Palace of Westminster Building Restoration Update

Prime Minister Theresa May backs moving MPs out of the Houses of Parliament for at least 6 years. It will be the first time MPs have moved out since the Blitz.

MPs would relocate to the Department of Health while the House of Lords would decamp to the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in Westminster.

Palace of Westminster London Restoration

Palace of Westminster Building Renewal Details

The Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster concluded in a report that the Palace of Westminster ‘faces an impending crisis which we cannot responsibly ignore’.

source: Houses of Parliament Restoration

Temporary UK Parliament on the River Thames picture © Project Posiedon Houses of Parliament on the River Thames in London – 3 Oct 2016

17 Dec 2013

Houses of Parliament Restoration & Renewal

Deloitte Real Estate and AECOM with HOK to support the Palace of Westminster’s Restoration and Renewal programme

The House of Commons and House of Lords announced Deloitte Real Estate, AECOM and HOK as the team appointed to undertake an Independent Options Appraisal as part of the ‘Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme’.

Built: 1840-68 Architects: Barry + Pugin

Large Victorian Gothic Building

Palace of Westminster London

Houses of Parliament Building Restoration

Location: Parliament Square, London, SW1, England, UK

Architecture in London

London Architecture Links – chronological list

Whitehall Buildings

Another building by one of the Houses of Parliament Architects – Pugin : Hub Edinburgh

Big Ben Photographs [2007] taken with Panasonic DMC-FX01 lumix camera; Leica lense: 2816×2112 pixels – original photos available upon request: info(at)e-architect.com

Houses of Parliament London joint architect : Charles Barry

Scottish Parliament Building

Government Buildings

Danish House of Parliament

Houses of Parliament : New Zealand

London Architecture

Architecture Walking Tours London

London Architect

HOK Architects

Comments / photos for the Palace of Westminster Renewal – Houses of Parliament London Architecture page welcome

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