Telecom news

Follow @Telecom_UK_

• Second HS2 tunnel reaches Greenford, completing Western Northolt tunnel

  04-04-2025 12:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  A second 5-mile railway tunnel has been completed underneath west London after one of HS2’s tunnel boring machines arrived at a shaft at Greenford.
  The 8.4 mile long dual Northolt Tunnel is being dug by four tunnel boring machines (TBMs). Two of the TBMs are heading from Ruislip and have dug five mile tunnels each, and the two TBMs heading from Old Oak Common are digging 3.4 mile tunnels. They all meet next to Greenford station in west London.
  London tunnels (c) HS2
  Due to high water press
  
  Read more

• The London Buzz – 10th April 2025

  10-04-2025 18:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Today’s London news round-up:
  Lambeth Council has admitted it will need to source more temporary accommodation in cheaper places outside of the city to save cash. Southwark News
  Alfresco dining, which flourished across the capital after the Covid pandemic, could be making a comeback with support from City Hall. Standard
  Camden councillors have waved through the borough’s development plans for the coming 15 years, including proposals to build thousands of new homes. Fitzrovia News
  A
  
  Read more

• Tickets Alert: Hyde Park estate gardens open day

  10-04-2025 16:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Three normally private gardens owned by the Church of England will be open to visitors for one day in June.
  (c) National Garden Scheme
  Although owned by the Church, through the Church Commissioners, the gardens actually sit within blocks of 1960s flats in Paddington on land that was owned by the Bishop of London and then rebuilt following WW2 damage. Each garden is planted sympathetically to reflect the surroundings while uniquely, The Water Gardens, an original ‘brutalist’ garden, f
  
  Read more

• Cartier sparkles at the V&A – A jewelled journey through royalty and pop icons

  10-04-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  The blingist bling that ever did bling has blung its way into the V&A Museum’s new exhibition devoted to the master of bling — Cartier.If you watch Antique’s Roadshow, two names will make owners’ eyes light up with pound signs — Fabergé and Cartier. The V&A showed off Fabergé in 2021, and now it’s Cartier’s turn.
  Candidly, it doesn’t matter what anyone says about this exhibition as it’s a safe one to put on — the a
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Blue plaque honours Jill Viner, London’s first female bus driver

  10-04-2025 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Kingston’s new bus station has gained a blue plaque that celebrates London’s first bus driver, Jill Viner, who qualified as a bus driver in 1974. Jill Viner became the first woman to drive a London bus licensed to carry passengers in May 1974 and was a pioneer in leading the way for women to drive passenger buses professionally.
  Newly installed plaque (c) ianVisits
  According to a news article in the Daily Mirror, Viner qualfiied as a bus driver at the Chiswick training centre on Frid
  
  Read more

• The London Buzz – 9th April 2025

  09-04-2025 18:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Today’s London news round-up:
  Transition to electric vehicles is racing ahead, yet vital infrastructure for them in the capital is patchy OnLondon
  A government bill is seeking to regulate yeshivas, sparking outcry in London’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. But not everyone wants to keep parliament out. The Londoner
  Cyclists are divided over a new Silvertown tunnel shuttle bus with some branding it “rubbish”. The Tottenham Independent
  Sir Sadiq Khan has announced a &pou
  
  Read more

• Hackney Museum to close later this year for £2.2 million revamp

  09-04-2025 16:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Hackney’s local museum is to get a £2.2 million redevelopment after it secured a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.The new permanent exhibition at the museum, replacing the current display, which was created in 2002, will highlight how 300,000 years of migration and settlement have shaped the local area. Alongside the redesign and redisplay of the permanent exhibition, other significant changes will include a new visitor reception, two temporary exhibition areas, a redeve
  
  Read more

• Tickets Alert: Visit the Reigate Caves

  09-04-2025 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Underneath Reigate town centre is a series of large caves* that are usually open to the public for a few days during the summer.The West Tunnel caves were used to mine high-grade sand and, apart from a gun range, are still empty, while the East Tunnels were used for storage in the 19th-century but taken over as a WW2 control centre and much of the site is given over to that heritage. The Barons’ Cave is underneath the ruins of Reigate Castle and is a large set of tunnels of rather mysterio
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The Duke of Wellington’s private art collection goes on display in Apsley House

  09-04-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  An often overlooked aspect of the first Duke of Wellington’s private life is getting a new look at his London home — and it’s something not many people know much about.
  His art collection.
  It may seem odd to suggest that a man who lived in a grand house packed with some of the best art available to galleries at the time could have his interest in art overlooked, but it’s down to how the art was acquired.Most of what people see in Apsley House is from the Spanish Gift &mda
  
  Read more

• Universal theme park for Bedford would include two railway stations

  09-04-2025 09:32 via ianvisits.co.uk
  A huge theme park could be built at Bedford, north of London and would include two railway stations to make it easier for people to visit the theme park.After several years of local consultation, Universal, the government, and the local council agreed on a multi-billion-pound investment in the new Universal theme park and resort in Bedford. It is all subject to formal planning approval, but the noises are favourable, with strong local support. If approved, they expect construction to start next
  
  Read more

• From penny-licks to Greensleeves: The history of ice cream van jingles

  09-04-2025 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  It’s summer (allegedly), and all around the country, small vans are driving around residential estates playing music out loud — and people are smiling when they hear it.It’s the familiar jingle of the ice cream van, and hearing it the other day made me wonder — why are they allowed to play music in the first place. It’s such an odd thing when you think about it, as no one else would be allowed to do that.
  Is there an ice-cream van exemption from noise pollution? Aft
  
  Read more

• The London Buzz – 8th April 2025

  08-04-2025 18:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Today’s London news round-up:
  Campaigners in south-east London are calling on the government to tighten the law on catapults to stop wildlife being killed. BBC News
  Housebuilder Vistry Group has secured planning permission from Enfield Council to build 723 new homes as part of a wider scheme. Housing Today
  The former boss of Google, Eric Schmidt, has bought a Holland Park mansion for nearly £42m, in the latest in a string of big transactions in London’s prime real estate marke
  
  Read more

• The original Star Wars movie is coming to the BFI

  08-04-2025 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  This summer, there will be a chance to go back to a long time ago, and a galaxy far, far away – well, to London’s Southbank for a special screening of the original Star Wars movie.
  The original Star Wars poster (Disney/Lucasfilm)
  As part of a season of original print screenings by the BFI Southbank, the original version of the Star Wars movie will be shown on the big screen for the first time in ages. It isn’t easy to find a copy, as most home versions would be on VHS, and hard
  
  Read more

• From clocks to canopies – free exhibition marks 40 years of saving Britain’s railway heritage

  08-04-2025 16:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  An exhibition has opened inside Waterloo station to celebrate 40 years of protecting and restoring the UK’s railway heritage. There’re all examples of work carried out by the Railway Heritage Trust, which is celebrating its 40th birthday this year.The Railway Heritage Trust is a not-for-profit company that awards grants to railway buildings and structures that are listed or in conservation areas and are Network Rail assets.
  As explained at the exhibition opening by the RHT’s Ch
  
  Read more

• You can see the world’s oldest guitar in a basement behind the Royal Albert Hall

  08-04-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Did you know that the world’s oldest guitar is in the basement of a South Kensington college and that anyone can wander in to have a look?It’s in the Royal College of Music Museum — which has a name that is not at all confusingly similar to the Royal Academy of Music Museum, and in fact I got the two mixed up when planning a visit, thinking the College is only open on Fridays, when in fact it’s open a lot more than that.
  The College’s museum is smaller but arguably
  
  Read more

• Cheap return fares offered by Greater Anglia for early summer trips

  08-04-2025 11:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Train operator Greater Anglia has launched its annual summer ‘Hare Fares’, offering return trips from London from £14 return for a limited time.
  (c) Greater Anglia
  Hare Fares must be booked by 22nd April for travel before 10th June from the Greater Anglia website. There is no limit on the number of tickets that a passenger can purchase.
  Children can travel for £2 per child when accompanied by an adult.
  Example adult return fares from London:
  Destinations for £14 ret
  
  Read more

• Unbuilt London: The Central Metropolitan Railway

  08-04-2025 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Long before the Northern line could carry people from St Pancras to the Embankment, plans were made for a sub-surface railway in the same style as the Metropolitan line along a similar route.
  This was the Central Metropolitan Railway, planned in 1881 and blocked by Parliament in 1882 — so it didn’t last long.
  In 1881, the Central Metropolitan Railway proposed a cut-and-cover line running from Parliament Square to St Pancras/King’s Cross. At the southern end, the line was to run
  
  Read more

• After 150 years at Euston, Robert Stephenson statue takes temporary home in Shildon

  08-04-2025 07:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  The statue of Robert Stephenson, which stood at Euston station for nearly 150 years until it was removed for HS2 works, has reappeared — this time outside the Locomotion railway museum in Shildon, County Durham.
  Robert Stephenson statue outside Locomotion museum in Shildon (c) HS2
  The statue, designed by Carlo Marochetti, was commissioned by the Institute of Civil Engineers to commemorate the great engineer. Although completed fairly quickly, it was kept in storage for some years while a l
  
  Read more

• The London Buzz – 7th April 2025

  07-04-2025 18:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Today’s London news round-up:
  Rescue donkeys Dora and Nora from Kentish Town City Farm have been taking part in an unusual job – gardening at Parliament Hill School. BBC News (video)
  Hackney’s Green councillors have taken aim at the Labour-run administration over “delays” in bringing in tougher restrictions for landlords. Hackney Citizen
  Capital Letters, the company set up by a group of London boroughs to address homelessness and reduce spending on temporary accomm
  
  Read more

• Mayor of London intervenes in rejected Paddington housing development

  07-04-2025 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  A property development near Paddington station which was refused planning permission by Westminster Council has been called in for review by the Mayor of London.
  The proposed development — Make Architects / Planning document
  The site is currently a Travis Perkins warehouse, and there have been two attempts to build a block of student housing on it, retaining the warehouse on the ground floor. However, there has been strong opposition to the plans locally, particularly from a residential bl
  
  Read more

• Four new tube posters commissioned by the London Transport Museum

  07-04-2025 16:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  The London Transport Museum has commissioned a new series of posters celebrating four London attractions, which will be displayed in tube stations from next month.Created by award-winning artist Eliza Southwood, the new series marks the return of contemporary artists being commissioned to create TfL travel posters for the first time since 2020.
  The first of the new poster artworks, showing Dulwich Picture Gallery, will start to appear in tube stations from Friday, 4th April 2025.
  The other three
  
  Read more

• Sky reiterates commitment to CityFibre deal in boost to £1.5bn fundraising

  07-04-2025 06:00
  Lenders to the UK’s largest altnet seek reassurance over broadband partnership announced last year
  
  Read more

• The London Buzz – 4th April 2025

  04-04-2025 18:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Today’s London news round-up:
  A South London emergency nurse has been suspended after leaving his unit understaffed by finishing multiple shifts early. Local Guardian
  Residents are opposing a proposal to grant a year-round alcohol and events licence, which they say could further damage a beloved park. South London Press
  A group of London tenants who have been awarded a record £263,000 in rent repayments from their “rogue landlord” have raised fears they may never receive
  
  Read more

• Half price offer on Thames Rib boat tours

  04-04-2025 17:54 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  If you’ve ever fancied a ride on one of those high speed boats that zoom up and down the Thames, then the next few weeks is a good time to try one out.
  (c) Thames Rib Experience
  Candidly, as someone who used to live next to the river, having a speedboat zooming around outside blaring out the James Bond theme music was, well, not quite as much fun as it was for the people on the boat.
  However, if you want to be on the boat — there’s a half-price offer on trips, reducing the pric
  
  Read more

• Burnt Oak Brook flowing freely again after decades in a concrete channel

  04-04-2025 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  A north London stream that has been constrained within a narrow concrete channel since the 1950s is flowing freely again as part of a rewilding project.
  The brook still in its concrete channel to the north of the project
  The restored brook layout
  The Burnt Oak Brook, which runs through Watling Park, has seen a narrow channel removed and the brook’s wide, sloping meandering path, which it would once have known, restored. As part of the rewilding, the new channel will allow aquatic plants an
  
  Read more

• Camden High Street’s pedestrianisation trial starts in May

  04-04-2025 13:30 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Camden council has confirmed that an 18-month trial to pedestrianise the exceptionally busy Camden High Street will start on Saturday 3rd May 2025.
  The council announced that it would test a ban on road vehicles on Camden High Street earlier this year, but the date it would come into effect was not known at the time. Once it starts, pedestrianising the road should increase the amount of space for pedestrians by between a third and 50 percent.
  An average weekend on Camden High Street
  The trial, w
  
  Read more

• The London Buzz – 3rd April 2025

  03-04-2025 18:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Today’s London news round-up:
  An east London bureaucrat has been fired for misconduct after allegedly allocating themselves a council house — skipping a local waiting time of 26 years. London Spy
  A landmark office building next to the Chiswick Flyover is set to be converted into 178 flats. However, around 84 per cent of the homes will be studios. Chiswick W4
  London’s councils want a “radical” change that could curtail the mayor’s power — by following th
  
  Read more

• Wimbledon’s Henman Hill set for makeover ahead of the championship’s 150th anniversary

  03-04-2025 16:08 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Wimbledon’s famous Henman Hill / Murray Mount could get larger and easier to sit on for its many fans, as the All England Lawn Tennis Club has announced plans to improve the hill.
  Proposed hill layout (c) AELTC
  The hill, officially called Aorangi Terrace, even if no one really uses that name, was created in 1997 from the soil dug out to create the basement space for the slightly sunken Number 1 Court that sits next to the hill. Since then, with large screens mounted on the outside of the s
  
  Read more

• New skyscraper may open up a hidden section of London’s Roman Wall

  03-04-2025 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  A section of London’s Roman Wall hidden under a 1980s office block could be opened up to the public if plans for to redevelop the site are approved.
  The two buildings to be demolished next to the “can of ham” building (c) ianVisits
  The proposed building – source: planning documents / Fletcher Priest Architects
  The site is made up of two buildings on Camomile Street, a few minutes walk from Liverpool Street station, and the developer wants to replace them with a single 46
  
  Read more

• From Roman relics to horned helmets: Mudlarking treasures unveiled

  03-04-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Twice a day, the depths of the River Thames are pulled back by the power of the moon, opening up its foreshore to the mudlarkers, those hardy folk who scrabble amongst the shingle for hidden treasures. Now, some of those treasures have been displayed at the London Museum Docklands.
  Mudlarking has been going on pretty much since humans started dropping things into the river, and what was once scavenging by the poor is today a regulated practice with strict rules about what can and cannot be done
  
  Read more

Follow @Telecom_UK_ on Twitter!