Each week, Ben Hopkinson looks back at a serious, crazy, and happy news story from the past week.
Serious News
According to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a 1% drop in house prices across the capital could help boost the economy by £3.7billion over the course of a decade.
Research commissioned by City Hall, London Councils, Trust for London and G15 – where the findings were announced at the Centre for London’s annual conference where there could be a “significant impact” in which the affordability of housing could improve London’s productivity as well as the Government’s growth agenda.
Further comments from Khan include the lack of affordable homes “is having a profound and devastating effect in every corner of our capital, impacting every part of our progress”, adding “It’s shattering one of the bedrock principles Britain was built on – that if you work hard, you get ahead. And it’s having far-reaching implications for the demographics of our country and our capital”.
Crazy News
Our local Greenwich has been rebranded as ‘Greenwitch’ to tie in with the upcoming release of Wicked, based off the West End production which will star Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
Ceremonial mayor, Jit Ranabhat, unveiled a plaque at the Greenwich Foot Tunnel on Tuesday morning, launching the partnership between the council and Universal Pictures.
There is also a Greenwitch trail available online or from the tourist information centre which includes spots like Greenwitch High Road, Greenwitch Picture House and the University of Greenwitch.
Ranabhat said in a statement: “Move over Emerald City, welcome to the Royal Borough of GreenWitch! We’re thrilled to partner with Universal Pictures on this exciting, free experience for residents and visitors to enjoy. As the home of Wicked for the next two weeks, ‘GreenWitch’ will be even more ‘popular’ than ever and we can’t wait to welcome new visitors to our corner of the capital”.
Happy News
Five years after a fire destroyed part of Notre-Dame cathedral, the bells rung out signalling the ambitious promise made by President Emmanuel Macron to restore Notre Dame within five years and make it “even more beautiful” than before.
Slated to reopen on Sunday 8th December, the bells sounded for the first time on Friday 8th November since the fire which occurred on Monday 15th April 2019.
First, the bells sounded individually, until they all chimed simultaneously in the cathedral’s northern belfry.
The official ceremony of the restored cathedral begins on December 7th, with the first mass scheduled for December 8th.
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