Create meetup in Londonchevron_right
Select a place on the map to change the location.
I want to meet
Verified required?
want to meet at fmd_good The Spot
want to meet at fmd_good Local House
explore London Guides
bar_chart Trends in London
What are our councils up to?
Camden - The council's Housing Revenue Account is under pressure due to increasing inflation, interest rates, and repair costs. The Housing Transformation Programme aims to address these challenges and improve housing services. The Disability Oversight Panel is focusing on digital accessibility and promoting sports for disabled residents.
Hackney - Hackney is facing a significant budget overspend, primarily due to rising homelessness and social care costs. Plans are afoot to close and merge some primary schools due to falling pupil rolls. A license variation application for Simmons bar, seeking extended hours, has attracted strong opposition from residents due to concerns about noise and anti-social behaviour.
Lambeth - Palm Lounge in Brixton was denied its request for extended opening hours until 3am due to concerns about public nuisance. A new bingo hall application in West Norwood faces opposition from residents worried about crime and gambling addiction. The council is grappling with the financial impact of closing the Homes for Lambeth Group.
Lewisham - The Shared Technology Service, which serves Brent, Lewisham, and Southwark, is experiencing performance issues and is working to improve its cyber security. A new licence was granted to China Ark Market despite resident objections, and Savalan Kebab was granted a late night refreshment license with restricted hours after opposition from a local councillor.
Southwark - Two railway arches near London Bridge station were denied premises licenses due to concerns from residents and businesses. The Housing, Community Safety and Community Engagement Scrutiny Commission is reviewing the council's resident involvement strategy and the impact of the cost of living crisis on tenants.
Wandsworth - The council is working to implement the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report to improve building safety. They are also seeking to improve tenant satisfaction, particularly regarding repairs. The council is extending its leisure and culture contract with Enable Leisure and Culture, despite some resident concerns.
Newham - The council is reviewing its Pension Administration Strategy and Risk Register. Plans for a new ghusl (muslim funeral) facility in Forest Gate and the renovation of a locally listed building in Plaistow are under consideration.
Islington - The council is facing a budget overspend, largely due to the rising cost of temporary accommodation. They are looking at options to reduce reliance on agency workers and are consulting on extending selective licensing schemes for private landlords to improve housing standards. A new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy has been approved.
Westminster - Lots of licensing applications this week, with residents objecting to changes to the licenses of the Radisson Edwardian and the Mayfair Hotel. The council's Audit and Performance Committee discussed finances, and are particularly concerned about the cost of temporary accommodation.
Waltham Forest - The council is considering a new joint waste strategy for North London and exploring a 'mission-led' approach to climate action. Leyton Orient Football Club had its alcohol sales hours reduced due to noise complaints from residents.
Greenwich - The council is making progress on its Carbon Neutral Plan, but is not currently on track to meet its 2030 target. They are also working to modernise public toilets and address youth employability. A controversial plan to build three houses on a former garden site was approved despite resident concerns.
Tower Hamlets - Planning permission for a 46-storey student accommodation block at 7 Brannan Street was refused due to concerns about anti-social behaviour. The council is implementing its Waste Improvement Programme to address street cleanliness. New Homelessness and Rough Sleeping and Substance Misuse strategies have been approved.
Surrey - The council voted to close the Bagshot Community Recycling Centre despite a petition from residents. They are implementing a new operating model for the Registration and Nationality Service and exploring options for providing digital post-mortem services. The council faces a challenging financial environment and is seeking to identify savings.
I publish newsletters covering everything local councils do each week.
I set up this project because local authorities spend about 12% of the UK government budget, or roughly 5p of every pound that's earned in the UK, and yet the vast majority of people have no idea who their local councillors are, or what they're currently doing. I think that's bad for our society.
Currently, I can only afford to do this work for about a dozen councils in the south east, but that's constantly growing as more people subscribe.
This is still very early days, and I'd love your feedback.
If you'd like to learn more, click on the relevant council, or if your council doesn't appear, you can subscribe for free here: https://opencouncil.network
yeah the southwark arches thing is a good example of how this kind of reporting fills a gap. i live near london bridge and had no idea that was even happening. feels like these decisions get made in a vacuum unless you're actively subscribed to council agendas which most people arent
one thing that stood out to me was the newham ghusl facility. thats a really specific need for the muslim community in forest gate and its the kind of detail youd never catch in mainstream local news. would be interesting to know if theres been any opposition to it or if its moving smoothly
for the format i think you could lean into the 'why this matters' angle a bit more without making it longer. like for lewisham and the shared tech service - saying its struggling with cyber security is important but most people wont know that affects their council tax or how they report potholes online. a quick line connecting it to something tangible would help
keep it up though. the fact that you got twelve councils covered at all is more than most people manage
the surrey one about bagshot is a good example of why these summaries matter even if theyre brief. i used that recycling centre a few times when i lived down that way and it was genuinely convenient for anyone near the M3. closure means people will either drive to camberley or lightwater which is a pain if you dont have a car. the council did a consultation but it felt like a done deal from the start
one thing i'd add is maybe a line on how each council voted on contentious stuff. like the 46-storey tower hamlets student block refusal - was it unanimous or split? that tells you a lot about local politics. still, this is solid work for a one-person operation
honestly this is exactly the kind of project that should exist everywhere. i live in southwark and had no idea about those arches near london bridge getting denied licenses til i read this. feels like councils operate in a black box most of the time and newsletters like yours are the only way to peek inside
one thing i'd love is maybe a quick 'what this actually means for you' section per council. like the bagshot recycling centre closure in surrey - thats gonna be a real pain for people who used it regularly but the newsletter just says it happened. context on who it affects and if there's alternatives nearby would make it way more useful day to day
the scope is impressive for a solo project btw. getting through a dozen councils weekly is no joke even if the summaries are short. hope you can keep expanding
What are some innovative ways to anonymously compare rental prices in a city?
SpareRoom's "rooms wanted" ads are underrated for this. people post what they're currently paying alongside what they want next, so you can scrape a rough sense of going rates by postcode without anyone knowing you looked. it skews young and flatshare heavy tho, so not much use if you're after 2-beds in zone 2.
Another one is just the depozit or tenancy deposit scheme data. not public-facing, but your council's housing officer can tell you median rents from deposit registrations if you email them under FOI. takes weeks, but its proper anon and nobody clocks u.
Rightmove and Zoopla only show asking rents, which are often 10 to 15 percent above what a place actually goes for, so they're a poor benchmark. The trick I've used is the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, which breaks things down to borough level and is genuinely anonymous since it's aggregate data, no listing or account needed. For something more granular, the London Renters Union runs a rent reporting tool where you submit what you're paying with your postcode and it maps it against others nearby, though the coverage is patchy outside the inner boroughs.
the openrent "rent check" thing is decent for zones 3-4 where the unions tool barely reaches. also worth checking the london.gov.uk planning portal for new build applications, they list "affordable" and market rent figures per unit in the viability assessments, which is basically the developer telling the council what they expect to charge. bit of a faff to dig through but its public, anonymous & nobody knows ur looking
load 1 more reply