Talking Places

Q&A with Sam Coates (Sky News)

This is a special edition of the podcast.  Just before Christmas we were joined by Sam Coates; Assistant Political Editor of Sky News. The conversation took place at the London Transport Museum and covered the budget, the current political environment and what is likely to come in the year ahead. Interestingly the conversation also covered some of the challenges of modern journalism and the role of Social Media.  The interview was chaired by Alex Williams (Chief Customer & Strategy Officer) and the questions came from staff from across the organisation. The views expressed are done so in a personal capacity.  We hope you enjoy some of the highlights of our conversation with Sam.

Places for the Future

For this episode we focus on the fifth Place for London promise: Places for the Future. Lucy Atlee, our Senior Quality and Design Manager was joined by Dr Joel Callow, the founder of Beyond Carbon. They discussed the impact of our work on meeting the important climate goals of the next five years.  What we’re doing now, with polices such as Passivhaus and what else we need to do to meet the challenges of the future. It’s a fascinating discussion.  You can learn more about work on sustainability here [https://www.placesforlondon.co.uk/sustainability] and you can learn about the work of Beyond Carbon here [https://www.beyondcarbon.uk/].

Places for Community

For this episode of Talking Places we explore our most ambitious priority: Places for Community. We were joined again by Amy Thompson, Head of Strategy and were delighted to be welcomed by Anthony Breach, Director of Policy and Research at Centre for Cities.  It’s a wide-ranging discussion that gets to the heart of what we can achieve when we think big about public land. We discuss potential partnerships with organisations like Network Rail and the NHS, what the next wave of devolution could mean for the capital, and how growth in London drives the wider UK economy. We also pick up themes from our Places for Growth episode – looking at how our land can expand and strengthen existing community offers across the city.  You can read the reports that Anthony references as well as the work of Centre for Cities here [https://www.centreforcities.org/about/person/anthony-breach/].

Places for Growth

For the third episode of Talking Places we focus on our commercial work and our commitment to skills that make up our Places for Growth promise.  We were joined in conversation by Dan Lovatt, Director of Asset Management, our Head of Retail, Samantha Bain-Mollison and Laura Miller, Senior Construction Skills Manager. This wide-ranging discussion looks at how Places is playing a leading role in enabling growth in London. All the way from supporting the 1,300 plus SMEs across our estate, to how we support people into employment via the Skills Centre. There is also a great debate on the perceived death of retail and insights into how we are applying lifelong lessons to future-proof and reimagine a great estate. You can find out more about our work on Retail, Business and Leisure here [https://www.placesforlondon.co.uk/properties/retail-business-and-leisure] and about our work on skills here. [https://www.placesforlondon.co.uk/skills-academy]

Places for Connection

For this episode we turn our attention to how our work sits at the heart of London’s future – connecting people to homes, jobs, and opportunity through the land we manage and develop. We are joined by Graeme Craig, the CEO of Places for London, Head of Strategy, Amy Thompson and Alex Williams, TfL’s Chief Customer and Strategy Officer.  Alex brings a really valuable perspective on the benefit and value Places for London brings to TfL and the city as a whole, whilst Amy highlights opportunities for continued partnership and growth. We discuss the journey we have taken to get here and how our property adjacent to transport hubs represents some of the most valuable real estate in London – and the unique opportunity that gives us. How we ensure the profit we generate gets reinvested back into the transport network, helping to make it more accessible and sustainable for everyone. It’s a conversation about partnership, ambition, and what it means to create places that truly work for Londoners.