William Upton KC

Well, thought it would help put something down in writing #flooding #environment - short book is also available (!)

#Farringdon Without Wardmote - a ceremonial part of the city’s local government- with the beadles, and their maces. Hosted by Haberdashers hall. To discuss what’s new - with new courts, police station, as well as changes to Smithfield inc the new London Museum coming.

UPDATE ON BANK JUNCTION TAXI TRIAL We want to hear your views on the ongoing trial to allow licensed taxis to travel across Bank Junction. Your feedback will help us decide if the trial should continue. Please click here for further details and to share your views: bank-taxi.commonplace.is

The new Bazalgette Embankment area is now open west of Blackfriars Bridge on the north bank of the Thames, with better access for the Thames Path National Trail, seating and sculptures. Info 👇 tideway.london/locations/baza… 📷 @TidewayLondon @visitlondon

Councillors no longer to be allowed to decide applications for 150 homes+ This is infantilising of elected representatives and spells the end of meaningful local planning…

Traffic from ChatGPT grew by only 2 basis points in August. At this rate it'll take 4 years to overtake Google as a source of organic traffic for most sites. That's a big slowdown from 6 months ago. I feel ChatGPT has only really penetrated early adopters. In the echo chamber of tech nerds on LinkedIn it probably seems inevitable that every person on the internet wouldn't use it daily (I do). But in the wider world opening up ChatGPT is still a lot more effort than initiating a Google search. Plus consumer habits take years to change. The bigger problem is that clicks out from Google are dropping fast as AI answers satisfy more searches. These 'zero click' searches are depriving brand sites of traffic. Traffic from Google was down 83 basis points month-on-month. And that's before Google even rolled out AI Mode. Where is your traffic going to come from if it's not from Google?

We’re consulting on future access at Hampstead Heath’s bathing ponds to ensure arrangements remain fair, lawful & respectful. Share your views by 25 Nov 👉 …ad-heath-bathing-ponds.commonplace.is

We joined @MaceGroup and @CityPolice to celebrate the ‘topping out’ of Salisbury Square - the future justice quarter for the Square Mile, set to open in 2027. 📈£600m investment to boost capacity in the criminal justice system, with faster outcomes for victims. 🏦18 new City court rooms dedicated to economic and cyber crime cases. 👮‍♀️New HQ for City of London Police to cement our position as a leading global business and legal hub Read more here: bit.ly/4nGjTKJ

This is what 6.30m looks like btw, outrageous. A 14th World Record for Mondo Duplantis. #WorldAthleticsChamps

🎶✨Evelyn Glennie & NLCE: Sound Unbound ✨🎶We’re joining world-renowned percussionist @DameEvelyn at the @CanterburyFest 📅Fri 17 Oct 2025, 19:30 Programme: Farkas, Barber, Tabakova, Glennie, Keane + new works by Ní Ríain & Philips. 🎟️canterburyfestival.co.uk/whats-on/evely… 📷Richard Frew

#HT ⁦@TheWeekUK⁩ & this letter - that the ⁦@readingmuseum⁩ copy of the Bayeux Tapestry is not a complete copy! (Still worth seeing though)

I find this funny no matter how many times I see it...

🏆 Queen’s Park has won a Green Flag Award! 🌳💚 Proud to be recognised as one of the UK’s best green spaces — a big thank you to our amazing team, volunteers & community! 👏 Come enjoy this award-winning park 🌼🦋 #QueensPark #GreenFlagAward #LoveParks

🏆 Great news! Highgate Wood has won a Green Flag Award 🌳💚 Proud to be recognised as one of the UK’s best green spaces — thanks to our amazing team & community! Come visit this award-winning woodland gem 🌿🦉 #GreenFlagAward #HighgateWood

🏆 Hampstead Heath has won a Green Flag Award! 🌳💚 We’re proud to be recognised as one of the UK’s best green spaces — thanks to our amazing team, volunteers & community! 👏 Come enjoy this iconic, award-winning space 🌿☀️ #HampsteadHeath #GreenFlagAward

Last week at Guildhall, we celebrated 50 years of #CITES – the global treaty protecting endangered species. 📷 Jayne Burdess

MEDIA STUDIES: How the Times bungled its coverage of the OBR report on climate change & UK govt debt Yesterday's newspaper reported a major shift: "The OBR now thinks…net-zero will have a far more damaging impact on borrowing…" In fact, the OBR had said the opposite! 1/6

If you want to know what OBR really said on all this, I wrote a brief summary TL;DR: Since net-zero is much cheaper than thought and unchecked global warming is far more costly than thought, climate action makes even more sense than thought carbonbrief.org/obr-net-zero-i… 6/6

Shout out for the complete #bayeux replica in #readingmuseum - but good to see the entente

After a $1.6 billion investment and years of hard work, the Seine River, which was once heavily polluted, is now clean enough for swimming for the first time in over a century. The city has also invested in three public swimming locations. 📍 Paris 🇫🇷

Always good to have a #planning debate. eventbrite.co.uk/e/navigating-t…