0:00:00 > 0:00:13That's all from the BBC News at One, so it's goodbye from me.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14Good afternoon and welcome to BBC London News.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18I'm Sonja Jessup.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Over the next two years the number of secondary school pupils
0:00:20 > 0:00:24in the capital is set to grow faster than anywhere else in the country.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26That's according to a new report, which says here in London,
0:00:26 > 0:00:31we'll need to find places for 76,000 extra students by 2020.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34That would mean building 73 new schools.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Here's Marc Ashdown.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42London is in the grip of a secondary school population boom.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44According to this report, over the next few years there's
0:00:44 > 0:00:47going to be thousands more secondary pupils across the capital,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50from Lambeth and Lewisham, to Richmond,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52and Hackney in the north, but here in Barking
0:00:52 > 0:00:55and Dagenham is the epicentre.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Over the next couple of years they're going to have nearly 6000
0:00:58 > 0:01:01more secondary school pupils, that's a 40% growth.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03In effect they need six brand-new schools just to keep up.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08It requires creative thinking.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11A lot of it is about unstructured time, break times and lunchtimes.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Your playground is your playground.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17If you add another 200 or 300 students onto that playground
0:01:17 > 0:01:20you face real difficulties.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24You can't cram all your key stage three kids into a single playground.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25Local authorities have got the best understanding
0:01:25 > 0:01:28I think of local needs.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30There's no way central government or even a regional school
0:01:30 > 0:01:35commissioner can understand the nuances of the local context,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38so I think that's why local authorities need
0:01:38 > 0:01:40to have an enhanced role.
0:01:40 > 0:01:47A public sector organisation group compiled this report
0:01:47 > 0:01:50by analysing government data and they are proposing radical
0:01:50 > 0:01:51solutions like opening schools in coffee shops,
0:01:51 > 0:01:58leisure centres or disused council buildings or even prefab schools.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00The Department for Education says they've already created 235,000
0:02:00 > 0:02:03extra school places in London in the last five years.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07They've committed £0.5 billion to creating even more.
0:02:07 > 0:02:08But there's no doubt London's population growth
0:02:08 > 0:02:15continues to be a challenge.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18And of course it's not just new schools that London is short of.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21The Mayor's said we need 65,000 homes a year-
0:02:21 > 0:02:23and one radical suggestion is to build them on the roofs
0:02:23 > 0:02:33of existing buildings.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Critics argue it will spoil the city skyline.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37Here's Caroline Davis.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40We've built on, we've built down, and you might have thought we've
0:02:40 > 0:02:42built up, but not like this.
0:02:42 > 0:02:43Now we are building on.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45So is this a creative solution to the housing crisis,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47or a blight on your view?
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Jovan and his neighbours were fed up of living in flats
0:02:49 > 0:02:51they couldn't afford to do up.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Our insulation was bad.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Also the lift doesn't work, the lift hasn't been
0:02:57 > 0:03:01working for decades.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05We had also had a bad electrical wiring system and we decided
0:03:05 > 0:03:08to find out a solution.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10And this is the solution.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13The tenants bought the freehold to the block, sold the airspace
0:03:13 > 0:03:16above it and used the money to do up their flats.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18It's a large two-bedroom penthouse...
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Now their roof is a £1 million property and the developers say
0:03:22 > 0:03:25it's just the start.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29A lot of the buildings in London are very sustainable.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33They can take an additional floor on them.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35London's housing crisis won't be resolved through
0:03:35 > 0:03:40looking for large sites.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42This is the ideal solution.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Often if you own the freehold to the property you own the airspace
0:03:45 > 0:03:47above it, but not all buildings are suitable to take
0:03:47 > 0:03:49the weight of a new floor.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52You need planning permission and then there's the neighbours.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55The big problem always will be even if I make some money out
0:03:55 > 0:03:58of doing up my house, my next-door neighbour might well
0:03:58 > 0:04:01have a problem with it and think it impinges on their privacy
0:04:01 > 0:04:04and destroys local character.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08There will always be reasons people can find to stop
0:04:08 > 0:04:10new development taking place.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13But in cases where it works structurally and it doesn't ruin
0:04:13 > 0:04:17local character completely, I think it's worth looking at.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20So it might not be right for everyone, but Jovan is happy
0:04:20 > 0:04:23to put up with building work and a new neighbour.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26We are happy, all the people in the building, because we have
0:04:26 > 0:04:31much better living conditions, it's much better to save green
0:04:31 > 0:04:33belt than chimneys.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Will building on take off?
0:04:35 > 0:04:45Watch this space.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Detectives investigating a suspected fatal hit and run in south London -
0:04:48 > 0:04:51in which a woman was run over by four vehicles -
0:04:51 > 0:04:53have released CCTV to try to trace two of the drivers.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56They want to speak to whoever was behind the wheel
0:04:56 > 0:04:58of this white lorry, and a black car.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00It's alleged none of the vehicles stopped after hitting
0:05:00 > 0:05:04the 29-year-old woman in Tulse Hill on Monday.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06From tonight, part of the Overground through east London will run
0:05:06 > 0:05:09a 24-hour service at weekends.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11The Night Overground, on Fridays and Saturdays,
0:05:11 > 0:05:17will run between New Cross Gate and Dalston Junction.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I think it will promote a lot of activity in in London,
0:05:20 > 0:05:21promote a lot of investment.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25We spend so much money on Uber, for my daughter especially,
0:05:25 > 0:05:26so we can go straight home now.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30It's good for me because it means I can get home or see friends,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34so I'm happy about that.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38More people than ever before will have turned 70 in 2017.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40According to the Office of National Statistics,
0:05:40 > 0:05:45there are nearly 800,000 baby boomers celebrating the milestone.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47So what's it like for the generation who have been through some
0:05:47 > 0:05:49of the world's biggest cultural and social changes?
0:05:49 > 0:05:54John Maguire reports from Crawley.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56We've gathered a group of septuagenarians from across
0:05:56 > 0:06:06the UK to deliberate, cogitate and celebrate life at 70.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Here at the Hawth Theatre in Crawley - a town also born in 1947 -
0:06:09 > 0:06:13it's panto season and behind us is the set for Snow White
0:06:13 > 0:06:15and the seven Dwarfs.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18So the first question is about going off to work.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21How many of you here are still working?
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Workers over there, please.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27People who have retired or not working, over on that side.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30In our group, 28% still work.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33This isn't a scientific survey, of course, but in 2005 the national
0:06:33 > 0:06:37figure was less than 5%.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39So you've gone back to work?
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Yes, because I wanted to keep my brain going and I wanted
0:06:42 > 0:06:48to give back actually all that I have learnt in 70 years.
0:06:48 > 0:06:49Going well?
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Love it, love it.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55I'm now do things I want to do rather than things I have to do.
0:06:55 > 0:07:03How many of you feel financially stable as a 70-year-old?
0:07:03 > 0:07:0788% were happy with their finances, better off than younger generations.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10My husband and I, when we retired sold our house, sold our home
0:07:10 > 0:07:12at the height of the property boom and invested the money.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16Our generation, people that did own property,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18have done well on it with house prices, unlike the younger
0:07:18 > 0:07:21generation, who are now struggling.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24I have to watch my pennies and be careful what I do and can't go
0:07:25 > 0:07:29on expensive holidays.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Some fascinating views, stories and a real insight I think
0:07:31 > 0:07:37into what it feels like to be 70 years old in this day and age,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39but there's one thing I've definitely learned and that is 70
0:07:39 > 0:07:41is the new...
0:07:41 > 0:07:49ALL:40!
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Let's get the weather now - here's Elizabeth Rizzini.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03Good afternoon. We thought clear skies for a time last night, so
0:08:03 > 0:08:07patchy frost to start this morning. We are into colder air. There is a
0:08:07 > 0:08:11very chilly north-easterly wind blowing too. We will see some
0:08:11 > 0:08:14showers, further showers for money, through this afternoon, towards
0:08:14 > 0:08:18eastern areas. The best of the brightness will tend to be for
0:08:18 > 0:08:22western parts. Top temperatures only up to five Celsius. It will feel
0:08:22 > 0:08:25colder than that with the wind chill. This evening and overnight
0:08:25 > 0:08:29the wind will back off slightly. There will be some cloud around at
0:08:29 > 0:08:33first but that should thin and break. We'll get clear skies and a
0:08:33 > 0:08:36widespread frost to start off the day tomorrow. Some of our rural
0:08:36 > 0:08:47spots in western areas could be down as low as -2, or minus three
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Celsius. A cold start to the weekend. Tomorrow should see lots of
0:08:49 > 0:08:52sunshine through the day and it should stay dry, with a bit more
0:08:52 > 0:08:54cloud working in from the north-west as we head into the afternoon. Top
0:08:54 > 0:08:58temperatures between 3-5 degrees Celsius. A light breeze, it will
0:08:58 > 0:09:02feel pleasant. By Sunday, a few changes. The wind will pick up again
0:09:02 > 0:09:06and there will be some rain as we head into the late afternoon and
0:09:06 > 0:09:10first part of the evening. It doesn't feel quite so cold. Lots of
0:09:10 > 0:09:14cloud around, top temperatures up to nine degrees Celsius. Again, turning
0:09:14 > 0:09:18a bit milder for next week.
0:09:18 > 0:09:18That's all we've got time for.
0:09:18 > 0:09:19That's all we've got time for.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Asad Ahmad will be here at 6:30pm with our evening news programme.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Hope you can join him for that.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Bye-bye.