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No trip to the Southbank Centre is complete without gawping at the skaters in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Undercroft (that's the proper name for what everyone calls 'the bit with the skaters').
Now, there are plans to regenerate the Undercroft. But it's good news: not only will the skating hub be safeguarded, but the plans include more space for skaters alongside new education, arts and culture ventures.
The centre of London's skateboarding scene for more than 40 years, the Undercroft was threatened by plans unveiled by the Southbank Centre in 2013, which would have seen retail units take over the space.
Luckily, then Mayor of London Boris Johnson stepped in to save the skaters, and Southbank Centre subsequently agreed that the Undercroft would remain as the home of skateboarding on the South Bank.
In a statement, Southbank Centre and the Long Live Southbank campaign said: 'In a collaborative vision, the plans propose a reconfiguration of the Undercroft to enable new educational arts and culture facilities for young people, alongside more available space for the skateboarding community. The skate space will include improved lighting and a reinstatement of some of the original 1960s banks and concrete paving.'
Here's a sneak peek of the new improved skate space:
Photo: Mike T/Flickr
In other news, a toxic air alert has been issued in London this week.
And there's a gory exhibition of bones and junk from the Thames.