Your members raising your concerns about pedestrianisation in Common Council:

ITEM 11 (ii)

Question to the Chairman of the Planning & Transportation Committee from Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli – Court of Common Council, 19 July 2018

“My Lord Mayor,

There have been a number of notable public realm improvements for pedestrians. 

I might point to the recent transformation of Aldgate Square, or the all-but-pedestrianisation and substantial improvement to Austin Friars in the finest ward in the City. 

I am conscious that there are more to come, e.g. St Mary Axe & Lime Street, Bishopsgate & Camomile Street, Houndsditch & Jubilee Gardens, Great St Helen’s Link, Creechurch Lane, and Leadenhall Street. 

In addition to direct pedestrian area improvements, your predecessor, Michael Welbank, introduced our informal policy of ‘Groundage’, enlarging the public realm by working with developers to increase pedestrian space by trading height for more ground level space. 

Do the Chairman and the Committee intend to continue this policy?

My Lord Mayor.”

Response by the Chairman of the Planning & Transportation Committee, Mr Christopher Hayward CC – Court of Common Council, 19 July 2018

“My Lord Mayor,

I thank the Honourable Member for giving me notice of his question which highlights the excellent work undertaken in recent years to improve and enhance the public realm across the City, not least as he rightly points out in the finest ward in the City!

The way in which we govern the City of London’s public realm is through the City of London Local Plan which seeks to maintain and improve the City’s characteristic dense network of streets and alleyways and to deliver significant public realm improvements to streets and open spaces which enhance pedestrian permeability, inclusivity and safety.  

Through the Plan we have been able to enhance existing upper level walkways and to encourage roof gardens and viewing galleries. This has led to the creation of new open spaces such as Aldgate Square, new spaces and City walkways at London Wall Place, and new public roof gardens such as at 20 Fenchurch Street and Fen Court. Many more are on the way.  Future employment growth and public transport improvements will stimulate further development activity and increased pedestrian flows in the City, improving our public space right now is therefore even more important, not least for public safety.   

We are currently reviewing our Local Plan to improve matters by encouraging building designs that include a wider range of public uses at street level and at higher levels such as roof top gardens and cafes.  This approach will seek to re-establish historic pedestrian routes, or to create new routes through and around buildings.

New tall buildings which have intensified site occupation significantly will need to be complemented by greater provision for public movement within and near the building. In conjunction with the development of the Local Plan, the City is currently consulting on a number of initiatives to create safer and more pleasant streets and a better connected Square Mile, these include the; Transport Strategy, Eastern Cluster Area Strategy, and the Road Danger Reduction and Active Travel Five Year Plan.

As I say, within the Eastern Cluster Area, that you reference in your question, consultation is underway on a strategy to enhance the streets and spaces within this growing area of the City to enable development, provide capacity for all users of the area, create an exceptional urban environment which is attractive, welcoming and vibrant. The recently reopened One London Wall Place is an example of best practice regarding the creation of a new public space and was recently praised by your Open Spaces and City Gardens Committee, who observed that this was an area which developers should seek to emulate, and I agree with them.

 We are also consulting on a Transport Strategy for the City. The proposed vision, aims and outcomes within this Strategy will summarise our aspirations for the Square Mile’s streets and how connections to the City should be improved.

Through the measures outlined, your Planning and Transportation Committee will continue to seek to improve the public realm to create a pleasant, attractive and safer Square Mile.

My Lord Mayor.”

Our annual Wardmote was held on Wednesday, 21 March 2018, courtesy of the Worshipful Company of Drapers in their magnificent Drapers’ Hall.

Civic team l to r – Beadle George Martin, Common Councilman Christopher Hayward, Common Councilman John Scott JP, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli, Deputy John Scott, Ward Clerk Adrian – photo courtesy of Jonathan Hindle, Chairman of Broad Street Ward Club

Just under 30 people attended for just under an hour.  We discussed ward issues, most notably:

• Question from Roger Watts: “There seems to have been an increase in rough sleepers/vagrants in the City particularly around Moorgate.  What are the Corporation doing?”  Rough sleeping has risen around the country.  We have anywhere from three to 35 in the City during any month.  We handed out the helpline information, discussed one individual whom we have directly taken an interest in helping within the ward, and pointed out the depth of care available if we can get rough sleepers to accept it;
• Crime in the Ward: where we handed out both the current statistics (extremely low, and mostly petty theft);
• The Lord Mayor theme: “Building Trust”, and his booklet, “The Business of Trust“;
• Financial crime and scandals: where we presented a report provided by the City and the Alderman as part of this year’s Lord Mayor’s theme, “Building Trust”, sponsored by the Cardano Foundation and the Financial Services Group of Livery Companies:

Get Smart About Scandals: Past Lessons For Future Finance

Professor Tim Connell and Bob McDowall

2018

Long Finance (March 2018), 102 pages.

We made a number of announcements, most importantly John Scott’s imminent ascent to Chief Commoner next month, and pointed out that membership of Broad Street Ward Club is something truly worthwhile.

Christopher Hayward, in his role as Chairman of Planning & Transportation, discussed planned developments in our ward, as well as preliminary thoughts on the experimental closure of Bank junction.  His presentation notes are here – Christopher Hayward CC – Wardmote 2018 – while his presentation slides are here – Christopher Hayward – Wardmote Presentation & Photos On Developments In Broad Street Ward 2018.

WARD OF BROAD STREET – WARDMOTE AGENDA 2018

Held at Drapers’ Hall, London EC2

at 12 noon on Wednesday 21^st March 2018

Please stand

1. Procession In
2. Opening of meeting – Proclamation by the Beadle

Please sit

3. Welcome by the Alderman
4. Appointment of the Deputy by the Alderman for the year ensuing
5. Appointment of the Honorary Ward Clerk for the year ensuing
6. Addresses by Common Councilmen with questions and answers
7. Additional questions to the Alderman and Common Councilmen              (including pre-submitted questions)
8. Overview of current and planned development projects in the Ward by Christopher Hayward CC
9. Votes of thanks

Please stand

10. Close of the meeting – Proclamation by the Beadle
11. Procession out

And closed with the millennia old cry from the Beadle:

OYEZ   OYEZ   OYEZ,

All ye good people of the Ward of Broad Street, summoned here to this Wardmote, may depart hence and give your attendance when again summoned. And hereof fail not.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

The formal minutes – 2018.03.21 Minutes – Broad St Wardmote – Drapers Hall

Working for the City, Working for the Ward, Working for YOU.

The Green Ribbon Campaign is back again and we want to make it bigger and better than in 2017!

It was a huge hit last year, with 85,000 ribbons being distributed to 165 organisations (both in the public and private sector), smashing expectations!

Last year wouldn’t have reached so many people without the wonderful support of other organisations and networks who are equally striving to end the stigma around mental health – by working together we can #endthestigma!

There are many ways in which you can promote the campaign:

• Share messages on LinkedIn, Twitter (@LMAppeal) and Instagram (@thelordmayorsappeal)
• Share information about the campaign to your networks in a newsletter or at an event
• Share the story: thelordmayorsappeal.org/news/464/the-green-ribbon-campaign-is-back
• Share information about the campaign on your website

The British Red Cross Guildhall Christmas Market is a fantastic place to start your Christmas shopping and our silent auction lots are already online so you can start early! You can see the whole list here but here is a taste of what’s on offer:

• A two night stay for eight people at the Luxe Marrakech Riad, Morocco.
• HOW COOL IS THIS EXPERIENCE – City of London Police forensic experience – six people learn the secrets that lead the City of London Police force to solve crime in this unique experience!
• OR THIS – Raise London’s Famous Tower Bridge – this chance to open London’s most iconic bridge isn’t normally available to the public so a truly unique experience.
• Chatham Historic Dockyard Lunch & Submarine Tour. Enjoy a day for 4 people at Chatham Historic Dockyard. This experience includes lunch and a private tour of HM Submarine Ocelot – a vessel that has clocked up 90,000 miles on top-secret missions around the world.
• Year’s Supply of Wine – get stocked up for Christmas (and beyond!)
• London College of Fashion course. A great experience for any budding Stella McCartney to learn the ropes at this prestigious fashion college.
• A signed drawing by Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood – a rare chance to receive a 10 from Craig!

You really can apply and buy now – https://www.jumblebee.co.uk/christmasmarket2017

We’d love to see you at the Market. You can enjoy champagne and canapes at the Preview Night on Monday 27 November or spend the day shopping on Tuesday 28 November.

A further way to support the Market is to make a donation. Please send any cheques made payable to the British Red Cross to Kerry Thomas, Guildhall Christmas Market, British Red Cross, 44 Moorfields, London EC2Y 9AL.

Apprenticeships provide an opportunity to address skills needs and support the competitiveness of the Financial and Professional Services sector.  They can help open the door to untapped talent by offering another route into the sector.

The City Corporation supports apprenticeships through its role on the Government’s Apprenticeship Delivery Board and our policy and promotional work. As part of this commitment in 2017/18, we are running “Apprenticeships in the City”, a FREE Apprenticeship programme of support, which is targeted at small to medium banking and asset management firms, looking to bring talent into their business, but are new to apprenticeships and wondering where to start.

Check it out here – https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/supporting-local-communities/Pages/Apprenticeships-in-the-City.aspx.

And Gresham College lectures on the subject too – “Apprenticeship in Early Modern London: City apprentices in the 16th and 17th centuries” – by Dr Patrick Wallis and Dr Christopher Minns – as well as by the Rt Hon The Lord Mayor Dr Andrew Parmley – “Apprenticeship: Politics, Education, or Reality Television“.

We wanted to inform you that that the Bank on Safety consultation survey is now available on the project’s website. It is intended that this will remain open until the end of November and will be widely promoted through social media and direct interaction with the general public over the course of the consultation period.

Letters will shortly be sent to local businesses, residents and stakeholders to further encourage their observations of the experiment, either through the survey or via their email comments.

Our ongoing monitoring work will also include the post perception survey which is scheduled to run in September. This is in addition to the consultation survey that has just been made available. The monitoring work combined with this consultation and feedback will then be presented to Members prior to any decision being taken on the permanency of this experiment.

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact the Bank on Safety Project Team at bankonsafety@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Good business can only succeed in healthy, vibrant societies, which is why it is so important to promote and reflect on the volume and breadth of the community work that the City and UK business does.

City Giving Day is an annual event that unites the City through its charity and community partnerships. It gives business the opportunity to promote and celebrate the good work that they do.  This year it is Tuesday, 26 September.

If you are interested in finding out more about City Giving Day and increasing corporate engagement, please join us at an information breakfast at Mansion House, hosted by the Lord Mayor on Tuesday, 13 June (rsvp to cgd@thelordmayorsappeal.org) or visit the City Giving Day website.

Given the importance and high profile of the Bank junction scheme we thought that you would appreciate an update on progress and the timing of the introduction of the experimental scheme.

The ‘Bank on Safety’ experimental scheme will be launched on Monday 22 May. Between the hours of 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, Bank junction will be a pedestrian, bus and cycle only junction in a bid to significantly reduce casualties. This date will start to be communicated from today, Monday 24 April.
A report will be given in early July focusing on:

• operational matters of the experiment to date, such as any proposed changes to the scheme
• observations of how the experiment is working from a traffic perspective
• data on the number of vehicles entering the City over the duration of the first couple of weeks
• preliminary bus journey times on key corridors ( Cannon Street, Bishopsgate, London Wall, St Martin Le Grand/New Change).

The bus journey time data will be used as a proxy for general traffic journey times on the same corridors.

The data will be from the first couple of weeks of operation when new vehicle movement patterns will not have fully settled down. The data is provided to assist with informing the observational comments.

If you would like details of the longer term proposed monitoring strategy please get in touch.

Part of the monitoring strategy covers perception and whether the experiment makes a perceived difference.  From today the below online survey opens. It will close on Sunday 21 May. The survey is open to anyone that passes through Bank and can be accessed via the website www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/bankonsafety

The full public consultation phase for the experiment will open officially on 22 May, but will not be promoted actively for the first few weeks while the scheme settles. It is intended that following the verbal report, the consultation will be promoted more actively and have regular ‘revivals’ to capture as many individual responses as possible.  It is planned to close the consultation at the end of November 2017.

If you’d like to contact officers about the sheme you are more than welcome to do so direct via bankarea@cityoflondon.gov.uk or 020 7332 3839

We hope that you find this update helpful. Please do share it with colleagues, friends and family who use the junction.