Issue no 57
N E W S
A N D
K E Y
I S S U E S
F O R
T H E
C I T Y
O F
L O N D O N
July 2006
cityview
City elections
register to vote employment in the Square Mile
training for 21st century needs
other options for City waste
space is running out
2 C I T Y V I E W
cityviewmagazine Welcome to cityviewmagazine
C O N T E N T S C I T Y
I N F R A S T R U C T U R E
WiFi while you work
3
cityview is the magazine of the City of London Corporation, provider of local government services for the Square Mile.
T H E I N T E R V I E W
ambitious range of responsibilities C I T Y
4
W O R K E R S
feedback forum C I T Y
6
E L E C T I O N S
register your interest C I T Y
7
E N V I R O N M E N T
what a load of rubbish E C O N O M I C
8
D E V E L O P M E N T
skills for the future A R T S
Unless otherwise stated in individual features, more information on both the magazine and online articles is available from the Public Relations Office below.
10
F O C U S
history gets a facelift visionary living R E T A I L
12 14
D E V E L O P M E N T
shoppers’ paradise
15
...and finally
16
The magazine is available to download from www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/cityview. If you would like a summary of this publication in your language or in an alternative format such as large print, Braille or audio tape, please contact The Public Relations Office City of London PO Box 270 Guildhall London EC2P 2EJ 020 7332 3099 pro@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk We welcome, and value, feedback but regret that correspondence cannot be individually acknowledged. MAILING ENQUIRIES cityviewmagazine PO Box 3014,
Registered at Stationers’ Hall
Romford
Designed by Raphael Whittle
Essex RM3 0AS
Printed by Empress Litho on
01708 37 35 32
environmentally friendly paper
www.box3014.co.uk
C I T Y V I E W 3 C I T Y
I N F R A S T R U C T U R E
WiFi while you work From July anyone wanting to access internet applications can do so ‘on the move’ when wireless networking begins to be introduced to the Square Mile. The City of London Corporation and The Cloud – Europe’s leading WiFi network operator – have partnered to give users greater freedom when accessing the internet, providing businesses in the Square Mile with the ability to securely extend their corporate IT infrastructure using WiFi. This initiative is one of the most advanced citybased WiFi deployments in the world, and will reinforce the Square Mile’s status as a technologically advanced world financial business centre. This technology means that City workers, residents and visitors will be able to use wireless broadband to work more effectively. Business people can also stay in touch with their office systems using hand-held and laptop devices while not in their offices.
devices to access the internet in streets and in open spaces (including a trial project at several of the City’s resident estates offices), with 95% outdoor coverage across the Square Mile within six months. Users will be able to access ■ voice-over internet protocol ■ video tele-conferencing ■ streaming media ■ remote user services. Users will still need deals with internet service providers. Service providers that will sit on the network include Vonage, Skype, O2, BT Openzone, Boingo, IPASS and Nintendo.
More information on the City’s WiFi network
The Cloud will use state of the art technology, installed on street furniture such as lamp posts and street signs, allowing those with WiFi enabled
0207 332 1910 steve.bage@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/wifi
O N L I N E
O N L I N E
cityviewonline
liverylivedigest
July Cemetery celebration
May Finance for the future
The Goldsmiths’ Company
Members of the Glovers’
online directory can help find that
Company visited its adopted ship
150th anniversary marked by
Report shows challenges facing
special piece of jewellery.
HMS Cumberland and presented its
August Open Day
EU finance and insurance sectors
020 7606 7010
captain with a pair of ceremonial
The.clerk@thegoldsmiths.co.uk
gauntlets. 020 7622 2167
www.whoswhoingoldandsilver.com
gloverslondon@aol.com
Mansion House message
Start me up
Lord Mayor pushes the need for
New project enables unemployed
competitiveness
to set up own business
June Retail therapy
April Top marks
www.thegloverscompany.org The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters organised
The Guild of Air Pilots and Air
the 2006 Inter-Livery Sail Day
Navigators will host The Sir
on Rutland Water in July.
Frederick Timms Memorial Lecture
Have your say on retail future
City pubs rewarded for putting
01451 821898
on Wednesday 27 September.
of Cheapside
safety first
fionabluck@onetel.com
Sir Ralph Robins, former CEO of Rolls Royce, will be guest speaker.
Mapping out the future City street maps get a face-lift
Have your say Call for residents to represent
020 7404 4032 gapan@gapan.org www.gapan.org
their community
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/cityview www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/liverylive
4 C I T Y V I E W
T H E I N T E R V I E W
Peter Riddell of The Times talks to Mary Reilly, Chair of the London Development Agency
ambitious range
of responsibilities Partnership is a word that comes naturally to Mary Reilly. It has been a central theme of her career at Deloitte, as chair of the London Regional Council of the CBI and, now, as chair of the London Development Agency. The LDA is one of the most important, but least understood, players on the London economic scene. Described as “The Mayor’s Agency for Business and Jobs”, the LDA has a budget of about £400m a year and controls one of the largest landholdings in the capital.Within its responsibilities, the Mayor’s strategy and its own corporate plan, the LDA works around four basic themes – investing in places and infrastructure; investing in people by reducing barriers to employment and encouraging training; investing in enterprise by supporting and helping new businesses; and investing in the marketing and the promotion of London as “the principal UK gateway for tourism, education and investment”. Faced with this ambitious range of responsibilities, Mary Reilly freely admits that the LDA not only has to be selective where it intervenes but also has to work with others, whether central government, London boroughs or the private and voluntary sectors – hence the stress on partnership. Its apparently big budget is, she says, merely a “drop in the ocean in London”.Talking in her riverside office in St Katherine’s Dock, she says that one of the LDA’s main roles is as a strategic leader working with partners to leverage more money. The LDA’s highest profile involvement is with the 2012 London Olympics.The agency already owns a lot of land in the area and is assembling more under a compulsory purchase order. She hopes that legal procedures will be completed by late summer so that firms on the site can be relocated, with suitable compensation.
The Olympics is absorbing a large slice of the LDA’s budget. Originally, the agency’s board decided that no more than an average of 25 per cent should go toward it. But more is needed to back regeneration projects and the average is expected to be around 32 per cent over the life of the development. The LDA is not just concerned with physical regeneration or what happens up to 2012. It has been closely involved in helping smaller businesses and training workers, locally and throughout London, to gain contracts and jobs to do with the Olympics. Moreover, Mary Reilly is very keen on “legacy”, encouraging associated development which will last beyond 2012. Her vision for the area is a tourist destination, but also on other projects such as catering, a hospital and new commerce. The Olympic Village will be used to provide good quality affordable housing, an important objective for the LDA. The LDA’s other major project is the Thames Gateway.This is a huge scheme which involves south-east and east of England development agencies, central government and affected boroughs.
She looks to big City institutions and financial services to do more... to promote training and skills improvement.
C I T Y V I E W 5
local further education colleges to raise skills and training levels to encourage an expansion of local businesses in a deprived area).The LDA is also a major player in the redevelopment of Park Royal in west London, at the massive King’s Cross project, at revamping the sports facilities at the rundown Crystal Palace site and around the City’s fringes. Many of its other activities are London wide: particularly working with boroughs and employers to reduce barriers to employment and promote diversity among disabled, older people and ethnic minorities.This is notably via skills training, where Mary Reilly is keen to involve employers, large and small, more. One such project of which she is very proud is providing £1m to the British Library to make its vast intellectual property library of patents more accessible – of great help to small and medium sized businesses. Another route is by backing the child care provision. In each case, the LDA itself does not deliver the service but helps others do so.The agency has also been helping new businesses by directing them to where they can find advice on, say,VAT registration and other business links.
The Mayor’s plans assume that the main growth of London will be eastwards, in part on LDA-owned brownfield sites. Mary Reilly talks of “massive opportunity”with the building not only of 50,000 homes, but also of associated infrastructure, and particularly transport links. She stresses her close cooperation with Transport for London (TfL). One of the LDA’s aims is to link the creation and expansion of business with a skilled workforce on the doorstep so as to reduce pressures on an already stretched transport system. But this is not just a physical project. She emphasises the right mix of jobs, which brings in the LDA’s other roles of investing in people and in enterprise, as well as promoting London. She gives the example of Chinese investors who are interested in design and high technology manufacturing. Mary Reilly points out that, despite these two large developments, the agency is involved throughout London. It has a role in Woolwich, (where 22 listed buildings have been refurbished into industrial units and office space), and around the new Wembley stadium (not only working with TfL but also with
With her own background at Deloitte, Mary Reilly says she is a “tremendous admirer”of the City and of the City of London Corporation’s role in helping a lot of projects on the fringe which overlap with the LDA’s work. She looks to big City institutions and financial services to do more to work with the capital’s many universities and further education colleges to promote training and skills improvement. But given this diversity, how should the work of the LDA be judged? Mary Reilly says that, for her, the key benchmark is improving the quality of life for most Londoners – and making a difference in job creation and promoting diversity.This is apart from the formal targets under the Mayor’s strategy and its own corporate plan.The LDA has met most of its targets, which, she says, means that the targets should perhaps be set higher. The LDA will practice what it preaches in September by moving across the river to an area of regeneration in Southwark.The agency, she says, is leading by example by working with developers to install the latest renewable energy technology into its Palestra building fulfilling two of its aims of regeneration and promoting renewable energy.
Peter Riddell is Chief Political Commentator of The Times
6 C I T Y V I E W
C I T Y
W O R K E R S
feedback forum Every day the City of London Corporation works to provide the highest quality services for the Square Mile. But it can only do this if it knows what people think about the way it serves the City as a whole. It’s no surprise therefore that consultation forms a major part of the City’s work.There are a series of consultation meetings and fora throughout the year for people to express their views, with the latest residents meetings having been held in June. March saw the City gauging the view of another key stakeholder group – City workers.
More than 1,000 workers from across the City take part in the panel. For more information or to join 020 7332 1403 consultation@cityoflondon.gov.uk For a full copy of the survey report, visit www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/consultation
The City Workers Consultation Panel is vital to the City. More than 300,000 workers come into the Square Mile, Monday to Friday, and help keep it at the forefront of business.With 1,200 workers on the panel, representing a cross-section of people in terms of age, ethnicity and gender, the panel is an important way in which the City of London and City Police understand the needs and priorities of workers. The key findings from the latest survey conducted with the panel were that ■ There is a high level of satisfaction among workers with the City Police, and they feel crime levels are decreasing
■ Workers feel safe in the City, although one in three say they are very worried about terrorism – this figure is, perhaps not surprisingly, up from last year ■ Almost nine in ten workers express satisfaction with the City as a place to work ■ Accessibility to and from the City by public transport is a primary consideration for workers when deciding to work here ■ Workers think that bus services to and from the City have improved over the past three years ■ But, workers would like to see more done to make footways and highways friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists - even if this is at the expense of road space and other traffic ■ Two in five workers are happy with the opportunities they get to express their views on services in the City, such as street cleaning and policing. The City Police will take these views on board as it develops its approach to tackling crime and antisocial behaviour in the Square Mile for the future. The views on planning and transportation will also help guide decisions on development, transport and the environment in the area over the next 10 years. In fact, since the survey, more than 60 panel members have been invited to take part in discussions about the City’s new long-term plan for the Square Mile called the Local Development Framework.
C I T Y V I E W 7
C I T Y
E L E C T I O N S
register your interest ‘If you value it – register to vote for it’. That’s
“Like the Square Mile itself, the City of London
More information
the slogan the City of London Corporation will be
Corporation can’t take its position for granted. When
0800 587 5537
using when it begins its annual electoral registration
people register to vote, even if there aren’t full
electoralservices@cityoflondon.gov.uk
canvass in August.
elections for several years, it means that they can still
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/voting
influence how the City is run through Aldermanic and As in previous years, the focus will be on getting
By-elections and by contacting their Ward Members.”
newly qualified firms to register to vote in City elections and getting residents and firms already
More than 62% of eligible firms have already
registered to register again.
registered to vote and of that figure 77% of the possible total number of voters has been appointed.
But this year there will also be a push to get
But the City is keen that those numbers get as close
those firms already signed up to use their full voting
to 100% (for both firms and voters) as it can. It will be
entitlement.
launching a communications programme from August targeting Square Mile firms to remind them
The City of London devotes a lot of time and effort
to return their registration forms and wherever
into the canvass because it wants to ensure that it
possible to use their full voting entitlement.
accurately represents the interests of the Square Mile. Opening up the voting system to businesses
It is also looking at ways it can reward people for
was seen as the best way to achieve this – reflecting
registering early or for using their full voting
the makeup of the City (about 8,000 residents to more
entitlement.
than 300,000 workers) – and a Parliamentary Act was passed in 2002 to allow the voting franchise to be
Registration forms will be sent out in
widened. Residents were always, and continue to be,
August but anyone who feels their company could be
automatically eligible to vote but this act allowed for
missing out on its full voting entitlement can visit the
wider representation among business.
City’s website for more details or call the Electoral Registration Office.
Michael Snyder, Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee, believes that a lot has been achieved since then but “We must not be complacent. We have had a good response to registration since the new system was introduced but we can’t rest on our laurels. The City wants to be able to show that people have appreciated being able to have more of a say.
8 C I T Y V I E W
C I T Y
E N V I R O N M E N T
what a load of rubbish It’s hard to avoid the issue of waste at the moment. Posters, adverts and leaflets are urging people to reduce, reuse or recycle. There’s been London Sustainability Week, World Environment Day and television programmes such as It’s Not Easy Being Green. With all this evidence, few would argue against the case that we produce far too much waste or that available space for disposal is fast disappearing. London produces 17m tonnes of waste per year. Each borough, and the UK as a whole, has to meet recycling targets set out in the Government’s Waste Strategy 2000.These include recycling or composting 30% of household waste by 2010. But as this is for households only – there are no government-set targets for business waste reduction as yet – it doesn’t address the Square Mile’s particular issues. As in so many cases, the City of London Corporation is different when it comes to waste.The Square Mile produces about 45,000 tonnes per year.This figure is much less than other London boroughs, because of its small size, but in a reversal of the usual situation, commercial waste accounts for 91% or 41,000 tonnes of its waste.
All waste collected by the City is taken to the Walbrook Wharf riverside waste transfer station. Upgraded in 1995 at a cost of £4.5m, it has become one of the most modern such stations in the South East.The waste is then transferred via barge to a landfill site in Essex and by using the river avoids more than 10,000 lorry movements each year. But the current landfill site is due to close at the end of December 2007. So while the City is looking at different options for the years to follow, including the new energy-from-waste incinerator due to be built at Belvedere, the pressure is also on to encourage businesses to reduce their own waste as much as possible. Over the years, the City of London Corporation has become a ‘one stop shop’ for waste removal and advice. It now handles ■ general waste ■ recycling ■ hazardous waste ■ gives advice on managing and reducing waste. ■ and will soon introduce confidential waste. Confidential waste will be a new service which will involve taking away and shredding companies’ confidential material.This has been introduced ‘by
90.5% (41,000 tonnes) commercial
6.6% (2,950 tonnes) household
2.9%
(1,310 tonnes) street cleansing
City’s waste
C I T Y V I E W 9
public demand’ and also reflects companies’ general preference of having a single service provider – the City’s flexibility allowing it to retain its customer base. The City is also the first local authority to recycle the material it picks up in street sweeping – whether it is litter, through manual sweeping, or grit and aggregate, through mechanical sweeping, which can then be reused in new streetworks.
TOP TIPS FOR WASTE REDUCTION
Another major initiative has been the introduction of a single bin solution for firms’ recycling which the City collects and then sorts out into different ‘streams’ for recycling. Since the landfill tax was further increased in April, it now works out cheaper
Set printers and photocopiers to print both sides of paper. If all City businesses did this then theoretically almost 25% of waste could be reduced 2 Avoid unnecessary printing of emails 3 Use re-usable items rather than disposable, eg china cups, metal cutlery, propelling pencils and refillable pens. 4 Collect and recycle old toner cartridges and mobile phones 5 Recycling aluminium cans saves 95% of the energy needed to make a new one 6 Switch to using rechargeable batteries 7 Turn any scrap paper into notepads 8 Avoid over-packaged goods. Speak to suppliers to see if they will take packing waste back 9 Buy goods made from recycled content 10 Distribute and file documents electronically to save on paper usage
for companies to use the City’s all-in-one recycling service than to dispose of material as general waste. It can also save companies valuable time and demonstrate their commitment to recycling without major cost.To prove how serious the City views waste management, two companies have been taken to court and been given substantial fines for littering the highway. In terms of advice, the City’s Cleansing team are experts in the field.The Clean City Awards team operate like a free consultancy and give impartial guidance to businesses. Launched in 1994, the scheme encourages and rewards firms, large and small, that can demonstrate they have good waste management practices and comply with legislation. More than 1,200 sites representing over 800 companies are registered to take part.
1
The team also works with other organisations to promote environmental issues and effective waste management.These include Envirowise –offering businesses free, independent advice and support on ways to increase profits, minimise waste and reduce environmental impact;Wrap – creating efficient markets for recycled materials and products, while removing barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling; and London Remade –promoting business recycling and green procurement. Above all, the team is keen to stress how easy it is for companies to reduce waste and how little it can cost in terms of money or effort.And if Square Mile businesses are to make a real difference in cutting down on their waste then the City of London’s Cleansing team may be their best port of call. More information 020 7606 3110 www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/recycling
2% metal 2.5% fines (mixed particles) 5.2% misc.
11.5% plastic
12.9% glass
16.7% putrescibles (food etc)
of which:
49.2% paper and card
45,260 tonnes
10 C I T Y V I E W
E C O N O M I C
D E V E L O P M E N T
skills for the future Readers of The City News Monitor e-newsletter may have seen a story in May on the results of a survey of London companies which highlighted the lack of suitably qualified or skilled recruits available. The survey revealed that this issue has overtaken transport as London firms’ number one concern. The City of London Corporation is committed to making sure that the Square Mile has everything it needs to flourish. Michael Snyder, the City’s Chairman of Policy & Resources, believes that the area will only continue to prosper “if its people continue to be equipped with the best and most up to date skills. City businesses need to ensure they can attract and retain the best staff, able to meet the complex skill needs of the 21st century.” As part of this commitment and with one eye on its neighbouring boroughs in the City fringe (the boroughs of Camden, Islington, Hackney, Lambeth, Southwark,Tower Hamlets and Westminster), the City’s Economic Development Office (EDO) is keen to contribute to meeting the City’s skills needs by ensuring routes into City-type work are promoted to local residents and that perceived barriers to working in the Square Mile are broken down. Through various initiatives and partnerships, it has been ensuring that the City fringe has a pool of available and appropriately skilled people upon which City businesses can draw. One example is The City Business Traineeship Programme - a work placement programme that links ‘A’ level leavers from the City fringe with placements of between 6-13 weeks in Square Mile companies. It focuses on typical City jobs such as financial services, business administration, insurance, law and recruitment. Last year, 27 companies took part. This is not a ‘coffee-making’ type of work placement trainees are paid at the going rate for a variety of tasks
that help the smooth running of the company. Most placements centre on ‘high flyers’ - A*,A and B grade students although companies can offer placements to students with Bs and Cs if this is more appropriate. Trainees are invited to register their details and preferences as to their preferred type of placement.They also attend workshops on CV preparation and interview technique. Potential candidates are shortlisted by the Brokerage Citylink, which runs the scheme on the City’s behalf, before being referred to the company for interview. Last year, 75 students gained placements this way.The achievements of participating trainees and companies are recognised at an annual celebration event. Last year UBS (Sean Taylor) and Royal Bank of Canada (Gareth Hughes) won the awards of Employer of the Year and Employer Newcomer of the Year respectively. Companies interested can contact the Brokerage on the details opposite. The City is also piloting a programme for larger groups of younger students called Careers Open House.This allows groups of up to 50 students aged 14-15 to visit a large City firm, giving a taster of a City environment to young people who more often than not do not have any links to the Square Mile.The visits show them the reality of working for such
C I T Y V I E W 11 The City Business Traineeship awards ceremony 2005
opportunities at entry level (ie non-graduate) within Financial and Related Business Services (FRBS). Improving the sector-specific skills of these residents is of key importance. Main activities are to ■ ensure students have appropriate qualifications ■ raise awareness and the perception of vocational qualifications amongst employers ■ improve ‘soft’ skills eg communication or interpersonal ■ increase awareness of the FRBS sector and its recruitment practices ■ improve students’ ability to perform successfully at interviews and selection days ■ target students at ‘niches’ where employers currently struggle to recruit.
As Lord Mayor, Alderman David Brewer will be presenting
companies, give them an overview of the variety of careers on offer and let them know the routes and qualifications needed. Following a presentation on the Square Mile, its history and types of businesses, students are taken on a tour of the host company. They are shown a wide variety of environments, such as personnel, legal, operations, the trading floor mail room and security desk.
the awards at this year’s annual CBT celebration event.
More information on general contact / hosting visits for students 020 7332 1268 david.pack@cityoflondon.gov.uk receiving City News Monitor shaun.curtis@cityoflondon.gov.uk City Business Traineeship scheme Brokerage Citylink 020 7628 9904 local recruitment in financial and related business services 020 7332 3077 tracy.williams@cityoflondon.gov.uk Employer Engagement Manager FSSC Skills Bill 020 7216 7468 faye.chua@fssc.org.uk online survey at www.fssc.org.uk/skillsbill
Pilot sessions are being delivered by Inspire!, the Education Business Partnership for Hackney, hosted by UBS, and feedback has been very positive. 61% of students agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that they could see themselves working for a City-type firm.The programme will be rolled out across the boroughs of Hackney, Islington, Southwark and Tower Hamlets in the autumn. Another part of the programme,‘City 4 A Day’ gives smaller groups of students (13-14 year olds) the opportunity to spend a day learning about the City and the careers on offer in depth.The schools targeted are those in the City fringe with the poorest GCSE results.As well as seeing a presentation on the City, students get to visit a company, talk with employees about their jobs and participate in various exercises, including a skills game. In 2005/6 17 tours were run with 234 students taking part. Following research published by the City of London in 2005, EDO is working with the London Development Agency, Learning and Skills Council and Financial Services Skills Council to look at how City fringe residents can take advantage of the many
Alongside this, the City’s Employer Engagement Manager, funded under the European Social Fund’s EQUAL programme, is looking at key issues for employers, their reasons for employing or not employing local residents and how best to promote local recruitment.The Manager will also focus on how employers can work with the many local training initiatives that deliver sector-specific skills in the City fringe. The Financial Services Skills Council is also currently undertaking a UK-wide research programme – the Skills Bill – to uncover specific skills issues within the financial services industry. Following extensive employer involvement, it will aim to provide solutions to skills issues affecting the performance of businesses in the FRBS sector. These initiatives are designed to ensure that the City has the best skills resources to call upon and that school/college leavers and graduates have the best opportunities to succeed in an increasingly competitive labour market.
Regeneration Partnerships The City supports and contributes to the work of various regeneration partnerships, all of which address skills and training issues in some way. These include
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
City Fringe Partnership Pool of London Partnership Cross River Partnership East London Business Alliance Thames Gateway London Partnership Central London Partnership
12 C I T Y V I E W
A R T S
F O C U S
history gets a facelift Everyone has their own personal milestones in their life but Londoners are now being offered the chance to record where and when they took place while at the same time contributing to a refurbishment of one of the City’s major cultural landmarks. The Museum of London, which the City of London Corporation co-funds, is to undergo its first major redevelopment since it was created making it fit-for-purpose for the next 30 years. Work on the £18m project is expected to begin next year and be completed in 2009 and Professor Jack Lohman, Museum Director, believes the development is needed to bring the Museum up to date.“Since we opened in 1976, the fabric of London and visitors’ expectations have evolved.We aim to increase access to our nationally important collections, expand the learning and outreach programmes and present
The new project is part of a 10 year development and its main aims are to ■ create 25% more display space on the lower floor ■ create world-class galleries telling the story of London from 1666 to present day (it currently only goes to 1914) ■ increase collections on display by more than 60% (there are more than two million items in the collections) ■ create a new information zone allowing visitors to find out more through other resources ■ make the Museum more visible by creating a new glass frontage looking on to London Wall. The work will cover four main elements – the Modern London Galleries, a Learning Centre, a refurbished theatre and an information zone with coffee point. The Lottery Heritage Fund has agreed £11.5m towards the cost and another £3.6m has already been
Museum of London most popular highlights 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The Lord Mayor’s coach Victorian walk Roman kitchen and dining room Cromwell’s death mask Nelson’s sword The Plague Bell 1960s Ford Cortina
ourselves as a relevant, dynamic cultural forum for the 21st century.” The Museum of London is the largest urban history museum in the world and was established by merging the London and Guildhall Museums – becoming London’s first new museum since the Second World War. It was opened by Her Majesty The Queen in 1976. More than 380,000 people and 70,000 school children visit each year while its website reaches more than one and a half million and it is hoped that numbers will increase further once the new work is complete.
raised through patrons.As both a novel and fun way of raising the additional funds needed, the Museum has launched The Great Sale of London.This allows Londoners to record their most memorable London moments online and gives supporters the chance to ‘buy’ their favourite year in London history. An entire year of London’s history can be bought for £5,000, starting with 1666 (the Great Fire of London ) and going forward to London’s Olympic Year of 2012.Already several companies have bought into the scheme choosing dates that are important to them. Lloyd’s of London has bought 1688, Royal Mail
The Museum of London is the largest urban history museum in the world
C I T Y V I E W 13
has bought 1809 and the John Lewis Partnership has a stake on 1864. Individual plaques will be created to commemorate the buyer of each year and they will be incorporated in a new timeline of London’s history.These will also include key historical moments such as the first London Olympic Games in 1908; women gaining equal voting rights in 1928;The Queen’s Coronation in 1952; and England’s World Cup win of 1966. For those of more modest means, the London Moments website will allow people to recognise their own uniquely personal London moment for just £5. Visitors will be able to state what their particular moment was and when and where in London it took place. This is also in line with the growing importance the Museum is placing on social history.To make sure its material is relevant to today’s audiences it is looking to speak to people directly by including greater coverage of issues such as council housing, refugees and London’s wide cultural diversity.
More than 380,000 people and 70,000 school children visit each year while its website reaches more than one and a half million
“Cities,”Professor Lohman believes “are at the heart of civilisation.They are places of constant change and rooted communities. Celebrating London’s past and present diversity is to make sense not just of one city, but of Britain and communities that connect us to the globe.”
If you are one of
the Tea for One set, which cleverly
the privileged
warms your cup while your tea
few who can
brews. cityview readers can get
actually hear the
10% off all shop purchases
sound of the Bow Bells, you might
(excluding stamps and sale items),
be interested in the Museum of
by bringing their copy to the
London’s new range of Cockney
Museum. This offer is limited to one
Rhyming Slang goodies. They
transaction per reader and is
feature images taken from Victorian
available until the end of September.
song sheets in the Museum’s
Open 10am-5:50pm Mon-Sat,
archives, and popular slang still
12pm-5:50pm Sun.
used today, including “Rosie Lee”
Selected products also
for tea, “Vera Lynn” for gin and
available online at
“Lollipopping” for shopping.
www.museumoflondonshop.co.uk
Highlights are the bone china
or call 020 7814 5600
teapot and saucers and particularly
to place an order.
14 C I T Y V I E W
A R T S
F O C U S
visionary living started from scratch, we adapted an existing collection from France’s FRAC (Fonds Regional d’Art Contemporain du Centre) Centre. We refined and extended it so it was more comprehensive and had more of a global emphasis.” A lot of the architecture on display is purely experimental – known as ‘paper architecture’ – with only about 30% actually built. But that doesn’t make these designs any less important “Because they are visionary, conceptual and Architecture at its most
published their theory of a sloping
experimental is on display at
city which was intended to
the Barbican Art Gallery until
stimulate and encourage human
September.
social activity.
Billed as ‘Experiment and Utopia in
The subject of experimental
Architecture 1956-2006’, the
architecture was chosen because
Future City exhibition features
the Barbican would like to “continue
around 70 ground breaking projects
to highlight the most exciting work
that have inspired generations of
that has happened in architecture
architects across the world.
and design in the post-war period,” according to Gallery curator Jane
From basic pencil sketches to
Alison. “As it would have been
complete models and film footage,
impossible to cover the breadth of
Future City invites visitors to look at
material in Future City if we had
radically new ways of living in cities. The exhibition is split into different themes, with titles such as New Babylon, Inflatable City, Delirious Metropolis and Experimental Living, that challenge people to think about what it would be like to choose extraordinary living over the every day. The Metabolists published a booklet in the 1960s connecting the metabolism of living creatures with that of architecture and the city while in the same decade Architecture Principe
experimental they are often
C I T Y V I E W 15
R E T A I L
D E V E L O P M E N T
shoppers’ paradise With Cheapside undergoing major
would like the area to develop. This
Another renovation building visually centred work at
“The will then Thames allow in uscentral and theLondon has
exhibition present, the isdevelopments now running at offer the
alandowners seven metre involved, tidal range to create and itanis in
Museum inaDocklands. practically clean slate for Using the vast City
the overall enclosed retail strategy spaces for flooded buildings as
panoramic of London Corporation images, Unquiet to develop
alternately they are completed with lightand andmake with the water
Thames a retail strategy shows the for this mysterious, and
that area Imore havesuited concentrated to people’s my needs.”
watery adjacentworld streets. hidden Withbeneath this in mind,
attention,” explained Crispin.
London’s City workers bridges. and residents are
Two of the first developments
being asked what retail outlets,
“Most to be completed of these places will bewere One not Wood
It restaurants features 18and pictures, other each services over
designed Street in summer to be seen 2007 by and the general Bow
two theymetres would wide like to and seetaking in theinarea. 360
public Bells House at all…Thousands in Bread Street of people in
degrees by stitching together eight
walk autumn about next above year. them December’s every day
separate In previous digital years, images. the lack They of were
not issue knowing of cityview that beneath includedtheir the feet
taken shopping by photographer facilities in theCrispin Square Mile
lurks design this drawings strangefor amphibious another large
Hughes was a major and show drawback the underbelly for City of
architecture.” retail and office development known
the people. capital’s Sincefamous then there landmarks. has been
as One New Change, opposite
the change of use for the Royal
There St Paul’s is aCathedral. £5 annual entry fee to the
Shades Exchange of light to anand exclusive dark, differing retail
Museum in Docklands for adults but
precursors to real buildings. They
design has been listed in the last
tides, outlet debris and the and creation amalgams of the of new timber,
bring The amount along this of new copybuildings of cityview being
help spark off ideas that give rise to
few years.”
steel House and of concrete Fraser store are explored, near
and youwill created canmean get two a net tickets increase for the of
the final product,” said Alison.
complemented Monument. Butby with a soundtrack Cheapside still
price of about 25% one! extra Kidsspace get infor free. new
With all the many examples on
featuring being reserved the lapping for retail of water. use people Both
facilities. These will be joined by
And it seems appropriate that the
display does Jane have a favourite?
elements can now have combine theirto say give onboth whata
improvements to the area’s street
Barbican, such a radical and utopian
“The Deconstruction works are my
surprising types of other viewfacilities of the Thames they would and an
environment, through schemes such
design in its own day, should host
favourite. Projects like Morphosis,
unsettling like to see.atmosphere. These could cover chain
as the City of London’s Street Scene
the exhibition. “There is often a
Malibu Beach House and Daniel
stores, supermarkets, independent
Challenge, that will make Cheapside
time lag in design and architecture.
Libeskind’s Berlin City Edge are
retailers and cafés and would help
and its surrounds a more pleasant
When these ideas first emerge they
very strong.”
shape the nature of the area for the
and enjoyable experience for
years to come.
shopping and dining.
are scoffed at but then 20 years later they become the norm. Indeed
Whether they excite or repel, the
the Barbican’s own ground breaking
designs making up Future City are
“We have a great opportunity to
If you have any ideas get in touch
sure to be talking points.
redefine Cheapside,” said Chairman
with your comments and
of Policy & Resources Michael
suggestions by calling
More information
Snyder, “so it’s important that we
020 7332 3493 or email to
0845 120 7550
have people’s views on how they
michelle.kears@cityoflondon.gov.uk
www.barbican.org
16 C I T Y V I E W
N E W S
I N
B R I E F
...and finally keeping the pressure up A new campaign for Crossrail has been launched bringing together London’s Mayor, leading business figures, and trade union leaders and the City of London Corporation. The City has been one of the project’s strongest supporters over the years
“Never forget: financial services is
This message was reinforced by
expected population expansion
the Lord Mayor, Alderman David
in the Square Mile expected in the next 10 years.
and its Chairman of Policy &
an industry that can move
Brewer, at the annual dinner for the
Resources, Michael Snyder,
elsewhere. To make sure it
bankers and merchants of London
welcomed the new campaign.
doesn’t, our public transport
in June attended by Chancellor
Transport for London anticipates that
“Crossrail is absolutely essential if
must be modern and efficient so
Gordon Brown.
Crossrail will add a net benefit of
The City believes Crossrail will help
over 60 years and contribute £12bn in tax revenues.
London is to maintain and build on its
we can retain and attract
competitive edge in financial services.
international firms to London –
£30bn to UK Gross Domestic Product
I warmly welcome the new campaign
and maintain our reputation as
solve overcrowding on the
and I will work with Mayor Ken
the best place in the world to
underground network and build in
Livingstone to ensure it is a success.
do business.“
additional capacity to meet the
Art spans the water
September is Open House weekend
The history and science of London’s
Lock in the west with the City of
river bridges is celebrated at a new
London responsible for five (Tower,
exhibition in Guildhall Art Gallery.
Last year’s event saw an estimated London will be turned into a living
360,000 visits to private residences,
London, Southwark, Millennium and
exhibition for 48 hours during
government buildings,
Blackfriars).
September when 500 architecturally
contemporary offices, historical
significant (and often private)
houses, arts spaces and Institutions,
Among the best-known pictures to
buildings will open their doors to
City banks, medical centres and
held by the Guildhall Art Gallery,
feature in the exhibition are
the public.
schools. All access is free of charge.
Guildhall Library and Museum of
Clarkson Stanfield’s The Opening of
Drawn mainly from collections of paintings, prints and watercolours
London, the exhibition looks at
London Bridge by William IV, and
Open House London Weekend
The full Buildings Guide and the
artists’ continuing fascination with
WL Wylie’s The Opening of Tower
takes place 16-17 September and is
City-specific guide will be available
the Thames.
Bridge, which both capture the
the capital’s biggest architectural
from mid-August by visiting
excitement of the occasions.
event, offering the chance to see,
www.openhouse.org.uk
The exhibition runs until 15 October.
architecture, engineering and
Elizabeth II Bridge at Dartford to the
More information 020 7332 3700
design.
end of the tideway at Teddington
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
There are now 33 bridges spanning the Thames from the Queen
experience, explore and understand
As before many of the City’s own memorable contemporary and historical buildings will be open on the weekend, celebrating design excellence.