cityview
NEWS AND KEY ISSUES FOR THE CITY OF LONDON
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cityviewonline cityviewonline is a twice-yearly supplement to cityview, the magazine of the City of London Corporation, a uniquely diverse organisation that promotes and supports the City and provides a wide range of services for the City, for London and for the nation as a whole. Clickable links to webpages and email addresses can be accessed by mousing over highlighted text within the articles. For example: Crossrail website[.]
The Public Relations Office City of London PO Box 270 Guildhall London EC2P 2EJ 020 7332 3099 pro@cityoflondon.gov.uk
September 2011
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City infrastructure Going underground
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The Lord Mayor’s Show The City on display
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City apprenticeships You’re hired!
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Open spaces Flag it up
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Electoral registration Get on the register
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London 2012 Going for Gold
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Arts focus / Museum of London Build up to the Games
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Arts focus / Barbican Storm warning
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News round-up In brief
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City infrastructure
Going underground Proposed Liverpool Street Station Moorgate Ticket Hall
Work is underway in earnest on Crossrail and City workers, residents and visitors will have seen major construction work in the Farringdon, Moorgate and Liverpool Street areas. There are a number of ways you can find out what’s going on and when.The Crossrail website[.] is updated regularly and features area-specific information.These include a description of the work, its duration, how this might affect you and how any disturbance or inconvenience is being managed. If you would like to receive regular email updates, fill in the form[.] or call the Crossrail helpdesk on 0345 602 3813. Crossrail is the new high frequency, convenient and accessible railway for London and the South East. When operational, trains will travel from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east via new twin tunnels under central London[.]. It will link Heathrow Airport, the West End, the City and Canary Wharf. It will also reduce overcrowding on the existing transport network and build in extra capacity – with each train carrying more than 1,500 passengers during peak periods.
worth it when the project is complete. “We lobbied for Crossrail for a long time because of the investment in the City’s infrastructure it represented. It’s about improving the transport network, getting people to the City quicker and keeping its status as a world leader in international finance and business services.
You can get further information on Crossrail from its website[.] or via email[.].
“We meet regularly with representatives from the Crossrail project to monitor work and any disturbance and we’re committed to communicating regularly with our stakeholders to let them know what’s going on and why. “Our involvement in Crossrail is just one part of our overall transport policy which is dedicated to delivering a network[.] that meets the needs of this global City.”1
The City of London’s Policy and Resources Committee Chairman, Stuart Fraser, believes the short-term inconvenience of these works will be
Proposed look for Farringdon East
Farringdon
Moorgate
Finsbury Circus
Liverpool Street
n In advance of piling works at
n In advance of works to
n Preparations are underway
n Archaeological
the East Ticket Hall site, work is
construct the Moorgate shaft,
for the excavation of the
investigations and localised
being carried out to re-route
demolition is now complete on
temporary access shaft from
utilities diversions are being
gas, water, electric and
91-109 Moorgate and is
which the Liverpool Street
carried out in advance of
telecoms utilities.
continuing at 17-31 Moorfields.
platform tunnels will be
work starting on building a
Utilities diversions are underway
constructed. Excavation was
new Broadgate Ticket Hall.
in Moorgate, Moorfields and
due to start in September.
London Wall to re-route services.
3 The Lord Mayor’s Show
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The City on display
The biggest day in the City’s calendar takes place on Saturday 12 November. That is when the Lord Mayor’s Show will once again wend its way from Mansion House to the Royal Courts of Justice and back, thrilling crowds with its mix of music, dance, creativity, pageantry and all-round fun. Show day is the new Lord Mayor’s[.] first full day of office. He formally takes up his role late afternoon the day before, when he appears to well-wishers in all his finery in Guildhall Yard. The wider City gets to see the new incumbent when he waves the procession off from the balcony at Mansion House[.], his official residence for the year, on Show day. He then joins the procession at the rear, waving to crowds lining the streets from his ornate carriage. He stops at St Paul’s Cathedral to be blessed by the Dean and then continues to the Royal Courts to swear his Oath of Allegiance and before returning ‘home’ via Victoria Embankment.
continued
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The Lord Mayor’s Show continued
The City on display The day is not just a celebration of the start of the new mayoral year but of the City as a whole.You can expect to see pikemen, military units, military bands, livery companies, school and community groups, City firms, charities and more all come together in a procession three miles long. There are plenty of places along the route[.] to view the Show, which will take about an hour to pass you. The outward route starts at 11am from Mansion House and the return route from the Royal Courts starts at 1pm. After the Show there’s a variety of other venues and events in easy reach to keep you occupied – from St Paul’s Cathedral[.] to Museum of London[.], Tate Modern[.] to Bank of England[.], Monument[.] to Tower Bridge[.], Barbican[.] to One New Change[.] and Guildhall Art Gallery[.] to a free guided walk. The day is then rounded off in style with a spectacular display of fireworks on the Thames. With all this on display there is sure to be something for everyone and a great day out for all so come along and help make this a truly special day for the City. More information is available from the Show website[.] or you can download a copy of the leaflet[.] or pick a copy from Guildhall receptions or libraries across the City. 1
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City apprenticeships
You’re hired!
Wanted: keen, enthusiastic, presentable young people (16-18), willing to learn and undergo training; recognised qualification and a job on offer as well as a wage. Wanted: local, established company needing to fill skills gap, interested in employing young people, willing to take on someone who isn’t yet the ‘finished article’.
Finding the right person for the right job can be hard enough at the best of times. Just as difficult can be finding employers willing to take on people who may not yet have the skills or experience necessary to fill their need. With this in mind, the City of London Corporation is bringing both ends of the job market together so that City businesses and local young people can benefit from its Apprenticeship Scheme[.]. The City Corporation is one of many organisations now acting as a ‘brokering’service between employers and potential young employees, funded under the government’s National Apprenticeship Service[.]. This is aimed at providing additional resources to businesses and helping to reduce youth unemployment. Initially the City Corporation has a three-year contract to run its scheme, with specific targets to hit, which has been negotiated with the Skills Funding Agency. For young people in the City and its fringes this is a chance get necessary work experience over a two to three year period, a recognised
qualification, a wage and the chance of a job at the end of the process. For firms it is an efficient way to recruit high quality young people that can learn on the job and make a valuable contribution to the business. Not surprisingly given the make-up of the Square Mile, the City Corporation is focusing on business & administration and customer services for the apprenticeships it sources. Special emphasis is also being placed on links with young people from City Corporation housing estates (both inside and outside of the City), schools and City Academies. But the focus is always on offering the highest calibre candidates as City Corporation Policy and Resources Chairman Stuart Fraser explained: “We are establishing a brand for our Apprenticeship scheme which means that City firms know they are not wasting their time taking on these young people. We want the best apprentices so that over time the scheme earns a reputation for offering a real benefit to firms and develops its own momentum.” continued
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You’re hired! The work began internally to place apprentices within the City Corporation, including areas as wide afield as the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre, and has since been rolled out to the City and wider London. The scheme was formally launched to City businesses in May this year at an event in the City Marketing Suite[.]. Fans of the BBC TV series The Apprentice would have recognised past apprentice hopeful Philip Taylor there who is now Marketing Manager in the City Corporation’s Apprenticeship team. One of Alan Sugar’s trusted lieutenants from the programme, Nick Hewer, was also on hand to extol the virtues of apprenticeships to the business audience.
For firms it is an efficient way to recruit high quality young people that can learn on the job and make a valuable contribution to the business.
Since then contracts have been agreed with major Square Mile employers including London Chamber of Commerce, Gatehouse Bank, City AM, Methods Consulting and Pizza Express. As part of its free package to firms, the City Corporation can advertise vacancies, identify and
screen candidates, train them, teach basic skills where needed, assess their progress and award certificates at the end of the process. The nature of the scheme means that if a City bank, for example, felt that its branches outside of London (and indeed throughout the UK) could benefit then the City Corporation Apprenticeship team would travel to those areas and carry out a similar operation there. While still in its early days, the City Corporation is confident this scheme will offer positive results. “In many ways this initiative links with our ongoing work with the City fringes to improve long-term economic, social and environmental well-being there,”said Stuart Fraser. “This means working with schools, training and employment services and businesses to overcome barriers to employment.This is good for young people in securing work and good for businesses in offering a pool of skilled and available talent for them to draw on.”1
The benefits n More than 80% of employers who take on apprentices agree they make their workplace more productive n 81% of consumers say they would favour using a company that employs apprentices n 92% of employers taking on apprentices believe apprenticeships lead to a more motivated and satisfied workforce n 83% of employers employing apprentices rely on their apprenticeship programme to provide the skilled workers they need for the future
Job roles as a customer service apprentice n sales clerk n retail staff n call centre staff n receptionist n junior office staff
Job roles as a business administration apprentice n admin assistant n office clerk n data entry clerk n filing record clerk n junior secretary
Firms wanting to find out more about the Scheme can email the team[.] or call 020 7332 1212/3911
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Open spaces
Flag it up
Fifteen of the City Corporation’s Open Spaces have been singled out for praise in this year’s prestigious Green Flag and Green Heritage Site awards[.]. The scheme is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the UK, first launched in 1996. It is also seen as a way of encouraging others to achieve high environmental standards and excellence in recreational green areas. Hampstead Heath[.] won the accolade for the 14th year in a row. In a separate category the Heath won the Green Heritage Site Accreditation award which promotes best practice in understanding, care, upkeep and promotion of green spaces of heritage interest across England. Michael Welbank, Chairman of the City Corporation’s Hampstead Heath Committee, believes much of the credit for the awards should to go to staff and volunteers. “It’s a testament to their hard work and dedication throughout the year to maintain and protect the Heath both now and for future generations.”
The 15 open spaces recognised included Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park. They are judged against eight key criteria[.]: n A welcoming place n Healthy, safe and secure n Clean and well maintained n Sustainability n Conservation and heritage n Community involvement n Marketing n Management
You can also vote for your own personal favourite open space, from all the award winners, from the Green Flag website[.] with the winner gaining the coveted People’s Choice Award. The City Corporation owns and maintains more than 10,000 acres (4,047 hectares) of open space[.] across London including more than 150 gardens, churchyards, parks and plazas. 1
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Voting in the City
Get on the register
When this edition of cityviewonline goes live, residents and City firms will have received their annual call to register for City elections. For residents[.] this is likely to be a familiar
process, and is similar to that which takes place in all boroughs across the UK. Residents will be able to register to vote in national, European, and London-wide elections as well as City elections. However, firms that are new to the City[.] may be surprised to learn that they can vote in City elections. Because of the nature of the Square Mile – around 9,000 residents but more than 300,000 workers – the City’s electoral franchise recognises that City firms should have a say in how it is run. Every four years full City elections are held to elect members for each of the City’s 25 wards[.]. Between those times there are regular by-elections and Aldermanic elections (Aldermen being the senior members of the wards). Signing up to the electoral register means that people working in organisations across the Square Mile – not just businesses – can vote for who they want to represent their views in the City Corporation’s decision-making process[.].
This is the clearest way for organisation to have their say on how the City is run, what services it provides and how it provides them. Street cleaning, planning, environment, arts and culture, parks and gardens are just a flavour of the many services the City Corporation supplies that you may feel strongly about. But it also supplies services that go beyond just those of a local authority – the City’s own dedicated police force, infrastructure improvements, promoting financial services and giving the City a voice in national and European leglislation. So to have your say on your City please register and register early. 1
Find out more by email[.], web[.], calling 0800 587 5537 or writing to: Electoral Services Office City of London Guildhall PO Box 270 London EC2P 2EJ.
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London 2012
Going for gold
Pages dedicated to the City Corporation’s involvement in the 2012 Games[.] are now live. As well as listing key events and activities they will also feature information on the Games’ effects on life within the Square Mile during Games’ time and advice for residents and businesses.
The City Corporation has been playing its part in helping build excitement for next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games – most notably in a new pan-London campaign to get more people involved in sport and activity.
The City Corporation has been given Host Authority status by LOCOG in recognition of its work in support of the Games. 1
The Green to Gold campaign[.] was launched in July by legendary Olympian Tessa Sanderson CBE and Team GB hockey player Richard Smith in Guildhall Yard. This is where more than 40 City of London staff cycled in from all the City Corporation’s Open Spaces. The launch was supported by the Green Flag Awards and the City of London Festival. The main aim of Green to Gold is to highlight how the public can use these open spaces for a vast range of activities – whatever their lifestyles or interests. It also promotes the value of these spaces to their surrounding communities and is a chance for these communities to help create a lasting legacy for the Games themselves. Prior to the cycle ride to Guildhall, events were held at various City Corporation-owned open spaces, including Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, Hampstead Heath, to demonstrate how easy it is to make use of the spaces and keep active – from buggy pushes to conker championships and from cross country running to orienteering.
At Guildhall the 2012 mascots Wenlock and Mandeville were on hand to entertain onlookers along with a range of activities showing just how people across London can make positive life changes. Table tennis, British military fitness, hula hooping, ball skills and an Eco bike challenge were all on offer to give people a taster of what is available. The nature of the Green to Gold campaign has resulted in its being awarded the Olympic Inspire mark[.] by LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games). This is in recognition of its accessible, participative and inspiring ambitions. Activities are available at City Corporation Open Spaces throughout the year and both up to and during the Games period.You can find out what is planned at these spaces via their web pages[.]. 1
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Arts focus / Museum of London
Build up to the Games
As excitement and anticipation build in advance of next year’s big event, visitors to the Museum of London Docklands can see how work on the Olympic Park has developed and how it has affected the area around it. A display of 20 images can be seen in a new, free exhibition Your 2012[.]. These 20 were selected from hundreds taken by museum staff that tracked progress on the park at Stratford. The shots are grouped into three categories – the site under construction; impact on the
A more thought provoking exhibition is available at both the Museum of London and Museum of London Docklands until late November. Freedom from: modern slavery in the capital[.] looks at the personal impact of human trafficking and slavery in London today. It includes a map showing recorded cases of slavery across Greater London and the personal testimonies of those affected. This is the first cross-site exhibition the museums have run. Large-scale photographs commissioned from Chris Steele-Perkins of Magnum Photos form the centrepiece of the exhibition at the Museum of London while its Docklands equivalent features a
surrounding boroughs; and the effect on the local environment. All the images were taken from locations open to the general public and organisers hope that those who come to view the display will be inspired to visit those locations for themselves. The display will also include archive images that delve into the fascinating history of the Olympic site. The display is open now and runs until 5 February 2012. 1
survivors’quilt alongside new patches created by women who have suffered trafficking. The exhibition has been developed in partnership with Anti-Slavery International[.], the world’s oldest human rights organisation and runs until 20 November. Both Museum of London and Museum of London Docklands[.] are jointly funded by the City Corporation and the Greater London Authority and form part of the former’s wider cultural contribution[.] to the Square Mile and beyond. 1
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Arts focus / Barbican
Storm warning
The 400th anniversary of the
the first attempt since then to
Director and founder of Jericho
The Tempest is playing at
first performance of
restore music that would
House[.], Jonathan Holmes
St Giles Church[.], from
Shakespeare’s The Tempest is
have accompanied the play
believes St Giles is the perfect
21 September to 22 October.
being marked by a new
at that time.
location for the production and
production at St Giles’s
not just because of its proximity
Church in Cripplegate as part
It centres on a group of exiles
to the Barbican. “This church
of the Barbican’s bite11
fighting for control of a
was a key landmark to
season.
haunted land and a
intellectual life in 1611 so it
contested history while the
makes sense conceptually,
The play originally premiered
indigenous inhabitants plan
aesthetically and historically to
at Blackfriars Theatre and at
their resistance. It features
perform The Tempest here.
Whitehall in 1611. This latest
such well known characters
We’re also delighted to be a
production by Jericho House is
as Prospero and Caliban.
part of the Barbican’s prestigious bite11[.] season.” The Church was known to
More details are available from
Shakespeare himself and is the
the Barbican website[.].
burial site of Nicholas Tooley, an
You can book tickets by calling
actor in Shakespeare’s
020 7638 8891 or online.
company at that time. This vision of rebellion, collaboration and uneasy peace arrives in the City following premieres in what might seem fitting locations in the Middle East, including Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Haifa. 1
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News round-up
In brief Something to treasure
Phone it in
The City Corporation’s remarkable
Library users in the Square Mile can now
collection of material documenting
find a library, connect to the extensive
London’s history over the last millennium is
catalogue via the City Corporation’s
to be showcased in a new book.
website, search for books and receive
Fair enough
updates about events and activities Published in December, and coinciding
through a smartphone app.
with the 600th anniversary of the Guildhall,
The Goldsmiths’ Company is hosting an exclusive “shopping” evening for their City
London 1000 Years will contain items from
The City of London is one of the first areas in
neighbours at Goldsmiths’ Fair on Thursday
the 11th century right up to present day,
the UK to launch a mobile app for
6 October from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.
chosen and described by the experts who
smartphones (iPhones, Windows 7 and
curate them, in full colour.
Android) that makes it easier to access its
The Fair[.], one of the City’s long-standing
library services (at Guildhall, Barbican, City
and prestigious events, takes place
Business and Shoe Lane libraries[.]).
annually at Goldsmiths’ Hall, EC2.
Highlights include the City’s charter from William the Conqueror, its Magna Carta, a
It presents the very best jewellery and
property deed signed by Shakespeare,
The app can be downloaded for free and
silversmithing talent in the UK – a mix of
a love letter from the dying John Keats and
has five user-friendly headings on its home
hot young talent as well as established
pre-Raphaelite paintings. The City
page: Find A Library; News; Events,
master-craftsmen. The Fair is an opportunity
Corporation archives date from 1067.
Activities and
to not only view and buy unique treasures
Through Guildhall Library, Guildhall Art
Exhibitions; Online
but also to meet the jewellers and
Gallery, and London Metropolitan Archives
Library Catalogue;
silversmiths to discuss designs, techniques
it owns or looks after books, archives,
and About the
and individual commissions.
pictures, photographs, prints and other
Library App. 1
media making up a major part of the
Entrance to the event costs £15 per head
recorded memory of London.
and includes a catalogue, wine and canapés. Attendees also have the chance
A paperback edition is available only from
to enter a prize draw to win the opportunity
the City Corporation priced at £19.95 or at
to spend £1,000 on jewellery or silver from
a special pre-publication price of £17.50.
an exhibitor.
Orders must be received by 30 November 2011 and can be collected from Guildhall
Tickets will be allocated on a first come first
Library from 6 December (or posted to you
served basis so book your place now on
for an extra £4.50).
020 7367 5907.
To order call 020 7332 3859 or email[.]. 1
Goldsmiths’ Fair 2011 Week one 26 September to 2 October Week two 4 October to 9 October Closed October 3 11am-7pm Monday to Friday (last entry 6.30pm) 10am-6pm Saturday and Sunday (last entry 5.30pm) Entrance by catalogue purchasable on the door (£7 for one week, £12 for two weeks) 1