The London Society staged an excellent discussion last Saturday about housing in the City of London, which has only 8600 residents while hosting 650,000 workers. The main function of the City will remain economic, but is there also scope for more homes?
In 1801 the City population was some 130,000, dropping below 5000 after the Second World War. Construction of the Golden Lane and Barbican Estates then added some 2500 homes.
The venue for discussion was the London Centre, where a model of London provided some perspective between speakers and audience.
The event was chaired by Dave Hill, publisher and editor of On London.
For an overall report on the discussion I can do no better than refer to Charles Wright’s article in On London , while adding an intriguing suggestion from one speaker that the redevelopment of Smithfield Market should include housing. More on that later.
Charles reports that Dr Jack Brown of King’s College, lecturer in London Studies, set the scene historically and argued that more residential development could now bring both environmental and economic benefits to the area, as well as contributing to the capital’s overall housing targets. Charles adds:
There was no disagreement from the speakers, who included recently elected City common councillor and Financial Times journalist Leyla Boulton, Steve Goodman, chair of the City Corporation’s housing management sub-committee, architect and Barbican Residents Association chair Jan-Marc Petroschka, and former common councillor, now chair of the Golden Lane Estate Residents Association, Sue Pearson.
The corporation had a “civic responsibility” to London as a whole to provide more housing, said Goodman, speaking in a personal capacity. He cast doubt on the Guildhall’s forecast requirement for an extra 1.2 million square feet of office space by 2040. This forms the centrepiece of its new City Plan blueprint for future development in the Square Mile, expected to be in place next year. “I don’t believe that,” Goodman said. “We don’t know what the City will look like in 2040. But that is the main driver of City policy.”
Other key points from the event:
- Conversion of lower quality office space is the main way to create homes in the City – but it can be difficult to develop satisfactory schemes
- The City Corporation is more than meeting its current target of 146 new homes a year, as set out in the London Plan.
- The City Corporation planners do not favour a lot more housing development because residents may oppose commercial uses and developments.
- Priority should be the £80 million backlog of repairs on the City existing housing stock.
- There’s a case for making improvements to the estates that the City owns and manages outside the Square Mile.
One of the biggest schemes on the horizon in the City is the re-development of Smithfield Market, when meat traders leave in three years time. Current plans are for a cultural and commercial hub of international significance.
I live nearby, and so was particularly interested to hear Steve Goodman – chair of the City’s housing management sub-committee – suggest that there should be a housing component in the plans. Steve said that the idea was personal, but he would raise it within the Corporation. Consultation on plans is promised before the end of the year, so it is certainly timely.
I should think it would be an interesting design challenge to re-purpose market buildings for housing – although there are offices there so maybe it is possible.
Even if housing isn’t realistic, the proposal does highlight a recurrent theme in the discussion: what sort of neighbourhoods work well for residents, workers and visitors.
Dave Hill recently wrote an in-depth review of the process that led to the market closure, and collapse of the scheme to relocate to Dagenham. I hope he and the London Society might take a further interest when the new plans are revealed. Judging by Dave’s article, and the housing event, it would be of great benefit.
AI note: I recorded the event on my phone, used Notta to get a transcript and Gemini to do a summary, which you can see here.