The Culture Mile Business Improvement District has now published a full version of its Public Realm Vision and Strategy, including ideas for major improvements to Aldersgate Street and the Barbican Gateway area.
These include widening the streets, increased pedestrianisation, new cycle paths and increased lighting and signage. A preview of the vision was presented at a community meeting in July, followed by publication of slides.
- Summary document and full report available on the BID website
- News release
- Previous posts about public realm
The strategy covers the north west of the City of London, and includes two other priority areas:
Moorgate Yards: This area could see decorative paving for wayfinding, lighting improvements, more greening and planters, more outdoor seating, art activations.
Coleman Street: The plans look at potential timed closure for traffic movement to increase pedestrianisation and to allow for spaces to be used for cultural activities, as well as extending footways and increasing greenery and seating.
The vision is the result of 12 months work by urban designers AR Urbanism and Steer, and Authentic Futures, with BID placemaking director Will Dyson. It provides a detailed analysis of the area’s heritage, connections and public spaces.
It is the first overview of possible improvements since the Culture Mile Look and Feel Strategy of 2018: more about that here.
At that point the Culture Mile programme was part of the City of London Corporation. It was taken over by the BID last year.
Engagement and delivery
The summary document, p14, shows short-listed ideas from the current vision together with schemes planned by the City Corporation.
While the Look and Feel Strategy was primarily the responsibility of the City Corporation, the Culture Mile strategy depends on partnerships. The executive summary says:
“Successfully delivering any of the public realm projects set out in this strategy requires a clear and close working between the BID and delivery partners including members of the BID, the City of London Corporation, Transport for London (TfL), key organisations, businesses, landowners, developers, and local community groups. It is important to recognise that this document is a high level vision for change. The potential projects identified will require design development with these organisations and others, and involve public consultation as appropriate to the nature of the interventions”.
I’m not an urban designer, but the study does seem to me to be an impressive piece of work that could be of great interest to residents and workers, at two levels. First in terms of the overall vision for the area, and secondly for specific project proposals. The vision really deserves more attention, and it isn’t clear how or when that may happen.
So far it has only been presented in a half-hour slot at the BID’s annual drinks and networking session on November 13, with no time for questions or discussion. There has been no significant media coverage.
What’s now needed are ways to bridge between the high-level strategy presentation, and detailed consultation when specific projects are developed.
For example, there are pages (38, 39) in the strategy document about Long Lane, Cloth Fair and nearby streets that includes proposals for footways widening, new cycle lanes and stands, dropped curbs and flush surfacing, and relocation of bollards.
I’m keenly interested, and I think my neighbours will be too – but we may well not agree on the details.
At the moment it isn’t clear whether we should talk to the BID, our local councillors or Corporation departments now – or just wait for a notice of consultation. The guidance from the BID is that in general the document is to be seen as a vision and set of ideas based on analysis and engagement, rather than proposing any detailed designs.
Each project will be taken in turn to be developed into more formalised proposals – including detailed plans, feasibility, cost models and formal engagement/consultation.
On that basis the document is more for high-level discussion with stakeholders and partners.
I can understand the reasoning behind that, but ideas like those for Cloth Fair are a bit of tease for residents, and it is unfortunate that we can’t make some input at this stage.
The Look and Feel Strategy cost £300,000, and doesn’t seem to have had much impact. I think the new vision deserves some further investment in engagement and partnership-building to ensure ideas have more chance of being adopted and delivered.
Smithfield
The biggest area of opportunity for public realm improvement is West Smithfield, and the streets and open spaces between Smithfield Market and Barts Hospital. That’s shown in the vision document as the responsibility of the City Corporation. As I wrote earlier, uncertainty about plans to move the market led to a committee report in July that improvements might not be possible for 10 years.
The latest news, as I write, is that Corporation members are being asked on November 26 2024 to agree to closure of the market, rather than a move , with substantial compensation for traders. It’s not clear how long that process would take, so any proposals for temporary improvements – like those suggested for London Lane – are welcome.
Update: The City Corporation has decided to close the market and compensate the traders. Here’s concept designs for redevelopment released in 2020.
Previously: Smithfield Market surroundings due for a make-over – sometime