I was really sorry to learn at yesterday’s Citizens Forum that councillor Brendan Barns will no longer be acting as the residents’ representative in development of the Corporation’s Destination City programme.
The programme was launched in 2022 to attract more visitors, and support an economy hit by working from home. It is currently undergoing review, with a recommended switch from big events, like the £1.5m Bartholomew Fair spectacular, to developing and marketing the unique culture and heritage of the City.
Residents potentially have a bigger interest and part to play in the revised programme, because, for example, there is strong emphasis on improving the public realm of streets and open spaces and the idea of a Liveable City. More here on the review.
Brendan had a dual role on the City Envoys Network in representing the collective views of residents, and acting as an ambassador for the programme.
He managed to do both by organising Citizens Forum events – which I’ve reported here – that introduced residents to a series of interesting venues, offering hospitality, networking, discussion and updates on the programme and City events.
Yesterday evening at the Broadworks Cultural Hub Brendan reported that the City Envoys Network was being replaced by a Destination City Advisory Board, but he was not a member. Instead it would be councillor Jacqui Webster. As the City of London Labour Party notes, Jacqui is Lead Member for Resident Engagement on the Corporation, with a strong background in the field.
I can see the logic of the appointment from the Corporation’s point of view, but in practice Jacqui will have a wide range of commitments, and I wonder how far it will be possible to organise a specific Destination City programme that meets the original brief. Maybe the brief has changed – I’ll check in with Jacqui.
Back in June 2023 the City’s Policy chief and leader, Chris Hayward, told a City Question Time:
It is fundamental to have resident engagement in Destination City – “if you feel we’re not consulting widely enough on Destination City, or the more engagement residents could have, we want to know how precisely we do it … we want Destination City to be owned by the residents as much as by anybody else.”
I hope that commitment remains, but the problem at the moment is no-one seems to know quite what Destination City is. The review author Paul Martin gave a very good preview of his report to a Citizens Forum in March, but his full report remains confidential, with only a brief official summary published.
We had some discussion at a Forum in May, but Brendan said he was unable to offer more than the summary. There is what he termed a “corporate blockage” and it could be months before we hear more.
I was glad to hear from Brendan that he would be prepared to continue to organise some events, whether or not officially associated with Destination City. I think there’s great scope to try something in Culture Mile, where the Business Improvement District is planning its own community engagement programme. More about that here.
As Brendan said at an earlier forum meeting, residents don’t have to wait on the Corporation – we can do things for ourselves, as we did in Smithfield staging Cloth Fair as a complement to the official Bartholomew Fair. More later on that idea.
- The above links and background available on this website
- Official listing of 22 super things of do this July in the City of London As Brendan said yesterday, don’t miss N0 8 – the Cart Marking