Diverse uses key for City future
I’m really pleased that the City of London Corporation, the local authority for the Square Mile, is pushing ahead with plans to create additional public space (which could include a new park) on part of the site of the current St. Paul’s gyratory road system. Encouragingly, the Corporation’s planning and transportation committee recently recommended the option that would result in the greatest amount of new public realm, totalling around 30,000 sq ft.
Employers have long known that a best-in-class working culture is key to recruiting (and more importantly, retaining) the most talented workforce. There is now growing recognition that, in addition, those workplaces will need to offer attractions that home working (and competing office locations) can’t.
While London is one of the greenest capital cities in the world (ie proportion of parks and other green spaces), those green spaces are unequally distributed and the City has comparatively few. So, any new park here is extremely welcome, not just in the name of biodiversity, but because it will help create an environment that is attractive to the office workers who will continue to be the life force for the Square Mile.
While I’m regularly pointing out that generally there is a wholesale move in urban areas to mixed use, the City is an interesting exception. Office use will dominate for the foreseeable future, though the way that space is utilised is already changing and will continue to do so.
Employers have long known that a best-in-class working culture is key to recruiting (and more importantly, retaining) the most talented workforce. There is now growing recognition that, in addition, those workplaces will need to offer attractions that home working (and competing office locations) can’t.
It’s surely no coincidence that, after two decades at Canary Wharf, banking giant HSBC is set to return to the City (close to the planned new public space at St Paul’s).
As post-pandemic transport patterns into and out of the capital change, the need to diversify has never been more acute. The City Corporation’s launch of a ‘Destination City’ initiative last year shows that it not only understands this, but is taking a pro-active stance by encouraging more diverse uses with the Square Mile, focusing in particular on leisure and tourism, and supporting a reinvigoration of the City’s retail offer.
That said, I think we need to be realistic about what is (and isn’t) achievable. Let’s start with retail: the good news is that new brands will undoubtedly move in – at P-THREE we are talking to potential entrants – but (the not so good news) I suspect they will be limited in number.
Why? The City has famously operated a five day week. Since Covid-19 those five days have effectively become four days, a compression now unlikely to change. Retailers will need to take this into account, though a lack of custom from office workers could be compensated for by an increased tourist footfall.
Here I think the City Corporation needs to be as focussed as possible. The push towards more ‘leisure’ uses should, I believe, be focused on encouraging people (not just tourists from out of town, but the substantial volume of Londoners) into the City at times when office workers are less present – at weekends and perhaps Mondays and Fridays, too. More ‘cultural’ venues will help bring in additional visitors and are an important part of the mix that is key to building resilient places (as our recent joint report with CACI highlights). Hotel operators, who not that long ago viewed the City as a ‘no go’ area, now see potential in the EC1 postcode and more residential stock (some of which will also be well placed to attract visitors as well as residents via sites like AirBNB), is in the pipeline – the City Corporation has an admittedly modest ambition to create 1,500 new units by 2030.
It’s also worth noting the arrival of new operators such as events companies and meeting space providers, such as Convene, expanding into spaces previously occupied by retailers as the pressure for better break out spaces for office occupiers results in a need to outsource spaces.
While I’m certain that there will be a significant number of opportunities for newcomers, which makes the City an exciting place to be right now, it’s also fair to point out that retail won’t work everywhere. In my view brands are likely to cluster in super-prime locations.
Some of these are already-established retail zones such as around Bishopsgate, Old Broad Street and Bank/Cheapside, but others will appear close to the best new office developments. The concentrated nature of the Square Mile means that, perhaps more than anywhere else in the UK, finding the right spot for retail and other non-office uses is critical.
You may not be aware, but later this year, at just over 900 feet above street level, London’s highest free viewing platform is due to open to the public in the City at 22 Bishopsgate. The pulling power of this kind of venue shouldn’t be underestimated. The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie (also in the City) has now checked in over 10 million visitors since it opened in 2015 – around 3,000 per day. For anyone not averse to heights the new viewing gallery at 22 Bishopsgate could offer a new perspective over the Square Mile.
Article by Hannah McNamara, Co-founder P-THREE
Photo credits: Unsplash
