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Resident engagement with Destination City
From the note circulated at the June 2023 City Question Time, reporting back on a question at the previous January event.
Latest: The Corporation is rethinking its Destination City programme, with more emphasis on developing a Liveable City. See below.
The residents' representative on the City Envoy Network, Brendan Barns, will be organising monthly Citizens Forums.The first event is on Monday 15 January 2024 from 6.30-8.30pm. It will be free to attend and hosted at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business at One Bartholomew Close. Sign up here.
There will be an opportunity to engage with senior City councillors at a City Question Time on December 14 6 pm at the Old Bailey, with a festive celebration afterwards. Sign up here for either or both events.
Further engagement may be offered through the Residential Reset programme, but there's no details so far.
The original purpose of the Destination City programme was to attract more visitors and their spending: see presentation. That remains an important element. However, an evaluation of the Bartholomew Fair programme has prompted a rethink, with more emphasis on developing a Liveable City. Blog post:
A reset for Destination City as Liveable City may be on the way
On Monday this week the City Corporation publicly signalled a reset in the direction of its flagship Destination City programme, with more emphasis on promoting existing cultural and heritage attractions, rather than big events with bought-in acts. Residents will be offered more say. November 22 2023
The reset towards Liveable City makes engagement with residents all the more important, to discover what would work well for them, workers, and visitors. Here's some ideas on where there may be common ground around design of streets and space in the public realm.
Chris Hayward, the City of London policy chief - and in effect the Corporation's leader - said at a City Question Time in July 2023:
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.”
At present there is no official information about Destination City for residents, clarity about how Destination City relates to other programmes, or methods for engagement. That's why, as an interested resident, I've put these pages together - while hoping Destination City will develop their own communications. Following a public meeting about Destination City I've suggested we need a Guide to what's hgappening. Blog post:
Why we need a Guide to Culture Mile and Destination City
Plans to engage residents in Destination City highlight the need for accessible information about the Corporation’s flagship programme, and a main area for cultural development. I suggest we need a Guide to what’s happening and what’s planned, with councillors taking a lead in its development. November 2023.
So far we have some information about an Envoy for Destination City, and a proposed wider Residential Reset programme .
The City Envoy
A report to the Culture, Heritage and Libraries committee in January 2023 included proposals for a Member to join the City Envoy Network “to represent the collective views of residents on the Destination City agenda. The purpose of the appointment is to advise on the strategic priorities and delivery programme of Destination City and its impact on the City’s resident community”.
The commitments are:
• To act as a positive ambassador and advocate of the Destination City agenda amongst residents.
• To attend and input at quarterly City Envoy meetings. To implement required follow up actions.
• To action bespoke requests pertinent to the purpose of the City Envoy Network.
• To provide informed counsel on how the Destination City programme can benefit City residents and drive advocacy among this stakeholder set.
• To advise on the best ways to engage with residents on the Destination City delivery programme.
The note - image above - circulated to a City Question Time in June 2023 confirmed the commitment of the Envoy to “represent the collective views of residents”.
Brendan Barns was subsequently appointed, and presented ideas for resident engagement to the public meeting on November 7. Although the initial idea was for a residents' panel, Brendan now has something more creative in mind.
He has volunteered to organise informal Citizens Forums, and the first event is on Monday 15 January 2024 from 6.30-8.30pm. It will be free to attend and hosted at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business at One Bartholomew Close. Sign up here.
Contact Brendan.Barns@cityoflondon.gov.uk with any other queries or ideas for Destination City.
Residential Reset
In February 2022 the Policy and Resources Committee approved plans for a wider Residential Reset programme. A Resident Campaigns and Communications Manager on a one-year contract 2023/24 would:
- Develop and run a communications campaign to better engage the resident community with the City of London Corporation, focusing in particular on the collection of email addresses and creating effective content, online and offline, for residential audiences.
- Deliver eight annual City-wide resident meetings
- Coordinate a consultations calendar
- Feed concerns from estates to officers and the political leadership
- Help improve engagement with residents outside managed estates – including support with the creation of residents associations and other community activities, and identify and collate contacts in existing residents groups and ensure they are supported effectively.
- Liaise with City Corporation teams on the resident offer, and support elected members
There's isn't anything yet on the Corporation's page about Resident Involvement, but I'll check for an update.
There will be an opportunity to question Chris Hayward and other senior City councillors at a City Question Time on December 14 6 pm at the Old Bailey, with a festive celebration afterwards. Sign up here for either or both events.
David Wilcox david@socialreporter.com