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Date updated: 21/03/2024

Outcome

"Attracting businesses and people to a safe, secure, and dynamic location is vital to our future. A world-leading culture and leisure offer is integral to creating a vibrant, thriving destination where everyone prospers."

Context and impact

£130 million

The City Corporation is one of the largest funders of heritage and cultural activities in the UK, investing over £130m annually.

Unique and diverse offer

The City is the birthplace of London with a unique and diverse offer: unrivalled history and heritage, world-class arts and culture, and outstanding restaurants, cafes, hotels, pubs and bars.

Safe and welcoming

The City of London Police work hard to ensure the Square Mile is a safe and welcoming place for everyone, which is crucial to a vibrant, thriving and prosperous environment that works for residents, visitors, business and leisure.

Cultural guardians

We are one of the nation’s most significant cultural guardians – the home of the world-leading and internationally renowned Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Barbican Centre, and Tower Bridge.

Inclusive public spaces

We are using our planning and licensing powers to create new, inclusive public spaces that work well for everyone, including hospitality, leisure offerings, cultural experiences, and better signage.

Highest quality

We also seek to facilitate growth through our planning policies which aim for office development of the highest quality, ensuring that offices are designed to provide sustainable, flexible floorspace that meets the varied needs of occupiers.

Our actions

  1. Cement the City as London’s central business district where businesses want to be and where workers, residents and visitors want to spend time.
  2. Continue to promote crime prevention in the City of London, and tackle local crime and antisocial behaviour through the Safer City Partnership.
  3. Make the City a thriving, seven-day-a-week destination through our flagship Destination City programme, and build economic prosperity through flourishing retail, leisure and business.
  4. Be home to an exciting all-year-round events programme.
  5. Grow the City’s cultural offer through new development.
  6. Strengthen our cultural offer through partnerships with brands, the City’s Business Improvement Districts, and landowners.
  7. Boost the supply of skilled workers for sustainable buildings, enabling central London to decarbonise its built environment at scale.
  8. Undertake a new city occupiers and investment study to assess the short and long-term demand for office space and amenities and attract major tenants and occupiers.
  9. Help start-up business and SMEs to scale and grow through our SME strategy.
  10. Adopt the City Plan 2040 for sustainable growth and development direction.
  11. Provide more space for walking and making the City’s streets more accessible.
  12. Deliver the licensing service within the context of the ‘Vibrant Thriving Destination’ outcome, considering the views of our residents, businesses, workers and visitors.

Performance measures

  1. Reduce local and neighbourhood crime and improve confidence in the City of London Police.
  2. Increase visitor numbers, expenditure, and visits to our cultural attractions.
  3. Increase road safety, decrease motor traffic, and encourage environmentally sustainable forms of transport.
  4. Deliver 3:1 return on investment on growth bid budget through new partnerships.
  5. Increase provision of office space in the Square Mile, decreasing empty office floor space.

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