Agenda item

Chief Officers to be heard.

Chief Officers were heard in respect of the updates on re-opening City attractions and services. The following updates were noted:

Head of Tower Bridge & the Monument

City of London (COL) visitor attractions all remained in close contact with each other in the run up to 19 July. The latest visitor attraction data received shows a significant public appetite for the retention of social distancing measures, with 40% of respondents saying they would not visit without some measures in place. On this basis, the general guidance from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) is to retain social distancing measures to maximise business in line with visitor confidence. All City of London attractions will follow minimum public health requirements, but the intention is to retain the majority of measures so as to retain visitor confidence after 19 July. There will be periodic reviews, with the potential for phasing down this approach in line with guidance and public appetite. The first of these reviews is likely to take place in August. The reinvigoration of business is an important part of the return to normal, and this can only happen by responding appropriately and responsibly to visitor sentiment.

A recent meeting of UK attractions covered a number of these points, with most attractions saying it was their intention to retain many of the measures. Discussions around face coverings involved how to manage and message the government’s ‘recommend and encourage’ approach. Attractions also discussed the ability to manage ‘walk-up’ visitors, with COL attractions to continue to offer flexibility on this approach, offering pre-booking as well as walk-ups. Many attractions, including Tower Bridge, have already seen a spike in bookings prior to 19 July.

Tower Bridge will retain most measures, with a few exceptions. The ‘encourage and recommend’ approach to face coverings will be adopted. Messaging on this will be key, especially to provide support for staff when communicating with visitors. Capacity at the Bridge will be increased by 40%, which will keep capacity within previous distancing guidelines. Cash transactions in the gift shop will be restarted. Tower Bridge reopened on 17 May and saw 2,000 visitors in the first week, and over 6,000 visitors during half-term. This has helped to restart the income generation of City Bridge Trusts through admissions and retail. Weekly figures have grown to about 4,000 per week

A Member asked for more information on what social distancing measures should and shouldn’t be kept. The Head of Tower Bridge replied that the intention is to maintain all social distancing measures, including bookings and walk-ups. There is a constant review of visitor feedback.

Head of Guildhall Art Gallery

The Gallery will retain all social distancing measures, including offering both a booking system and walk-ups. There will be a constant review of feedback, and introducing changes one at a time. The change this time is to adopt the ‘recommend and encourage’ approach to the wearing of face coverings. The next change will be to increase capacity from August, having learnt from visitor movement through the Noel Coward exhibition.

Principal Curator, Keats House

Keats House is following a similar approach to that followed elsewhere, and has benefited from the advice and support of other departments. The Keats House garden is to reopen with unlimited access. Pre-booking for access to the house is being retained, but with increased numbers available. They will also be introducing the ability for people to walk-up, within capacity. The capacity of the house is 24 people. The sentiment received from visitor feedback is that people feel safer with some measures in place. Social distancing markers around the house will be removed, but will remain in communications. Measures such as contactless payment, protective screens, sanitisers and advice to wear face coverings will also remain. The measures will be reviewed continuously.

Director of the London Metropolitan Archives

The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) remain open to pre-booked researchers who wish to consult original archives. They are fully booked for July, and bookings are open for August and September. They intend to open access to microfilm in August. Advice to wear face coverings will remain. The Archives also offer additional days for researchers to view large-scale plans, for which the Archives needs to make special arrangements to produce in a COVID-safe manner. The Archives have provided access to a team of researchers from the Infected Blood Inquiry, who have been consulting archives for some years.

LMA’s outdoor football exhibition, A Capital Game, moved from Guildhall Yard to Aldgate Square in mid-June and closed on 15 July. The Archives were pleased that the Lord Mayor was able to attend. The display was produced in collaboration with the City’s Cultural and Visitor Development team.

Guildhall Library and the Small Business Research and Enterprise Centre also continue to be open to pre-booked users. The Business Centre has provided advice and encouragement to small and medium sized enterprises who have applied to the City of London’s Recovery Grant Fund.

Head of Barbican & Community Libraries

A message to customers was sent last week, and posted online, to say that the libraries will resume normal hours from 19 July. Visits to the library will cease to be time-limited. Soft furniture and study spaces have been restored. Hand sanitiser dispensers have been left in place, and visiting customers have been asked to continue to scan the QR code for the Test and Trace app when entering the library. Paper Test and Trace forms are also available. Some concerns have been raised over the lack of a mandatory requirement for customers to wear face coverings. This has been raised with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), who have confirmed that public libraries will not be an exception to the lifting of the mandatory requirement to wear face coverings in public spaces. Therefore, the libraries can only recommended that customers wear them, and this message is being pushed.

The rising number of self-isolation cases could affect the staffing of libraries, and so customers are being asked to check that the library is open before they visit. This has been put on the departmental risk register and the COVID Pandemic Plan has been updated so that staff are aware of how to procced and the priority order of closing services.

Reponses from customers to the measures enacted have been generally positive.

Members asked the origin of the data that departments were relying on regarding visitor support for retention of restrictions, and whether the feedback that is being gathered from visitors to COL attractions is being fed back to the government. The Head of Tower Bridge replied that the data originates from ALVA, to which the majority of UK visitor attractions belong. ALVA have been conducting regular visitor sentiment surveys since the start of lockdown. The data has been gathered from the majority of UK attractions. The data applies to the whole of the UK, and so may differ from conditions in London, but COL attractions are comparing the overall UK data to data that is gathered onsite. ALVA also acts as a lobbying service for the industry, and feeds the data back to DCMS. It was also mentioned that many of the measures are not enforceable; for example, hand sanitiser dispensers are provided, but it is up to visitors to use it. The minimum of public health requirements are being followed, and there is some flexibility on how this is approached.

Head of Cultural Programming and Partnerships

The Head of Cultural Programming and Partnerships provided an overview of the Outdoor Arts Programme planned for the upcoming months. There are around 40 events planned between July and November. The theme of the programme is ‘A Thing of Beauty’, commemorating the bicentenary of the death of John Keats and the recurring theme of beauty throughout his work.

Members praised the line-up of events and congratulated the Officers involved. A Member asked how the programme organisers are prepared for potential changes at a time when the pandemic situation is changing quickly. In response, an Officer said that all events go through the Significant External Events Group process to ensure that they follow guidance and that events can be delivered safely. The Group contains officers from various departments, including the City of London Police and the Public Health team. A Standard Operating Plan is also being developed, in association with Hackney, to provide clear guidance for events delivered in the City.

Members expressed concern that the programme was not being marketed as effectively as it might be to City Residents. The Culture and Visitor Development Director replied that they have been late in marketing because they did not know until recently if they would be able to go ahead with some of the planned events. This means that most of the marketing has been digital.

City of London residents are being targeted through the usual communication channels. The Programme has worked with the Community and Children’s Services Department to engage with these audiences, not least through estate newsletters.

A Member asked if there was a formal process for residents to approach officers to suggest their own events and also if there could be a ‘Coming Soon’ advertisement in newsletters and on Ward notice boards for upcoming events.

Members commented that there needed to be improved efforts made to engage with residents, especially those who are not estate-based. A Member suggested that events could be marketed through the weekly email bulletin circulated by the Barbican Estate Office. The Culture and Visitor Development Director replied that the newsletter is sent information and that residents were as much of a priority as other audiences.

There is a corporate newsletter in which events are featured, but that requires residents to be aware of it and to sign up. The Events Team is unable to use electoral databases held by the Corporation for marketing purposes.

A Member asked if using resident databases could be explored further as an option.

A Member expressed concern about the gap between the proposals and the communication. He also questioned the interpretation of what constituted advertising on-street. He felt information about the Corporation’s own cultural activities was within the bounds of what was acceptable. He asked if Officers could come back with a renewed approach to their communications.