Agenda item

Resolved Unanimously:- That, on the occasion of his retirement, Members of this Court take great pleasure in conveying to John Barradell OBE their gratitude and sincere appreciation for the distinguished manner in which he has carried out the role of Town Clerk and Chief Executive of the City of London Corporation over the past decade.

John joined the Corporation in 2012, appointed as the City’s 50th Town Clerk since 1274. Over the course of the past decade, his stewardship has included a plethora of significant and indeed historic events.

Having extensive experience and networks in the resilience and emergency management fields, he was key to leading the response to the COVID pandemic, not only within the City but Pan-London and also headed up work on the Government Grenfell Recovery Taskforce. John went on to play a key role in the Grenfell Inquiry and, as Deputy Chair of the London Resilience Partnership, regularly brings together all relevant agencies, private and public, to ensure that the City is planning for, well-prepared and able to respond to disruptive events.

John’s tenure has also allowed for much celebration and pageantry. John has attended numerous Lord Mayors Banquets, the most recent of these taking place just last week, multiple State Banquets and was also fortunate enough to play a key role in not one but two Royal Jubilee celebrations – the likes of which many are unlikely to ever witness again. More sombrely of course, John also joined this Court in the Proclamation of our new King on the steps of the Royal Exchange and represented the City at the funeral of her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second.  

Closer to home, John has successfully overseen the agreement of a number of Major Projects that will radically alter what the City is and does for the coming century, enabling us to be more agile, responsive and able to make the best use of our resources to create a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London. These include the agreement of the new state-of-the-art combined Courts and Police Headquarters building on Fleet Street, agreement for the relocation of two of the City’s historic Markets to a purpose-built site in Dagenham Dock and the relocation of the Museum of London to West Smithfield.

John has also overseen enormous changes to the City’s built environment and streetscape during his time in office with increased pedestrianisation, on-street greening and the opening of the new Elizabeth Line – all key components in terms of making the City a more desirable spot for residents, workers and visitors alike.

Internally, John has overseen the smooth transition between multiple changes in political leadership within the organisation as well as the introduction of a new and diverse Senior Leadership Team at the City to ensure the future of the organisation – one which is agile and responsive.

It’s fair to say that John has a possibly unique range of experience across private, public and volunteer leadership roles and will be keenly missed here at the City. In thanking him for his most distinguished service, his dedication and professionalism, the Court wishes to express to both him, Maggie and their daughters their sincere wishes for a lengthy, happy and healthy retirement.