Agenda item

The Chairman provided the Committee with updated numbers from the two new viewing galleries that had opened recently. At 22 Horizon (22 Bishopsgate) the statistics from the first five days of opening were over 86,000 bookings. There were 5,000 booking slots, in the first three minutes, and the weekend was fully booked in two minutes. There were 1,200 walk-ins and no-one was turned away. There were international bookings too from the US, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and Europe.

With regards to 18 Bishopsgate, that had over 17,000 visitors since opening from Mid-August. Over 5,000 walk-in visitors were admitted no pre-booking. Although 22 Horizon was higher, this space was spectacular and being lower, gave it a different perspective.

The Chairman enquired if enough of these spaces had now been provided and whether there were other public benefits from these buildings. An Officer explained that they were seeing ground level benefits from other schemes, but there was evidence to suggest high public appetite for these, and there was an under-supply of this type of space at the moment. The last two galleries were internal viewing galleries, which happened to come online at the same time. Future projects which were under construction included rooftop gardens and terraces and provided a different offer. The focus for these was making each of these unique so there was not a mass supply of the same facilities, as well as these being equally spaced throughout the City.

A Member thanked the Officers and Developers for making these viewing galleries accessible to residents first before the public, and asked if building owners could hold slots for residents so they had priority going forward.  An Officer explained that this experience had been a learning curve as to how they operate, and it relied on public feedback, therefore this would be shared.

An Officer provided an update regarding senior changes in Planning and Development regarding assistant directors. The Assistant Director of Partnership and Engagement had retired from post, following 36 years at the City. A new appointment had since been made who had already started in post. The Assistant Director for Design was undergoing a career break and this position was offered as an acting up opportunity up to April 2024.

The Chairman passed on his congratulations to those who had filled the posts, and asked for the Committee’s thanks to be passed on the Simon McGinn, for all his excellent work, and wished him a happy retirement.