Below is the text of an email I sent today to all members of the Court of Common Council (the City Corporation’s elected governing body) about the proposed postponement of the elections of the City’s 100 councillors from March 2021 to March 2022. 

What little democracy there is in the City shouldn’t be postponed by a year for no good reason. But I expect that the postponement of these elections will receive overwhelming support from members of the Court at its meeting on…

In April of this year the government changed road traffic regulations in order to encourage local authorities to modify highway layouts to benefit pedestrians and cyclists and to encourage active travel
. The City of London Corporation took up the challenge and passed a radical transport strategy.…

As mentioned in my last blog https://www.goldenlaneestate.org/profiles/blogs/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-city-s-discredited-standards, a significant proportion of City residents signed a petition last year declaring that they had no confidence in the City Corporation’s “standards" regime. One of their demands was for reform of “standards" proceedings. A motion was…

Last year, more than 1,100 City residents - many of them in our ward of Cripplegate - signed a petition declaring 'no confidence' in the City's standards regime. 

That petition called for two specific reforms.

The first was to let your elected representatives speak and vote on matters which affected both you and them as residents. After nine months of intense…

Update: Mental Health UK have now contacted us - see below for the charity's response.

During Mental Health Week, 30 Golden Lane Estate residents shared the impact the COLPAI construction site was having on their mental health in a moving open letter.

And just as people shared…

Here is correspondence I’ve had with the City Corporation’s Policy Chair and the Community Services Chair after the government recently published guidance promoting longer working hours on construction sites:



My email to the Policy Chair and Community and Children’s Services Chair on 14 May



Will you undertake that the City Corporation, as the developer of the COLPAI project, will not seek permission to extend the working hours on the site in the…

Hello Neighbours

Yesterday I sent the attached Open Letter to COLPAI Project (the first three pages copied below) about the effect that the construction is having on our well being during this week of Mental Health Awareness. This morning I am sending to all members of the City Council along with this link.

Thank you to everyone who contributed with their…

Do you live or work locally within the Culture Mile area (from Farringdon to Moorgate)? We'd love you to take part in our pop-up radio station...

Radio Local in Culture Mile is a hyper-local radio station broadcasting to the world from 30 May – 12 June 2020, every day from 1-2pm. 



For two weeks presenters Hunt & Darton will be broadcasting…

Below is the text of an email that I sent today to all members of the Court of Common Council (the City Corporation’s elected governing body). It covers two subjects.

First, it satirises the lack of democracy in the City Corporation. As 80% of members of the Court of Common Council are elected mainly by tiny numbers of generally uninterested business voters - a system unique to the City - the Corporation cannot claim to be a democratic institution. For background, see…

On Friday May 1^st Alderman Luder sent to all members of the Court of Common Council an email to justify work continuing on COLPAI during lockdown. ColPai. A brief reply to Common Councillors Pearson and Harrower

It’s disappointing that the resumption of work continues to be justified by the need for the social housing or the delay to opening the…

QUESTIONS WITH NO ANSWERS

On Friday 24 April, in a live streamed virtual meeting of the City Corporation’s Community and Children’s Services Committee, the Chair was asked questions about the Corporation allowing non-essential construction work to restart on one of its own developments within touching distance of its own densely populated Golden Lane estate.

For the background, see:…

In my last blog I drew attention to how the City Corporation was supporting non-essential construction work on its own COLPAI development, to the detriment of its residents - COLPAI: despite lock down work about to resume 

On Thursday morning I sent an email to the Policy and Resources Committee, which is…

CITY CORPORATION SUPPORTS NON-ESSENTIAL CONSTRUCTION WORK

The City Corporation announced yesterday that construction work on its own COLPAI development would recommence after a two week break, with workers maintaining social distancing “as much as possible”, but acknowledging that this may not always be possible:…

Make a drawing or painting on the theme of ‘Golden Lane in Spring’

Open to people of all ages: 2-5, 5-7, 7-11, 11-14, 14-18 and…

A previous post The Last Word…Standards Committee Climb Down and Spin illustrates how the City Corporation spins its mistakes into achievements. It’s done it again. Here’s a press release announcing a reform of the selection process for the Lord Mayor: …

The recent climb down by the City Corporation's Standards Committee over its dispensations policy was a victory for residents. The Standards Chair, though, has tried to spin it as an achievement of her committee. What follows is her “delighted” announcement and my satirical response, which reminds the Court of Common Council that it was the persistence of residents that compelled the Standards Committee to reverse its policy.

The fact that in a period of more than a…