City of London Corporation
SUPPORTING
ECONOMIC
REGENERATION
IN THE CITY FRINGES
Who we are
Why we do it
The City of London Corporation provides
local government services for the
City of London, the world’s leading
international financial and related
business services centre.
The City of London shares a border with
seven London boroughs which are among
the most disadvantaged in England:
Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark,
Lambeth and Islington are within the 10%
most deprived local authority areas in
England; and Camden and the City of
Westminster are within the 20% most
deprived1.
We are acutely aware that the City will not
prosper in isolation and are committed to
working with partners in the public, private
and voluntary sectors to help bring lasting
social, economic and physical
regeneration to our neighbouring
boroughs: the City fringes.
What we do
We are actively engaged in a number of
regeneration partnerships and contribute
to a wide range of regeneration projects,
as well as commissioning dozens of
initiatives across the following themes:
Raising the aspirations of young people
in the City fringes to help them to gain
employment in the City;
Maximising access to employment
opportunities for City and City fringe
residents;
Supporting small and medium sized
enterprises in the City fringes.
Despite the deprivation levels, the City
fringes have huge potential, given their
large population, entrepreneurial spirit,
distinct business clusters and strategic
location. The City and parts
of the City fringes form the
Central Business District,
which, with Canary Wharf, is
home to around 1.5m jobs –
one-third of London’s
employment in just 2 per
cent of London’s land3.
Deprivation in London2
1% most deprived
in England
5% most deprived
in England
10% most deprived
in England
20% most deprived
in England
Outside of the
20% most deprived
in England
We are committed to
bridging the gap between
the City and its neighbours
and increasing prosperity
across the City fringes.
1. Department of Communities and Local Government,
Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2007.
3. GLA Economics, London’s Central Business District: Its
global importance
2. Department of Communities
and Local Government,
Indices of Multiple
Deprivation 2007.
City 4 A Day
Raising the aspirations of young people in
the City fringes in relation to the wealth of
career opportunities on their doorstep in
the City is of key importance to us. We do
this in a number of ways, including
through the initiatives below.
City Careers Open House
The City Careers Open House programme
introduces large groups of students from
City fringe schools to career opportunities
in the City through structured half-day
taster tours to City businesses. 3,000
students will benefit from the programme
in its first three years. The programme is
delivered for the City of London
Corporation by a consortium of
Education Business Partnerships
(EBPs) from Hackney, Tower
Hamlets, Southwark and Islington
and led by Inspire!, the EBP for Hackney.
City 4 A Day
City Careers Open House
‘City 4 A Day’ is a one-day visit to the City
for groups of year 8 and 9 pupils from
schools in City fringe boroughs. Visits start
at the City of London Corporation, and
involve an introduction to the types of
businesses in the City, the sort of jobs
available and associated skills
requirements. This is followed by tours of
two City businesses enabling students to
look around the offices and meet with
employees. The day ends with an activity
session to consolidate the information
learnt and build team-working skills.
Building on the success of the ‘City 4 A
Day’ model, we also support tours for
young people aged 16-25 and not in
education, employment or training (NEET),
targeting some of the hardest to reach
young people in the City fringes.
“It is ambitious for its residents and for the
regeneration of areas of neighbouring
boroughs which are close to the City.”
Raising aspirations of young
people in the City fringes
Maximising access to employment opportunities
The Spitalfields Employment Project, which
we support jointly with the Spitalfields
Development Group, provides job search
support and employment preparation
courses to residents of the Spitalfields area
(the wards of Whitechapel, Weavers and
Spitalfields & Banglatown in Tower
Hamlets, and Portsoken in the City).
Residents are recruited to the
programme by an intensive outreach
programme of ‘door knocking’: engaging
with residents quite literally on their
doorsteps. This area has one of the
highest levels of unemployment in the
country, despite its proximity to the City,
and is home to one of the UK’s largest
Bangladeshi communities.
City of London Business
Traineeship scheme
The City of London Business Traineeship
(CBT) scheme introduces students from
the City fringes to employment
opportunities in the City and aims to
increase the students’ long term
employment prospects, whilst also
promoting local recruitment to City firms,
providing a source of local talent.
We fully fund the CBT scheme, which was
established in 1994 and, since 2001, has
been delivered for us by the Brokerage
Citylink, a City-based charity.
City of London Business Traineeship scheme
Every year, hundreds of City fringe A level
students are recruited onto CBT workshops
that provide information on the City,
assistance with CV writing and interview
skills, and other employability-focused
activities. Through a competitive process,
upwards of 80 students secure
placements in a wide range of City-type
businesses.
Spitalfields Employment Project
Spitalfields Employment Project
In response to the clear mismatch
between the demand for skilled workers
by City and City fringe employers and the
ability of local residents to access job
opportunities, we deliver an extensive
training and employment programme,
including the following projects.
Employment Charter for Construction
We have a substantial business support
programme to facilitate the development
and growth of small businesses in the City
fringes through the provision of premises,
finance and guidance. We support
projects under the following main themes:
Provision of workspace in the
City fringes;
Ensuring finance provision for SMEs;
Supporting SME development;
Local procurement.
Employment Charter
for Construction
Through our Construction Initiatives
Coordinator we are working closely with
Employment Charter participants to train
the long-term unemployed in the
construction skills of the future and to
provide sustainable employment.
14 Norton Folgate is a disused City-owned
property which we have leased at
a pepper-corn rent to BeOnsite, the
not-for-profit training and recruitment
organisation of major contractor, Bovis
Lend Lease, for use as a practical
construction training facility.
Our SME Workspace initiative was
conceived both as a response to the
scarcity of flexible, affordable workspace,
which enables businesses to adjust to
market changes, and also
to promote business growth.
Through this programme we
identify opportunities for
investment in refurbishment
or new build of workspace
in the City fringes,
offering good quality,
affordable workspace with
flexible leases.
SME Workspace
Our Employment Charter for Construction
harnesses the energy of development
activity in the Square Mile to the benefit of
City and City fringe residents through the
provision of industry-led training and
access to job opportunities.
SME Workspace
Developments include:
1 Alie Street, a former Bank
of America property in
Tower Hamlets; 8/14
Orsman Road, a joint
venture with the Shoreditch
Trust in Hackney; and
13/17 Worship Street
in Islington.
“The community leadership provided by
the City of London is excellent.
It recognises a responsibility to work with
its neighbouring boroughs.”
Supporting small and
medium enterprise
in the City fringes
Partnerships
We are a member of a number of
cross-borough regeneration partnerships
operating in neighbouring boroughs.
These bring together organisations from
the public, private and voluntary
sectors to devise and implement strategies
to tackle deep-rooted deprivation and to
bring about long term renewal and
economic regeneration. As members, we
contribute resources, expertise and
support at both officer and board level
and often contribute to the delivery of
particular projects.
The following are among the key
partnerships in which we have
an involvement:
City Fringe Partnership (CFP) –
An economic development and
regeneration partnership operating in
Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Camden and
Islington. CFP’s approach puts business
at the heart of market-led urban
regeneration and is focused on
supporting enterprise in a number of key
sectors in the area. We are the
contracting body for CFP, employing the
staff and providing accommodation,
legal and accounting support.
Cross River Partnership (CRP) –
An alliance of 14 partners, CRP has
improved the links between the wealth
and prosperity in central London and
deprived areas on both sides of the
Thames. It has offered those living in less
prosperous areas access to jobs and
opportunities and supported central
London’s geographical and economic
expansion south of the river.
East London Business Alliance (ELBA) –
ELBA is a business-led and businessfunded partnership encouraging and
facilitating business involvement in the
social and economic regeneration of
East London.
Thames Gateway London Partnership
(TGLP) – Covering the area east of the City
both sides of the Thames, TGLP is an
important voice for the London element of
the Thames Gateway, one of the
Government’s key Growth Areas.
Central London Forward (CLF) – Led by
six Central London local authorities4, CLF is
a cross-sector partnership providing a
‘voice for Central London’. CLF operates
at a strategic level to influence policy
makers on matters of key concern to the
communities and businesses of Central
London for their continued well-being.
The Pool of London Partnership (PLP) PLP was established in 1996 as the
regeneration partnership for the Pool of
London, transforming the area into a world
class visitor and business destination,
creating a high quality environment and
integrating the needs of the local
community. Although the PLP’s
programme came to an end in March
2007, we continue to be the Accountable
Body for the partnership’s projects,
providing ongoing monitoring, legal and
accounting support to ensure that the
Partnership’s £100m investment is
maintained.
Many of our activities involve active
support from City businesses either through
offering volunteers or through other in-kind
support. These activities are underpinned
by a wide range of programmes to
engage City Corporation and “City”
business employees in providing their time
and expertise, through volunteering, to
community organisations (including
schools) in neighbouring boroughs. These
include: Heart of the City, which helps
businesses in the City and City fringes to
learn from one another in developing
socially responsible practices; City Action,
our flagship employee volunteering
brokerage service linking City firms with
community projects in the City and
neighbouring boroughs; the Local
Procurement Project, which assists City
firms in adopting local purchasing
strategies to regenerate the local
economy; and the prestigious Lord Mayor’s
Dragon Awards, which recognises
exemplary community involvement
projects from businesses and public bodies
across Greater London.
Further information
www.theheartofthecity.com
www.city-action.org
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/dragonawards
4. City of London, City of Westminster, Camden,
Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Southwark.
The quotes used in this document are from the Audit Commission’s Corporate
Assessment Report of the City of London Corporation, December 2007.
“The City of London works dynamically in
a wide range of regeneration, business
and strategic partnerships.”
City business
engagement
Contact
Please see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/urban_regeneration
or contact the Partnerships Team at
[email protected]
or on 020 7332 1268.