Former Midland HQ Up For Sale
June 30, 2009 by Rob Powell
An impressive freehold building at 27-55 Poultry, the former headquarters of the Midland Bank, has been put on the market with Knight Frank appointed to handle the sale.
Planning permission had been received to turn the building into a hotel, but when the owners, Poultry Developents Ltd, defaulted on a loan, administrators were called in.
City MP’s Expenses Revealed
June 19, 2009 by Rob Powell
The redacted expenses of all MPs have been published on Parliament’s website, which means MPs are inevitably facing tough questions from their consitutents and local media at the moment. I took a look at the expenses of Mark Field - who represents the Square Mile as part of his Cities of London and Westminster constituency - to see if he had a clean bill of health.
Those hoping for scandals of related employees, second home flipping and moat cleaning will be disappointed in Field’s expenses - he tells me he has never remunerated a member of his family, does not qualify for second home allowances (being an Inner London MP) and indeed, has a history of calling for reform of the system, having written to the Speaker before the current controversy, asking for a ”total root and branch review with a resolve to scrap the ACA and introduce an entirely transparent pay and parliamentary expenses system for the future”.
Whilst Mr Field’s expenses don’t include duck island extragances, they do throw up a couple of questions which I put to the MP directly.
There are a number of claims in the expenses for the services of a PR company called “A Shore Thing”. I asked Mr Field to explain what function they had carried out on his behalf. He said:
“I employed on a part time basis the services of a communications specialist to help me get onto national and regional TV and radio shows as well as promoting my constituency interests in magazines and on websites”
Some may argue that profile raising activities should not be funded from the public purse, but Mark tells me he dispensed with their services after a year and he now has established his own regular media appearances which allows him to get a wider hearing for constituency related matters such as the wrongly imprisoned Sean Hodgson, the future of the antiquarian Cecil Court and the case of Ofcom whistleblower, Bob Winsor.
Some people’s eyes may have been caught by the claims for TV & internet packages that included optional movie and sports channels. When I asked the MP if it was reasonable for these to be included as an office expense, he explained that this was the result of an agreement with the fees office.
I agreed with the Fees Office in autumn 2005 that, rather than estimating an apportionment of costs for my home office computer system (hardware, maintenance, insurance and running costs) also used by my wife and an NTL package, which included internet connection, basic cable TV package (including news and parliamentary programmes) as well as sports and other optional channels, I should cover the full computer costs out of my own pocket and charge the entire monthly NTL bill to my IEP.
Mark contends that this arrangement, with him paying for this home computer’s maintenance, insurance etc from his own pocket, was actually beneficial for the taxpayer.
Perhaps the only piece of potential extravagance that I saw in Mark Field’s were claims for a £78 pocket diary planner from Smythsons - the luxury leather goods and stationery shop which is also in his constituency. I put it to Mark that there would have been cheaper alternatives to this luxury item. Mr Field informed me that the pocket diary from Smythsons was a very good one which contained a wide range of contact numbers and reference details and although he claimed for it in 2004 and 2005, he continues to use it in doing his job but asks family members to buy it for him as a Christmas gift rather than put it through as an expense.
What do you think about Mark Field’s expenses? If you have a point of view, please feel free to add as a comment below.
City of London Festival Starts June 19th
June 16, 2009 by Rob Powell
The City of London Festival - an annual celebration of the arts and culture in the Square Mile - will begin this Friday (June 19th) and will feature a packed programme of the activities and events lasting through to early August.
The Festival will kick off at noon on Friday with an opening procession from the steps of St Paul’s, led by the “funky percussion duo” Bang On!
Also on Friday, the exciting-sounding Street Pianos Project begins. Fifteen pianos will be placed around the City available to anyone to come along and partake in an ad hoc singalong. Let’s hope the sound of fat fingered amateurs attempting “Roll out the barrel” does not become too irritating too soon.
The pianos will be around until the middle of July before being donated to local community groups and schools.
Here at TheCity.co.uk, on our What’s On pages and on our Twitter account, we will be highlighting selected events from the Festival calendar. To see the programme in its entirety, visit the COLF website.
Grow Your Own in Guerrilla Gardens
June 16, 2009 by Rob Powell
The Guardian reports that the City of London Corporation is to encourage local residents to grow their own fruit and vegetables, and in the absence of any local allotments, new spaces may be created at the building sites of stalled developments.
The paper quotes Sue Ireland, Head of Open Spaces, as saying:
“There are plenty of temporary sites awaiting development and there is no reason why, if carefully done, they could not be turned to other uses… We are trying to identify a site on the edge of the Square Mile that would be vacant for between 18 months and two years. Grow bags are one possibility. They could be butted up together and moved as and when the developers need to start work.”
Would you welcome the opportunity to grow fruit and veg in ad hoc allotments in the Square Mile?
See the full Guardian story here
Leigh Pitt Honoured in Postman’s Park
June 11, 2009 by Rob Powell
A City worker who died whilst rescuing an 9 year boy who had fallen into a canal will be honoured today at Postman’s Park.
Leigh Pitt worked for outsourcing company Williams Lea at Merrill Lynch and was aged 30 when he died in the accident two years ago. It happened in the Broadwater Dock canal in Thamesmead, near Leigh’s home.
“Postman’s Park”, as it is known, celebrates the herorism of ordinary people who lost their lives saving other people and is is located between King Edward Street, Little Britain and Angel Street.
The new plaque being laid will say:
Leigh Pitt (30)
Reprographics Operator, Anson Place, West Thamesmad, London, lost his life on 7th Jun 2007 attempting to rescue a 9-year-old boy who had falled into a deep lock at the Broadwater Dock, West Thamsmead, London.
Hat tip to the Evening Standard