The City of London Corporation is set to sign off on plans to have one of the Square Mile’s newest roof gardens open to visitors at the weekend – and will reject a request from the developer to cut back on the opening hours to contain costs.
Generali’s Fen Court office block, at 120 Fenchurch Street, which opened last year as the new home of fund manager M&G, includes a 30,000 sq ft roof top garden. The section 106 agreement struck during planning specified that the garden should be open to the general public at no charge on weekdays, and that a trial should be run to look at the viability of opening it at the weekend.
With two trials now complete, the City Corporation’s planning and transportation committee have been recommended to support the opening of the garden from 10am to 5pm at weekends. At the committee’s meeting on 6 March, members will also discuss whether the garden could be closed at 8pm rather than 9pm during the summer.
Generali has asked instead for the Corporation to limit the opening hours to 5pm throughout the week, thereby reducing costs, citing data that it says shows visitor numbers fall in the evening and costs per visitor rise.
“We would propose that if the City wants the roof garden open on all weekends, which adds a total increase of £71,535 per annum, then the City agrees that public hours go to 5pm across the whole year,” Generali said, according to the City Corporation’s agenda documents for the planning meeting.
“The public then get the benefit of the space on weekends and at times when it is shown to be popular, and the costs can be managed prudently.”
The corporation is set to reject that request, but could bring the weekday closing time in the summer forward by an hour.
“The developer’s request that the cost of weekend opening should be offset by allowing the weekday closure to be brought forward to 5pm… is not recommended to the committee,” said the agenda.
“The developer’s maximum occupancy figures show that the 5pm-6pm slot is a popular hour, enabling workers and visitors to access the roof garden after work hours. The developer’s total figures show that the slots between 6pm-7pm and 7pm-8pm are also popular. However, the last slot, 8pm-9pm, is almost always quiet.”
Committee member Natasha Lloyd-Owen said the request for earlier closing in the summer would limit visitors’ ability to watch the sun set from the rooftop: “It would be a shame if we are closing it during that hour.”
Member Keith Bottomley added: “I think it’s too soon to make the decision about the time of the evening closure. It’s a great pity to see this beautiful roof terrace close when the sun is setting – that’s one of the whole points of having it. These times, when the section 106 agreement was negotiated and signed, weren’t just picked out of thin air – they’re there for an important reason.”
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