​The new Dowgate Ward newsletter has been published about the work in and around Dowgate Ward and the City of London. The newsletter is published three times a year and is physically posted to all voters in the Ward and available online at the City of London website https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/voting-elections/Documents/ward-news/dowgate.pdf
Transport for London have agreed to make the Central London street network that they control subject to a 20 mph speed limit from March 2020. This means that Upper Thames Street that cuts through Dowgate Ward will be 20mph. This stops the confusion amongst drivers who can be baffled by the City's roads being 20mph but the dominant traffic routes controlled by TfL are not and still allowed 30 mph.  Reducing the speed limit is a proven method of reducing casualties on the roads and reducing injuries where collisions do take place.  When the City 20mph was introduced the streets to the south of Upper Thames Street remained at 30mph. The City of London Corporation agreed in December 2019 that the speed limit on these should be reduced to 20mph.  This will relate to Angel Lane, Cousin Lane, All Hallows Lane and Swan Lane in Dowgate Ward.  It is fair to say that they are all small cul de sacs where high speeds are unlikely but there is a lot of pedestrian flow walking down to the River Walkway.
The latest James Bond film was being shot in Dowgate Ward last week on the roof of Cannonbridge House. Look our for a view of our picturesque Ward in  "No Time to Die" due out in the summer.
​

Each month I provide an update to the Plaisterers' Livery Company about the events in the City of London over the previous month. Here is latest news of the Lord Mayor's visits, the new skyscraper with planning permission, the City of London School,  the first zero emission street in London and fungi.

It is an honour to be re-elected as the Alderman for Dowgate Ward today, December 18th.  It is a democratic process but on this occasion I was not opposed. (I have fought two previous elections and won!). The formality of the election takes place at a Ward Mote which is the original term for the people in the Ward to gather and consider whom to elect. The Lord Mayor attends in state in scarlet robes and chain of office with the City Marshal carrying the sword of state and the Common Cryer the mace of the City in full robes. Although it was a formality I was pleased to have over 20 present to witness the ceremony and congratulate me at the conclusion. I was able to address the gathering and gave a brief resume my recent work: (1) in the Ward,  to ensure the return of the bronze  statue of the LIFFE trader to be erected in Dowgate Hill, marking the role of the LIFFE market that had its open outcry trading here in Dowgate; (2) in  the City, in chairing the Active City Network meeting to engage businesses with active travel in walking and cycling and (3) internationally attending the COP25 climate conference in Madrid promoting Green Finance and the Green Finance Institute. 
I pledged to continue this work to make the City the best place to work and live and enjoy life; championing any issues raised in Dowgate Ward; I will be working to ensure that the City will thrive and prosper post Brexit and amongst other initiatives, I will lead on the COP26  presence for the City.
 
 

​Visiting the Birmingham NEC is always exciting but it was even more thrilling to be there on Friday 22 November in the midst of the Worldskills UK Live competition. Seven of the exhibition halls were teeming with young people at the top of their game competing with skill and professionalism in their chosen jobs and training programmes. There was another equally excited group of young school students visiting and viewing their possible jobs of the future. The competition is divided into sectors and, whilst  I, as Master of the Plaisterers’ Livery, was more interested in Construction and Infrastructure, the other sectors provided equally interesting skills. They were Engineering and Technology, Digital Business and Creative, Health, Hospitality and Lifestyle and Education. All of these areas offered competitions to test the competitors but also demonstrated an array of job opportunities and “have a go” try out areas. Competitors from all over the UK were there from a very wide variety of colleges and locations. This year there was an emphasis on ensuring that health and wellbeing were at the heart of the training giving the young people support and mental strength and emphasising that such care and concern for mental health should  by followed up at college and in the work place.   I was delighted to see the plastering and dry lining competitions with  sponsorship by British Gypsum.  The students had to build a room complete with an internal pillar for the drywall systems task and the plasterers were busy plastering a wall of their structure and then running a moulded architrave around a door.  It was hard full on work under time and pressure of the public gaze.  It was exhausting just watching them and exciting to see the skill and dedication of these young people and their college and work trainers. These skills are vital to the economy of the UK and these competitions help drive standards and employer commitment as well as showcasing skills and jobs to engage the next cohort of young people.
 
 

The charity London Youth has been championing young people, youth clubs and organisations for over 130 years. As Londoners when we can often only hear bad news in the press about young people in trouble, in gangs and connected to knife crime, it is important to celebrate and acknowledge the thousands of young people who are positive role models and living fulfilling lives.  All young people need to have opportunities to have fun, learn skills and participate in their local communities and this great City. Not everyone has the easiest start nor the chances to engage in fulfilling and diverse activities. However, London Youth helps all young people enjoy sports, arts and outdoor education and provides help towards jobs and with employability skills.
The London Youth Awards held at City Hall rightly rewarded the cream of organisations and individuals who have helped each other,  gained skills and made a real contribution to their communities and wider society.
One theme of the evening was to pay tribute to the youth workers who are a steadying rock, mentor and role model to many of the young people in the youth clubs. We saw the launch of a new film about youth work in action https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx9jc0ATYlGNFHFX8lb7WbC0yKo2cQ44O that really gave testimony to the huge importance that youth workers make to the lives of so many young people.  Literally “life savers” Our young people deserve this support and the opportunity to grow up in a safe and supportive environment with the chance to find jobs and gain skills for life.
As one of the participants said young people are not the problem and we need to ensure that we don’t brand them as such but ensure that we are open to helping and providing every opportunity for them to flourish.
I was pleased to present the Award for Young Leader of the Year  to Jordan Isaacs from Hackney Quest. She led in their Youth Voice Project with workshops for young people aged from 10- 18 and presenting to a range of stakeholders including the Mayor of Hackney. She showed real ambition and talent in providing leadership and the positive voice of young people. What a tribute to Jordan.
I know that London Youth and others continue to work without a lot of resource and with difficult situations to give every young person a chance.

Dowgate Ward continues to be the focus of my work. Some issues can be promptly resolved but others are continuing and I seek to oversee and ameliorate any problems where I can do so.
The rough sleepers who had been prominent in Laurence Pountney Hill in the Ward are believed to have been rehoused and we all hope that this is for the long term.  There are others sleeping rough in the Ward either temporarily or longer term.  The City’s officers are working closely with them alongside Broadway/St Mungo’s. You can report anyone you see sleeping out to the Streetlink helpline streetlink.org.uk. At the same time it is also important that you report any criminal activities or anti-social behaviour, although by no means are rough sleepers necessarily involved in this sort of activity.
 
The gas mains works continue on Cannon Street.  The original end date given was December 2019 but there is  hope that this will be earlier.  Unfortunately the works keep being disrupted when new complications are discovered or existing pipe work is less robust and needs more repair that was anticipated. This is not the only location across the City where these works are happening  a result of the established infrastructure no longer meeting current needs.
 
Planning applications are regularly received in the Ward - not all about tall buildings! The refurbishment of Dyers’ Hall in Dowgate Hill has been tricky as it is a Grade 1 listed building needing Historic England input to create a modernised accessible building but still retaining its historic nature. Another application relates to the proposed re-opening of the Swan Lane Pier for use by commercial and entertainment river craft (not a regular taxi service). This is still in the early stages and has to date received much adverse attention from residents and businesses alike. More consultation will take place before the Planning and Transportation Committee receive the report for final consideration.  An application has been submitted to change the use of one of the two betting shops in the Ward into a circuit studio - again early stages.
 
I am always happy to receive comments or requests for help around the Ward and you can email me on alison.gowman@cityoflondon.gov.uk.
 
The Annual Ward Mote (meeting of electors in the Ward) has been fixed for Thursday March 19th at 12 noon at Skinners’ Hall in Dowgate Hill. It will be a chance for you to meet the elected members and raise any issues and we aim to have an interesting presentation on a local topic of note.  Please put this in your diary to attend.
 
Finally this is the time of year for the registration of voters on the electoral lists. The forms are sent to each office and you have until 16 December to reply and ensure that the list is up to date. Please contact me if you need any more information.
 

​

​Diversity  of gender in the workplace seems a very current topic  and one that did not trouble those working in the City more than 50 years ago - a time when gender work roles were rather more specific with women taking the lower paid and less prestigious work without seeming complaint. But the role of women in work has not always been subsidiary.  A new outdoor  exhibition in the City of London called City Women in the 18th Century delves into that period of the  great rise in the City's international supremacy.  Here we have displayed via their business cards the shops and ateliers of many women working in and around Cheapside, St Paul's and Newgate Street.  Not only did they produce the exquisite clothes, hats, fans and gloves but they ran the businesses themselves as the cards show. Further (and against the predominant view that Livery Companies have been the preserve of men) many of these women were Liverymen in their own right.  The work has been researched by curator  Dr Amy Erickson of Cambridge University and the website http://citywomen.hist.cam.ac.uk/  gives further details. However it is a delight to wander the streets of the City to see the boards telling about these female entrepreneurs of the past. I was pleased to be interviewed and share ideas on how well the modern Livery Companies and City accept women in their midst on this YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ5Xwbu1A1g
 

The WorldSkills competitions certainly need more publicity in the UK. Before I went to Kazan, the members of my Livery Company (the Plaisterers) knew about it as we have been supporting WorldSkills for some time. Some of the 110 other Livery Companies know about it as they support their respective skills in the competition or at Colleges. However outside of that there is no real visibility. Why does it need to be known? So that we can celebrate the talent of the young people and appreciate the training and professionalism in the system that produces 37 excellent young people from the UK on the world stage but also to recognise and trumpet the educational system that provides regular daily training and skills to every new generation of young people ready to learn.  We need to be proud of the work of the colleges and trainers and the businesses who invest in these young people. Whilst that system is not perfect we need to learn from the competitions and the liaison with other nations so that we can improve the training and lift the skills and ensure that our training can create the future workforce that we will need.  It is that training culture that is so important and not just the wining of medals that should be the key to the UK's engagement with an integrated training and accreditation system. 
​ That is a message that I would like to broadcast loud and clear. That we need to value the skills of these young people and to assist them in being able to learn and start their careers. The competitions are an important showcase but the day to day work and commitment is the story I will bring back to the Livery Companies, to the businesses and to  Government.
​

The City of London Corporation has pledged to be a Plastic Free City.  This means that the City is working to reduce and eliminate single-use plastics.  The campaign offers a range of actions for businesses and individuals to join in order to consider and change their use of single-use plastics. It is free to join and uses a self-assessment process based upon trust. The approach is popular with businesses in the Square Mile because it allows them to set the timetable for making necessary changes to reduce and eliminate single-use plastics.  There are now over 70 businesses who have signed up covering 73,000 staff ( 1 in 7 of the City workforce).
 
It is estimated on average that every adult in the UK buys 3 bottles of water each week. This means that in the City the usage by just our transient workforce is around 1.5 million bottles. Add to that the 9 million visitors per annum and the 9000 residents and that figure rises to around 2 million per week. That equates to 34 tonnes a week in the Square Mile alone.  Further  over 50% of the plastic bottles in the City's waste are for still water - what we can all drink fresh and clean out of the tap. Water refill points have been installed by the City Corporation and we will have 17 of these across the City by this autumn. This is in addition to the national Refill Campaign which has over 140 retail outlets offering free water refill points at their shops and cafes. 
​ 
We can all play a part and so I have also pledged as an individual to follow the City's lead. I have a reusable cup for my takeaway coffee and a reusable water bottle to take tap water with me if needed.  I was also pleased to attend the first City Plastic Free event on 4th July at Nomura's offices. This coincided with the Mayor of London's Climate Action Week. Speakers presented on statistics and ideas as to how to protect the environment and eliminate single use plastic from our operations.  We can all learn more and borrow ideas from other businesses.
 
Thames 21 report that water bottles still form a major element of the plastics washed up on the foreshore of the River. Thames Water Utilities continue to provide safe clean drinking water through public supply at around 1000 times cheaper than bottled water.  Therefore on  25th July I was pleased to join Thames 21 and various businesses and DEFRA colleagues to take  part in the data collection and River  clean-up on the foreshore of the River Thames at the ancient Anglo- Saxon dock at Queenhithe.   As an inlet this dock collects a lot of rubbish on every tide and so there was quite a pile of things to see on the surface as well as other items that were stuck in crevices.  Using a meter square measuring device we worked over the foreshore in meter square sections recording and removing the rubbish.  Interesting finds included a whole rubber tyre (too heavy to move far and needing specialist help to take away for recycling) and a plastic toy gun.  We felt we had cleared one tide's waste and learned a  lot more about what we can all do.
 
If you want more information please sign up here https://www.plasticfreecity.london/

​

Noisy neighbours. The summer sunshine brings crowds of people outside to enjoy the atmosphere and relax after a busy day. Evening and night time noise can cause a disturbance to others and especially to residents and businesses working late.  The City has a Noise Strategy and a keen ear to pick up complaints.  The Public Protection Team can be contacted 24/7 on 020 7606 3030.  This number should be used for noise happening at the time and officers will usually respond swiftly. If the noise is happening and a visit is needed then the officers aim to visit the site within 75 minutes. This is a 24 hour service and so someone will attend at all times. Many complaints about party noise or noisy premises are usually dealt with informally on the spot and resolved immediately. Some complaints might be on-going and so it is important for anyone affected to keep a log or photos and so create an evidential record that can be acted upon. I should warn that formal action about noise can only be taken if a competent officer of the City is present and hears the noise. However informal action can be taken on third party complaints.  
Over the last few weeks there have been complaints in Dowgate Ward of which I am aware, about parties on roof terraces as well as late bars.  Most business premises will have licensing restrictions or even planning obligations about the timing of entertainment (music,  lights and noise). This can all be checked and a visit or meeting and reminder have worked the trick to sort these issues out in the last few weeks. 
 
Illuminated River  The River walkway in Dowgate has been crowded with construction work over the last few months in connection with the Illuminated River scheme to light London's bridges. The scheme conceived by the Illuminated River Foundation and designed by artist Leo Villareal and the architectural practice Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands was unveiled in the City of London on the evening of 17 July.  The whole scheme will light all 15 of London's bridges with an imaginative and beautiful pallet of colours and patterns. Viewed from the River it is tremendous but the River walk will be enhanced by these views and this will draw many to the City to see these bridges in a new (colourful) light. Already a busy night-time City this public art commission will change our view of the River and the dynamism of London. See the website for more information and go visit. https://illuminatedriver.london/legacy