The letter and signatories in full
For the quick consideration of:
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
Lord Mayor of the Metropolis of London William Russell
Lord Mayor of Westminster Jonathan Glanz
Prime Minister Boris Johnson
London City wants you! London Welcomes You. London is Open.
With out the 21 million vacationers and with out the four million commuters that go to and work in London every year, what’s going to London change into? Speedy motion have to be taken earlier than tens of millions of jobs are misplaced and the financial system of the whole nation is affected.
The federal government’s message is a complicated one. The dithering will not be serving to the financial system get again on its ft, and it’s not instilling confidence within the public to go to the sights, theatres, museums, galleries, cinemas, resorts, eating places and bars that we’re so pleased with and that makes London the best of capitals.
Whereas scenes of mobbed city parks and packed seaside cities fill our screens, the centre of London stays a ghost city. Theatres are closed till 2021, the Arts are attempting to come back out of hibernation, restrictions stay for cinema and customer sights, no sport may be attended, there aren’t any public gatherings, live shows or occasions to attend. The resorts have been closed and predict a torpid restoration, there isn’t a lengthy distance tourism and people on the lookout for low cost flights are leaving the nation, not coming to it.
With out tourism, with out tens of millions of tourists spending tens of millions of kilos, with out workplace employees and each day commuters, our favorite locations will shut; Chinatown will shut down, Covent Backyard shall be empty and there shall be no hustle and bustle on the streets of the Metropolis. London won’t be able to steer a nationwide restoration this time, because it has prior to now, and lots of operators received’t make it to the top of the yr.
We consider that if these factors are actioned then our nice metropolis shall be saved:
- Clear and succinct messaging from the federal government – Be alert, keep protected however return to the office and return to London’s metropolis centre. This could begin with authorities workplace employees and native council employees main the best way, it’s both protected or it isn’t.
- Encourage UK tourism, encourage households from across the UK to come back to central London and to go to ALL its nice sights or just benefit from the metropolis.
- Forgo the 14 day quarantine and take a look at these coming into the nation at each airport and each port and station.
- Make use of ‘Beat the Virus Guides’ (in the same vein to those that volunteered for the London Olympics) to be current all through Westminster and the Metropolis and handout free facemasks as they do in Berlin. These on furlough (or worse, laid off) are superb candidates.
- Promote London’s biggest resorts whereas they provide the bottom charges they’ve ever given. Think about a keep of a lifetime on the St James Sofitel Lodge!
- Cycle routes, each new routes and additional non permanent ones for the following three months to encourage journey into the centre. As well as, erect good and safe parking amenities and bicycle restore tents and extra. (This might be reviewed after three months.)
- Congestion Cost, relatively than making it dearer and increasing its hours and days to 7 days per week, droop the cost for three months then assessment. Supply additional parking amenities.
- Public Transport needs to be elevated, extra carriages and trains on the Underground and Overground as confidence grows, and naturally with continued security and hygiene measures, and decrease costs for three months.
- London Mayors – we wish to see you! Assist your metropolis and encourage it again to life. Get collectively on the platform, put apart your variations! Invite nice Londoners to affix you!
- Authorities – don’t sit on the fence about VAT charges, make your thoughts up on this and different nationwide incentives in order that they can be utilized now and never when it’s too late or certainly hanging out false hope.
This letter is supported by:
Angela Hartnett MBE, Murano and Cafe Murano
Tom Parker Bowles, Critic and Meals Author
Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson, St. John
Nick Jones, Soho Home
Michel Roux Jnr, Le Gavroche, Roux on the Landau
Richard Corrigan, Corrigan’s Mayfair, Bentley’s, Daffodil Mulligan
Henry Harris, Harcourt Inns
Soren Jessen, No1 Lombard Avenue and Ekte
Jonathon Downey, London Union
Des Gunewardena, D&D Eating places
David Loewi, D&D Eating places
Karam Sethi, JKS Eating places
Jyotin Sethi, JKS Eating places
Gemma Bell, Gemma Bell and Firm
Neil Borthwick, The French Home
Melanie Arnold and Margot Henderson, Rochelle on the ICA
Geoffrey Leong, Dumpling Legend
Chris and Jeff Galvin, La Chapelle, Galvin at Home windows, Galvin at The Athenaeum
Sam and Sam Clark, Moro, Morito
Jackson Boxer, Brunswick Home, Orasay
Isaac McHale, Daniel Willis and Johnny Smith, The Clove Membership, Luca, Two Lights
Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew, Noble Rot
Suzanne and Anna Barfoot, Sweetings
Peter Davies, WMT
Robert Wilson, The Bleeding Coronary heart
Mathew Carver, Cheesetruck
Oliver Milburn, Tom Mullion, Tim Metal, Kitty Fisher’s and Cora Pearl
Richard Nottage, Sofitel St James
Anthony Demetre, Wild Honey St James
Lawrence Hartley, Tim Healy, Joe Allen’s
Ed Thaw, Leroy
Sam Bompas, Bompas & Parr
Alistair Smith, Editor, The Stage
Andy Lewis-Pratt, Market Halls
Josh Katz, Berber & Co, and lots of extra.
Author: ” — www.thestage.co.uk ”
