.png)
Foreword: Alexander Jan, Chairman of the Hatton Garden BID
As we present the Hatton Garden BID Annual Report for 2023-2024, it is a good time to reflect on the strategic developments and achievements that have shaped our district over the past year as well as some of the challenges. The landscape of Hatton Garden continues to evolve, and we want our role in shaping change to remain of value and have impact.
With Farringdon station being one of the ten busiest stations, we continue to work to try and capture some of the benefits of the enhanced connectivity, accessibility, and new footfall the station has created; in 2022/23, there were a remarkable 31.5 million station entries and exits, more than for Euston!
We welcomed Julius Baer to their innovative refurbished building at Bleeding Heart Yard and saw the refurbishment and letting of the Johnson Building. Both are testament to the continued attractiveness of the area as a place to locate value adding businesses.
We continue to focus on the everyday alongside a longer-term vision for Hatton Garden. With local authority public-facing services under relentless financial pressure, we are conscious of the need to help ensure that basic public service provision for the area’s streets is sustained and enhanced. I appreciate some of our levy payers will ask why they should (in effect) have to “pay twice” for day-to-day activities. The reality is that only about £1.50 of every £10 in business rates collected by Camden is kept and spent locally by them. In contrast, 100% of Hatton Garden BID levy income is retained. It is used for amongst other things, performing daily cleaning tasks, security-led initiatives such as our partnerships with the Metropolitan Police and the Holborn and Covent Garden Safer Neighbourhood Team patrols, planting and much more. Without these resources, it would be hard to provide the services to help maintain the neighbourhood.
Hatton Garden BID works to encourage Camden Council to address problems with street-lighting, road surface defects, anti-social behaviour, and other challenges more rapidly and with a greater sense of urgency that might otherwise be the case. We work closely with the police on ASB and crime concerns too. Whilst there is still much work to do, we have seen real progress on these fronts over the last year or so.
On a slightly brighter note, Hatton Garden BID was delighted to be able to put on a range of activities aimed at making workers and residents and visitors’ experience of Hatton Garden a little more pleasant. For example, we had a popular festive lights programme, ongoing investment in planting and events such as our festive market and corporate workshops for all to enjoy throughout the year.
Hatton Garden BID’s long-term aim is to ensure we are prepared to meet the challenges of Camden having to “do more with less” and to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead, guided by our mission to create a thriving business and cultural environment. For example, we work with property owners to co-ordinate their public realm plans when redeveloping their buildings. The BID is currently in the process of developing a brief for the design and feasibility of a new gateway sign for Hatton Garden at the junction of Holborn, a project which will be in line with Camden’s Character Area commitments.
During 2023-2024, I have been supported by an excellent board and executive team. Board members give their time generously to the BID on an entirely voluntary basis. They provide expertise, advice, and local knowledge to the decision-making at the BID.
We said goodbye to Peter King, Facilities Manager at Usborne Publishing and Jenna Barry, Associate at Arax Properties, who stepped down from the board. I would like to thank Peter and Jenna for their hard work and wish them all the best in their new roles. Since last year, we have recruited new Board members and are looking forward to working with them over the coming months and years.
On behalf of Debbie Akehurst, our Chief Executive, and my fellow board members, thank you for your ongoing support for Hatton Garden BID. As always, if you have any ideas or suggestions as to where we could be making further improvements please do get in touch.
To download the full Annual Report, please click here.