The Temple and Farringdon Together team all have long ties to this historic area of the City of London, whether as barristers and Judicial Office Holders connected to the Temple, meat and poultry traders at Smithfield Market, or campaigners for local health services, a better environment and safer streets. Each member of the team brings huge experience of working and living in the City and advocating for their fellow citizens. That’s why we are offering ourselves as a united team to continue working together for the good of Farringdon Without, a diverse and exciting area which covers the Temple, Chancery Lane, Holborn, and Smithfield.
This statement sets out our priorities and commitments to you, if we are re-elected to serve for the next four years.
A bright future for Smithfield
Following the decision of the City Corporation, with the support of the Smithfield Market Tenants’ Association, to end trading from the Market’s historic site and assist the traders to relocate, we are committed to ensuring a bright future for Smithfield. With the opening of the London Museum next year, Smithfield is already due to become a key destination for Londoners and visitors to the capital. The area’s first-class transport links will make it an ideal site for other cultural, sport, and entertainment activities when market activity ceases. We will be actively engaged in policy making regarding future uses for the Smithfield site aiming to guarantee it is a vibrant part of the City’s culture mile district, whilst protecting the interests of local residents and the tranquillity of nearby Barts Hospital and the Charterhouse.
A thriving legal sector
Farringdon Without provides a home for London’s legal quarter with over 60 sets of barristers’ chambers and numerous major law firms based in and around the Temple and Chancery Lane area. The TFT team has put support for the legal profession at the forefront of our work for the past eight years. We have been active advocates for and members of the board charged with delivering the new City of London Law Courts on Fleet Street which will offer eighteen courtrooms covering a wide range of criminal and civil cases. The new Court should open in late 2026 or early 2027 and we are committed to ensuring that it is a world class facility for all court users which will help to reinvigorate the legal life of the area.
We will also aim to assure that the City Corporation continues to promote the rule of law and the position of London as a key jurisdiction in international trade and investment. In support of this goal, we will work to further strengthen relationships between the City of London Corporation and the Inns of Court and other professional bodies so that the legal sector has a strong and influence voice in the square mile and beyond.
Safer more vibrant streets
Working in partnership with the Fleet Street Quarter and Culture Mile business improvement districts, we are committed to bringing our local streets back to life, ensuring that all who live and work in the area can feel safe in the City and enjoy an array of cultural, entertainment, and sport activities being provided for the local community by the Corporation and the BIDs. Initiatives such as Summer of Sport and the Christmas decorations across the area provide an opportunity for people to get out and active and enjoy the spaces that often we only walk through. We will work with the BIDs, the City of London Police, and other local stakeholders to enhance the City’s streets and open spaces and make them safe at all hours of the day and night.
Advocating for residents
Living in the centre of one of the world’s busiest cities is sometimes challenging, having to share the area we call home with many thousands of workers and visitors. We will continue to work for a reasonable balance between the economic prosperity of London and the right for residents to live peaceably in their homes and have access to the public services they need.
Protecting the vulnerable
The City of London continues to attract significant numbers of homeless people and rough sleepers as well as others whose personal circumstances make them particularly vulnerable. The TFT team has been at the forefront of the City Corporation’s moves to provide enhanced services for all who may need its support, particularly victims of domestic abuse. Protecting the vulnerable will remain a key priority for the team.
Beyond the square mile, the City Corporation’s main charity, the City Bridge Foundation, under the leadership of TFT’s Paul Martinelli, is repositioning its £30 million annual grant-making to be more focused on economic, racial, and climate justice, which will itself make a significant impact on improving the lives of communities across the capital. This new Funding Policy will have the full support of Temple and Farringdon Together.
Access to first class health and wellbeing services
We remain incredibly proud that Farringdon Without is the home of St Bartholomew’s Hospital an iconic centre for healing and clinical learning for many centuries and are committed to seeing its services continue to be at the cutting edge of global healthcare in its specialist areas of oncology and cardiology. The hospital also provides vital services for local workers and residents with a walk-in centre for minor injuries (the MIU) and an array of imaging and outpatient clinics. In addition to our support for Barts, we will continue to press for improved urgent, preventative, and primary health care facilities across the City and in particular, improved opening hours for the MIU at Barts and better access to mental health services for residents and workers in the square mile. We will also work to ensure that funding is secured to enable the City Corporation’s social services provision remains amongst the best in London.
The staff at Barts are central to its delivery of excellent clinical services, which is why we supported the development of new facilities for the Hospital’s workforce as part of the restoration of the North Wing, which itself was financially assisted by the City Corporation. We will continue to support all the staff and volunteers at Barts and other City health and care services, recognising the crucial role they play.
Educating future generations
The City of London Corporation has been supporting education and training for many centuries through its provision of schools and academies and its support for apprenticeships. That commitment remains core to its activities today, with a family of 18 schools and academies as well as historic connections to Gresham College, Christ’s Hospital and King Edward’s School Witley, City St George’s University of London, and London Metropolitan University.
As a team, we will work hard to ensure that London’s most vulnerable children and young people, especially those with special educational needs, continue to be able to access excellent education, social and health care, and relevant support services. We believe that this should include the provision of bursary funding from the Corporation’s endowment to enable the brightest and best to attend the City’s independent schools regardless of their backgrounds, or their families’ financial circumstances.
A cleaner greener London
Members of the TFT team have been at the forefront of efforts to improve the City’s air quality for over a decade. Despite this, diesel vans continue to be a top contributor to harmful emissions in the City, leading to air pollution levels that far exceed World Health Organisation guidelines.
We believe that It is beholden on the City Corporation to intervene again and show leadership. A cleaner, healthier and climate resilient City can only be achieved by taking further steps to support businesses and give them the certainty they need to invest in cleaner electric and pedal powered vehicles. We commit to work in partnership with businesses in the City and with our neighbouring authorities to develop plans to become the world’s first zero emission freight city by 2030.
Virtually every member of the TFT team is keenly involved in supporting the City Corporation’s green spaces within the square mile and beyond, including its custodianship of Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Queen’s Park, and West Ham Park, all of which are provided to the public the Corporation’s endowment at no cost to the tax payer. Given the open spaces’ importance to London, we will work to ensure that the City’s investment in its natural environment remains a key priority.
Supporting local businesses
Temple and Farringdon Together remains committed to being accessible and available for all the businesses and professional firms in the Ward, including SME’s and micro businesses, to ensure their voices are heard and are supported by the Corporation. We will work with all businesses owners and managers in the area to promote their interests and will collaborate with the new City of London Chamber of Commerce as a collective advocate for SMEs.
For as long as the Market remains at Smithfield, we will continue to speak out for the needs of the tenants as they undertake their vital trade, which is so important for London’s food security, and will support their transition to suitable new locations over the coming years.
Faith in the City
We recognise the important role that churches and other faith communities provide in supporting residents, workers and visitors to the City of London. In our Ward alone, there are five churches, each of which has considerable heritage significance as well as caring for the communities they serve. We were proud to support a successful bid by the Temple Church to the Corporation’s Community Infrastructure Levy neighbourhood fund, which has made a very substantial contribution to the church’s plans to enhance its music and educational offer, which are core to its mission and ministry. We will support the development of the City Corporation’s Faith in the City initiative, strengthening and encouraging the spiritual enrichment of people of all faiths and of none.
Temple and Farringdon Together 