The City of London Corporation has agreed to keep one of the Square Mile’s newest roof gardens open and free of charge to the public at weekends and evenings.
Under redevelopment plans for 120 Fenchurch Street, developers were required to open the 30,000sqft roof garden to the public on weekdays, and to undergo a trial to see the suitability of free weekend openings.
Figures obtained during the trial provided by the developers show significant weekend and evening demand for this unique space in the densely built Eastern City Cluster area.
The developers, Generali, requested that public opening hours be reduced during the week and proposed a new closing time of 5pm to combat some of the estimated annual £71,535 cost of remaining opening at weekends. However, given both public benefit and significant visitor numbers, the City Corporation required ‘The Garden at 120’ to continue to be accessible to the public during the week and at weekends.
The roof garden will be open to the public from 10am until 6.30pm on winter weekdays, until 9pm on summer weekdays and from 10am to 5pm during the weekends.
Alastair Moss, Chair of the Planning and Transportation Committee at the City of London Corporation, commented: “The Square Mile is increasingly becoming a 24/7 cultural destination and open spaces are at the core of our vision for a vibrant City.
“The City Corporation has a vision for world-class public realm at the heart of development in the Square Mile, and it’s therefore vital that spaces such as ‘The Garden at 120’ remain accessible to residents, workers and visitors.
“The decision to keep this roof terrace open to the public at the weekend ensures visitors continue to benefit from a unique urban space that has already proven to be extremely popular.”