Monday, February 27, 2012

Bad bankers create bad buildings

Why stroll around the dreadful buildings of today? London is being wrecked by the misuse of money.
We are told that we must be grateful to the City of London for earning us so much money. In fact the City should be grateful to London for being such a lovely place to live. Why does it not put more of its riches back into London?

The City skyline
The City of London was built on the talents of merchants. Trading, lending, investing and insuring needed careful balancing of the risks and rewards but the profits purchased respectability and a sense of responsibility. If you take the Strollon walk you visit the churches these men built and the places where they met to discuss their business. You hear the stories of how they patronised the arts, the architects and the actor- dramatists.
As you walk through the City of London there are no new beautiful buildings – only towering infernos of office blocks. The museums are closing as their grants and sponsors are cut off by the City wise-men who talk about the need for economies and controls. The theatres and the operas have to charge outrageous prices that only bankers can afford and exclude the general public.
We are now in a sad situation of mutual distrust and misunderstanding by the outsiders and insiders of the City machine. They must understand exactly what benefits they get from London and give something back in return.
Unless there is more action by these City Titans, it will be even more difficult to enjoy a stroll through London without feeling it is just a museum surrounded by building sites.
Now is the time for them to listen and for us to speak.

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