VIEWPOINT 7
We are at the business end of this Olympic and Jubilee year and already Greenwich is seeing the positive effects says Edward Dolby, Resources Director at Greenwich Hospital
Getting over
A day of driving rain, not unlike one the Cutty Sark might have experienced on tropical seas, welcomed the Queen when she visited Greenwich in late April. Her Majesty unveiled a plaque to commemorate Greenwich’s elevation to a royal borough, relaunched the phoenix-like ship and still found time to open the Royal River exhibition in the Sammy Ofer wing of the National Maritime Museum.
Her first visit to the NMM had been 75 years earlier when she had accompanied her father, King George VI, to its opening in 1937. On the same day of the Queen’s visit, cruise ship ‘royalty’ were also visiting Greenwich. Guests from the Cruise Europe Conference enjoyed a dinner at the Painted Hall, where I was greeted with compliments for a spectacular evening delegates had spent the previous night at Greenwich Market featuring hot-food stalls and entertainers.
Both of these events were designed to promote
Greenwich as a key destination for when large cruise ships carrying up to 1,500 passengers start to moor at Enderby Wharf in 2014. The hugely positive feedback underlines what we already know about Greenwich: that a genuinely individual experience will benefit the town in future, and that it has superb venues for corporate entertaining and conferences. With funding in place from Morgan Stanley, West
Properties’ development of the wharf will provide the town a great opportunity to benefit from its presence. One of our recent initiatives is late-night shopping every Friday throughout the summer. The market
the line
operating until 7.30pm gives traders and shoppers more time to benefit from each other. The Friday markets are a mix of collectables and crafts and the later opening gives visitors a chance to pop by after work, have a browse, listen to some live music, and linger for some food or drink in market pubs the Coach and Horses and Admiral Hardy. Special Friday events will include London’s Biggest Jewellery Market on June 15 with up to 100 stalls, and the Food and Art evening on July 6 involving food tastings and displays of work by local artists. See
www.shopgreenwich.co.uk for more details. During the Olympic and Paralympic games we expect a significant rise in activity for local shops and traders, so the market will trade from noon to 8pm, seven days a week, between July 27 and September 7. There are two sessions each day during the Paralympics (starting late in August) which should provide an even greater opportunity for visitors to enjoy what the town has to offer. With Greenwich Council, we have been creating plans to fill the market side of Greenwich Church Street (which will be closed to traffic throughout the Games period) with special attractions to draw visitors across to the market and town centre shops. A rich variety of street entertainers, an information point and showcase market stalls are all being considered.
Allied to these initiatives we’ve also been in consultation with LOCOG and the council to ensure that the influx of visitors on Olympic event days isn’t impeded by the barriers that will usher visitors from Greenwich station around the west side of Greenwich Church Street and along the north side of College Approach. These barriers will allow visits to the market and town centre shops so retailers’ marketing activity – such as flyers and discount coupons given to the crowd on the way to the day’s events – are rewarded by sales afterwards.
It is a privilege to be a part of this unique place in this momentous year – whatever connects you to this area, I wish you a special summer.
Edward Dolby
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