A message from Ruth Duston, OBE, OC:
“The news of the passing of Her Late Majesty the Queen was a moment of shock and sadness for us all, and it also kick started a plan that had been developed over very many years. The activation of Operation London Bridge (OLB) provided challenges but our teams worked tirelessly over the period to support our business community.
Over the two weeks between the news of Her Late Majesty’s passing to the State Funeral, our cleaning teams focused on main gateways and transport hubs and our Ambassadors were deployed to these locations too.
Across the OLB period our Ambassadors played an important role supporting the huge number of mourners who visited the area, having thousands of interactions with members of the public over just a few days. Northbank: 2,111 interactions, +256%. Our Ambassadors also distributed walking maps to stewarding staff, military personnel and police officers to help their engagement with the public. 1,500 maps were distributed in Northbank.
The BID team also worked closely with partners including the Metropolitan Police and Westminster City Council to communicate verified information to our business community through email and our Northbank Emergency Notification System. Across the period 25 updates were sent which included information on road closures and access procedures – we saw a 53% increase in users of the platform. We will continue to use our Emergency Notification System during future security incidents and other major events, to provide businesses with fast, accurate intelligence and information. To sign up to receive future alerts click here.
Lastly, I would like to thank our incredible business community who helped to welcome the world during such an important time, showcasing the best of what our capital has to offer.”
