The City recently published two documents regarding the proposed 90 week project to strip back the eastern highwalk and relay it. This is "phase 2" of the resurfacing work. You can see the rather disappointing results of phase 1 as you walk towards the Barbican tube station, noting the blocked drains, cracked tiles and blocked direct route to the bridge (while they try to fix up something they missed in phase 1, no doubt).
The two documents are:
The wider issue of fixing the drains across the estate gets scant mention. Rather, the focus is on the superficial works which, if you see the images in the document, will make the highwalk look lovely. I recall similar documents for phase 1, and look at what we got.
To be fair I will note that the City does claim that they will apply a waterproof membrane beneath the new surfaces. The problem is that a waterproof membrane without working drainage give you ponds, just as we see with the phase 1 work.
Anyway, I have written a letter to our councilors:
Dear [Councillors],
I note that the City is proceeding with Phase 2 of the podium works.
My concern is not that drainage works are absent, they are referenced in the documentation, but that they are:
1. Embedded within a much larger strip-back and landscaping project, and
2. Limited to the specific Phase 2 footprint rather than forming part of a coherent, estate-wide drainage strategy.
Drainage performance appears to be the fundamental issue affecting the highwalks (and indeed the structure of the Barbican!). Persistent ponding, blocked gullies and tile deterioration, including on the recently relaid western end, suggest systemic drainage shortcomings rather than isolated surface failures.
Blending drainage remediation into a predominantly surface-led scheme risks obscuring whether the underlying infrastructure is genuinely being resolved.
Before committing to 99 weeks of disruption, it would seem logical to:
- Publish a clear estate-wide drainage assessment,
- Confirm whether the wider podium drainage network has been surveyed in full,
- Explain why drainage is not being addressed comprehensively across the estate before further surface strip-back works proceed.
Without that clarity, this risks becoming a repeating cycle of surface renewal without structural resolution.
I would be grateful if you could seek a clear explanation from officers on how Phase 2 fits within a broader infrastructure strategy for the Barbican podium, in particular with respect to drainage.
