"It goes right to the heart of the lives that people lead and the legacy we leave to future generations."

Click here to read the speech of Lord Low of Dalston, Patron of OPEN, in a House of Lords debate on architecture and design. Thursday 27 March 2008.

Labour's block vote for The Block

On Thursday 13th March 5 Labour Councillors on the Tower Hamlets planning committee voted as one to approve this property developers' application to built 12 to 25 storey towerblocks at Sclater Street/Bethnal Green Road. The committee members from the Conservative, Respect and LibDem parties voted against it, but were outnumbered by 5 votes to 4


The proposed development will tower over the local conservation areas and the local community. A 70 metre long wall of 12 to 20 storey towers coming right up to the edge of the pavement will permanently cast deep shadows over the narrow Bethnal Green Road and beyond. Hundreds of local residents and businesses, the long-established local artistic community and English Heritage strongly objected to the proposal. Developers will claim the approval as a precedent paving the way for further soulless development. It jeopardises meaningful input from the community into plans for the future of this historic area.
The week had seen extensive press coverage which you can read about here and here.


The only justification the community has been given is the London Mayor’s support for tall buildings and the "City Fringe" draft planning document which sees the Bishopsgate Goodsyard as an ideal location for tall buildings. This document has neither been consulted upon nor approved. Mayor Livingstone now has 14 days to consider the application and decide whether to overule the committee's decision.
But we are losing confidence in the Mayor to do the right thing when we read stories like this and this
If you want to understand what's at stake for our community then watch the videos made by OPENshoreditch members here or click on the link "Stop the block. Save the light" above.

One man, two opinions

When recommending that The Light should not be protected from demolition by its inclusion in the Shoreditch Conservation Area, Hackney Council's Conservation Officer advised its Cabinet on 25 February 2008 that "it does not form an integral part of the pattern of Victorian commercial buildings and small scale workshops to the rear that have been identified as forming a significant characteristic of this part of the conservation area".

The Light before redevelopment

Curiously this uniform pattern of building type appears to have entirely disappeared from the Conservation Officer's view five days later when, in a memo dated 30 February (sic), he advised the Council’s Planning Officer that the context of the proposed 51-storey Bishops Place development, which would involve demolition of The Light, " is one of extremely varied streetscapes, contrasting massing and dramatic changes of scale...different types of urban fabric"

The Light extinguished after redevelopment

The Conservation Officer's two contrasting views of the area can, of course, have nothing to do with the fact that his employer, Hackney Council, stands to make a small fortune as the landowner of part of the site if it gives planning permission for the demolition of The Light and its redevelopment as Bishop's Place.

Council documents show that its windfall is not to be spent on improvements for Shoreditch people - it's earmarked for a swanky new Town Hall extension in Mare Street. One hopes that when residents emerge from the shadows of Shoreditch, to go and pay their Council Tax in Hackney, they will feel a sense of civic pride in what the Council has created.

Shoreditch and Brick Lane under threat

Click here to find out what you can do

Scary stuff at Sclater Street

This is the proposed 25 storey tower on Bethnal Green Road and Sclater Street planned by Telford Homes and Genesis Partners. It would cast neighbouring houses and Bethnal Green Road into permanent shadow.


Another planned development, "Bishop's Place", is a 51 storey tower on the junction of Shoreditch High Street/Norton Folgate and Worship street. Proposed by private developers, Hammerson, and designed by Foster and Partners it would be a hotel, office and apartment complex that forces demolition of the Light Bar building, a beacon at the edge of Shoreditch. The towers would dwarf and overshadow the area (see more: Mammon is at the gates of Shoreditch below


The future of over 13 acres of land in Shoreditch and Bethnal Green is currently in the hands of private developers, Hammerson and Ballymore, who want to build a forest of towers containing 1,700,000 sq ft of City office space.


The GLA, Hackney and Tower Hamlets have no combined masterplan or detailed local policies to steer development for this significant part of London.

OPENshoreditch, a growing coalition of local individuals, businesses and residents' groups, believes this situation is undemocratic and wrong.

But the planning applications for two sites will soon go before Hackney and Tower Hamlets councils.

Take action NOW by writing a letter of objection to each of these planning departments.

To object to the Sclater Street tower write to:
Shay Bugler
Development and Renewal, Town Planning
Tower Hamlets Council
Mulberry Place PO Box 55739
5 Clove Crescent
London E14 1BY
Email: shay.bugler@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Application no. PA/07/02193
(32-42 Bethnal Green Road)

To object to the "Bishop's Place" towers, and the demolition of The Light Bar building, write to:
Andrew Dillon
Planning Services
London Borough of Hackney
263 Mare Street
London E8 3HT
Email: Andrew.Dillon@hackney.gov.uk
re. application no. 2007/2227
(“Bishop’s Place” Development, Worship Street EC2)

Sign the petition against demolition of The Light Bar by following the link at the top of the page.

The worship of Mammon

Dr Simon Thurley, head of English Heritage, has criticised placing high rise buildings in inapproriate settings - using his home town of King's Lynn, Norfolk as an example. "The Council is frightened by developers" he said "development is money"

Unveiling its planned £700m Bishops Place scheme Hammeron's Chief Executive, John Richards, told analysts and shareholders of its "unparalleled record of securing and delivering developments to make big profits for shareholders"
Estates Gazette 16.6.07

The Worship of Mammon 1909 by Evelyn de Morgan

“mammon”: (noun) possibly of Aramaic origin, meaning riches. First personified in English as the false god of wealth, avarice and injustice in the mediaeval poem Piers Plowman and later as the fallen angel, Lucifer, in Milton's Paradise Lost.
“mammonistic”: (adjective) consumed by the desire for wealth at the expense of beauty, creativity and the human soul.
"mammonists" : (secretive) the dark forces, including Philistines, pursuing material gain by the obliteration of heritage, identity, culture and sunlight in the name of regeneration, best value, necessity and progress.

Mammon is at the gates of Shoreditch

A full house attended the OPENshoreditch public meeting on the 17th of January to seek information and express dismay at the development proposals for the former Railtrack sites off Shoreditch High Street. This turnout contrasts with the developer, Hammerson's, own public consultations in July 2007 which, despite circulating thousands of glossy leaflets, only managed to attract 22 people.

The meeting’s venue was on the historic Boundary Estate, the oldest council estate in the country, which will be severely affected by the developments planned. Residents learned of the Greater London Authority (GLA) report that "the site is part of an arc of potential development along... Shoreditch High Street and into the Bishopsgate Goodsyard" .


A number of speakers expressed anxiety about the height and density of the proposed developments. One feared that the wall of high-rise towers could cast shadows over homes and public spaces reaching as far as the Regents Canal in winter months. Residents' fears were heightened by the lack of public consultation both by the developers and Hackney and Tower Hamlets planning authorities and these Councils' failure to even have a masterplan for the sites. The proposals presently seem to be geared at securing maximum profits for the developer at the expense of the local community, which would suffer overshadowing and wind tunnel effect, increase in energy bills, deterioration of TV reception and light pollution.

There were also significant concerns for the loss of historic buildings and erosion of the character of the neighbouring conservation areas. Conservation-led regeneration has transformed Shoreditch into a popular tourist and entertainment destination and home to creative industries. The homogenised over-development dwarfing its surroundings will forever destroy the unique character of this area, full of fascinating history.

The Light before redevelopment

James Goff, the owner of the Light Bar at 233 Shoreditch High Street, made a heartfelt plea to help him save this historic building, which would be replaced by a 51 storey hotel.

The Light extinguished after redevelopment

Mark Willingale, the architect who has designed the Norton Cross alternative plan for the site, explained the benefits of his scheme, which retains The Light and creates better pedestrian permeability and better public open space.

Alternative treatment of The Light in Willingale's development

Leader of the campaign for a park on Bishopsgate Goodsyard, Brad Lochore, produced the 2002 Greater London Authority (GLA) document pledging to create a masterplan for the site. Not only have the local community been let down by it reneging on that promise but now Mayor Livingstone's GLA has confirmed support for Hammerson's Bishop’s Place scheme. But the scheme fails to comply with the London Plan. There is an absence of any meaningful benefits to the community. The affordable housing and provision for children (even including the planned roof top play areas) do not begin to meet the minimum required standards. The scheme fails to comply with guidelines on sustainable design and renewable energy use.
Bill Parry-Davies, from OPENdalston, warned that although the Hamerson scheme has been roundly criticised by both CABE and English Heritage, a recent Council report had described the risk of its Planning Committee refusing permission as "slim".

The desperate for cash Council own some of the development site. Hackney's Mayor Pipe has already earmarked the sale proceeds to fund plans for a grand £45 million Town Hall extension which, it is said , will engender civic pride. Hackney hopes that the people of Shoreditch will agree.

With some of the best architects in the world living in London there is no reason why this project should not exemplify best practice in town planning and sustainability. But the overwhelming feeling was that without well-organised and widespread community involvement neither the GLA nor the local authorities will adequately protect the local community from the negative impacts of this massive development and nor will they secure any significant benefits.
The meeting ended with an endorsement for OPENshoreditch as a means of bringing together local groups and individuals to press for the publication of all relevant information, the observance of due process, meaningful consultation and the securing of community benefit- as well as organising local opposition to the loss of the Light Bar.

There is no time to lose. Sign the petition to save the Light Bar by following the link above to Save the Light
Object to this development by emailing andrew.dillon@hackney.gov.uk quoting the planning application reference 2007/2227 Bishops Place - Land fronting Worship Street...EC2. Copy your email to info@openshoreditch.net Alternatively write to Andrew Dillon at London Borough of Hackney, Neighbourhood Regeneration Directorate, 263 Mare Street, London E8 3HT