East End property developers hoping to take advantage of the growing opportunities in the area, face opposition from historian and TV personality Dan Cruickshank.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the East End Preservation Society, the Britain’s Best Buildings presenter warned that the East End is facing irreparable damage from, what he described as, ‘overscaled and greed-driven’ developments.
He went on to claim that developers were ‘cynically disregarding’ public consultation to the extent that local democracy had collapsed, and he called for ‘drastic, radical action’ to meet the threat to the area’s heritage.
The East End Preservation Society is a group co-founded by the former director of Save Britain’s Heritage, Will Palin. Its aim is to unite a number of existing campaign groups under one banner in order to stand a better chance of forcing it’s concerns onto the political agenda ahead of the next mayoral and general elections.
It was officially launched at the Bishopsgate Institute at the end of November, where Cruickshank gave the opening address. Later, Palin gave the audience a historical survey of the East End buildings that have already been lost and those that have been successfully preserved.
He took particular inspiration from the recent campaign to save the Marquis of Lansdowne pub which demonstrates that developers and politicians can be persuaded to change their minds in the face of organised public opposition.
Palin blamed a combination of property developers with ‘short term interests’ and ‘highly paid planning consultants’ for overriding public opinion. These groups were supported by the mayor, he said, and the aim of the East End Preservation Society was to wrest back control for local people and communities.
Cruickshank insisted that the opinions of ordinary Londoners must not be ‘cast aside by corporations or corporate politicians. He concluded his address by saying that politicians and planners would be obliged to listen to the views of a ‘coherent pressure group.’
“We have much to lose,” he said. “But – if we stick together – much to gain.”
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