Boris Johnson condemns historic MarketPlace

I've never really had a clear idea of what Boris Johnson does - but this shows the pernicious effect he has:

Salon 285 (Society of Antiquities reports:)

'Spitalfields: yes to redevelopment of London Fruit and Wool Exchange
Fruit and Wool Market
Just being in favour of culture does not mean that decisions are easy to make about London’s historic buildings. Last week the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, gave the green light to the redevelopment of the London Fruit and Wool Exchange in Spitalfields, much to the dismay of local people, who had submitted 800 letters of objection, and of leading London historians and architectural champions such as Dan Cruickshank and Ptolemy Dean and our Fellows Simon Jenkins, Gavin Stamp and Marcus Binney, all of whom had campaigned for the retention of the existing 1929 building, arguing that it should be used for small business premises and independent enterprises that are in keeping with the character of Spitalfields.

Boris Johnson stepped in after Tower Hamlets council had twice rejected the redevelopment plans. Using his powers as mayor to over-rule the planning authority, he presided over a public meeting on 10 October 2012 at City Hall to hear the respective arguments for and against the development. He then decided in favour of the development, which will see the long facade of the London Fruit and Wool Exchange retained, but the rest of the site used to build 300,000 sq ft of new office, retail and restaurant space. Boris Johnson said the scheme would ‘regenerate the Spitalfields area with thousands of new jobs, and brand new commercial opportunities. It will also make a vital contribution to the wider London economy and have a significant impact not just on Tower Hamlets but on surrounding boroughs as well.’

Fellow Marcus Binney, President of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, has called on the unlisted Exchange building to be spot-listed, arguing that time is needed to assess ‘the special architectural and historic interest of this fine civic building, which in our view is a superb example of dignified and handsome street architecture sensitive to its context’. SAVE describes the building designed in 1928 by the City Architect Sydney Perks, as comparable to Fortnum & Mason, opposite Burlington House in Piccadilly, which has a Grade II listing and is built in the same materials of warm red brick with an abundance of Portland stone trim — the materials used for the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of 1666.

The building houses what was once the largest auction hall in the British Isles, fitted out with mahogany panelling and Art Deco glass, brass handrails and fine parquet flooring. The basement walls are covered with wartime graffiti, a reminder that the building served during the war as a ‘township under the ground’ for 10,000 East Enders during the Blitz. It was here that Mickey Davies, an East End optician, became a popular hero through his work to improve the quality of the shelter by organising medical care, installing beds and toilets and recruiting volunteers to undertake cleaning rotas.

For more on the history of the building, along with a series of recent and archive photographs, see the Spitalfields Life blog.'

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