Planning change in Southwark
North Southwark/Bermondsey has a unique collection of industrial
buildings of the 18th, 19th and 20th Century. These need to be preserved as a set - and we must not allow the developers to pick them off one by one. We need to set up a thoughtful
planning process whereby examples of all periods are kept.
For example in Bear Gardens there was a series of industrial buildings, most of which have been preserved except a 1960's concrete building was pulled down - probably because no one thought it had an architectural merit but it was the only one from that period and as such was a great example of modernism.
So the stock of industrial buildings needs to be studied as a set and preservation issue determined as a set with a view to preserving not just the quaint old ones but also some of the harsh modern industrial ones.
Southwark gains its uniqueness from a diversity of building types and styles and that the atmosphere of the area is ruined if they are all torn down and replaced with modern ones, so I would make sure that the historic fabric is kept in tact and that destruction of old buildings is very selective.
Lets keep Southwark as a unique environment and not turn it into a bland glass modern environment.
For example in Bear Gardens there was a series of industrial buildings, most of which have been preserved except a 1960's concrete building was pulled down - probably because no one thought it had an architectural merit but it was the only one from that period and as such was a great example of modernism.
So the stock of industrial buildings needs to be studied as a set and preservation issue determined as a set with a view to preserving not just the quaint old ones but also some of the harsh modern industrial ones.
Southwark gains its uniqueness from a diversity of building types and styles and that the atmosphere of the area is ruined if they are all torn down and replaced with modern ones, so I would make sure that the historic fabric is kept in tact and that destruction of old buildings is very selective.
Lets keep Southwark as a unique environment and not turn it into a bland glass modern environment.
Comments