Dear All,
you may have been approached by the developers from Hendersons with clipboards asking you to support their scheme for Smithfield General Market. What they perhaps didn't tell you was the extent of demolition proposed and that it is going to be replaced with an office-led development.
I work at SAVE Britain's Heritage which is based around the corner. We have been campaigning for this building for several years, and were part of a Public Inquiry that overturned a previous application to demolish 5 years ago.
We have developed an alternative plan for the building, with experienced market developers Urban Space Management who are responsible for Greenwich Market, Spitalfields, Camden Market and others. Their scheme is conservation led and is based on a sound business plan.
"If you go to St Bartholomew's and then walk through Smithfield, it is like walking from one cathedral to another. You wouldn't pull down St Bartholomew's, nor should you pull down Smithfield." Alan Bennett – supporter of the campaign to save Smithfield General Market.
Smithfield General Market was built in the late 19th Century: together with the meat and poultry markets it makes up one of the grandest processions of market buildings in Europe. It is a public asset, owned by the City of London Corporation. It has been largely kept out of use since the 1980s when the market closed.
Henderson Global Investors currently own the lease. They are seeking planning permission to demolish the majority of the General Market, Fish Market and Red House. Hendersons say that they are bringing the buildings, long empty, back into use.
We say that most of the General Market will be destroyed, including its unique interiors and handsome top-lit market halls.
It will be replaced by office blocks rising to over 60 feet. This demolition is unjustified and will cause substantial harm to the conservation area. The proposed new public space is minimal.
SAVE and Eric Reynolds of Urban Space Management have devised a financially viable scheme to bring the site back into use without demolition, preserving the handsome market halls.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Please write a letter of objection against the proposed scheme. For details, please visit our website on www.savebritainsheritage.org
Here you will find the address of the City Planning Officer gemma.delves@cityoflondon.gov.uk
and some suggested grounds for objection, should you wish to use them. You will find details of our alternative scheme and an independent assessment of the Henderson Planning Application.
Planning application numbers: 13/00150/FULEIA, 13/00155/LBC, 13/00156/CAC
The scheme has been called ‘Butchery', by the Victorian Society and criticised by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, Islington Council, the Charterhouse, the Council for British Architecture, the Twentieth Century Society, the Ancient Monuments Society, the Heritage of London Trust, many local residents and businesses.
The consultation period for the market will last ONE MORE WEEK until 28th June. Please register your objection with the City within this time.
THERE IS A VIABLE FUNDABLE ALTERNATIVE. Eric Reynolds, the entrepreneur behind Camden Lock, Greenwich and Spitalfields Markets has made an offer to transform the General Market into a retail market on the lines of flourishing Borough Market. This will generate a £28m investment in reviving the historic market halls, with Mr Reynolds providing 40% of the capital. This will generate a rent of £700,000 to the City Corporation – level with the Henderson scheme
"Smithfield was the scene of many martyrdoms - this would be another." Alan Bennett, supporter of the campaign to save Smithfield General Market
www.savebritainsheritage.org 0207 253 3500
Contact us on office@savebritainsheritage.org Follow us on twitter @SAVEBrit
More images can be found on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SaveSmithfieldMarket
Clem Cecil