More coverage has been published following the official launch of our campaign to “make the Goodsyard great!”. Building Design (BDonline) published this article:
Bishopsgate towers draw opponents' ire
4 August 2014 | By David Rogers
Worries over height and light
A local campaign group has said proposals to build new tower blocks at Bishopsgate in east London threaten to wreck the character of the area.
Developers Ballymore and Hammerson submitted a planning application to Tower Hamlets council last month for the Farrells-masterplanned scheme which includes two towers of 33 and 29 storeys by PLP. As well as 1,400 homes, it will also include new shops, offices and a park.
Faulkner Browns Architects is the design team working on the retail element while Chris Dyson Architects is responsible for the historic properties. Spacehub has the brief for a planned urban park.
But local activist David Donoghue from the More Light More Power group said: “The towers will destroy the character of the surrounding streets.” The group added the towers will end up blocking out light.
Donoghue added: “The retail space will target high street brands while its overpriced luxury apartments will be marketed for overseas investors.”
The London Assembly member for City and East, Labour’s John Biggs, told the East London Advertiser the towers “would set a dangerous precedent in a residential part of east London”.
PLP Bishopsgate
The redevelopment of Bishopsgate has previously attracted controversy with the plans helping lead to the formation of a local opposition group earlier this year, the East End Preservation Society.
Co-founded by former Save Britain’s Heritage director Will Palin, the society unites existing campaign groups in the East End as well as other interested individuals.
Last year, Hammerson project director Rob Allan said architectural quality was a key part of the project. “The Goodsyard is a unique regeneration opportunity and we have selected a [development] team which we feel will deliver an inspiring mixed-use scheme which is fitting of its location and importance within London.”