Tuesday 23 December 2008

Arcade: back to the drawing board

At a council meeting last week – and as reported in this week’s Walthamstow Guardian - councillors finally admitted that the Arcade plans are no longer going ahead as planned.

The good news is that we might end up with, say, a swimming pool instead of a Primark. (Although this could turn out to be yet another pipe dream that vanishes when the council takes a long, hard look at its budget.) Meanwhile the bad news is that plans still probably include a tower block built by the same developer, there’s no suggestion of taking this opportunity to genuinely involve the community in the new plans, and the council still seems hell-bent on including a multiplex instead of refurbishing the EMD cinema next door and linking it to the Arcade.

Here’s the Fight The Height statement on what came out of the meeting:

"While we welcome the chance to rethink the Arcade site, Fight The Height still has some major reservations about the council and its plans.

"Firstly, the council is still partnering with St Modwen. Despite changes to the retail part of the plan, it would appear St Modwen are still planning a residential tower block that will be out of keeping the low rise character of Walthamstow and against the recommendations of The Prince's Foundation report on Walthamstow.

"Secondly, the council is still playing its cards way too close to its chest. This should be a vital moment to engage with the community on making the site work and be popular for everyone in Walthamstow. Instead, Cllr Wheeler was forced into admitting changes to the plans only to other councillors at two meetings where the public had no voice (and with no advance notice of the meetings). And there has been absolutely no public dialogue on the changes - just a terse announcement to other councillors.

"Finally, we're disappointed in the entire council - not just Cllr Wheeler - for the level of debate at Tuesday's meeting. Councillors appear mostly concerned in simply getting something, anything on the Arcade site. But most councillors seem to have given up caring what actually will go on - a cinema, a swimming pool, a hotel, a tower block - who cares as long as it gets built seemed to be the general attitude of Tory, Liberal and Labour councillors alike.

"The final resolution councillors voted on merely asked the cabinet to look at 'innovative ways to proceed'. We would much rather the council uses this opportunity to evaluate more carefully what will really work on the site now, and for many years to come; rather than just sign up whatever they can now. After all, what's a year or two more of an empty site after so many years?! A proper solution for the site would genuinely bring regeneration, wouldn't tower over the market and would bring a solution to the EMD/Granada cinema issue, rather than leaving it to rot."

Read More......

Tuesday 16 December 2008

RESIDENTS DEMAND ANSWERS ON DELAYED TOWN CENTRE DEVELOPMENT

Walthamstow residents have called on the council to lift the veil of secrecy from the town centre development after a similar scheme in Hertfordshire collapsed last week.

St Modwen, London Borough of Waltham Forest Council’s preferred bidder to redevelop the old arcade site on the corner of Hoe Street and the High Street, last week pulled out of a scheme to redevelop Hatfield town centre in Hertfordshire after funding for the project fell through.

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council last week confirmed that plans for a brand new town centre would be scrapped after failing to attract £25m Government funding needed to make the project viable.

Fight The Height’s Barry Coidan said:

“All the economic and financial assumptions that underpinned the Arcade scheme have been shot to pieces. All we ask is that Waltham Forest Council tells its tax payers, in detail, with specifics, how the development of the Arcade site is affected by the current economic environment.”

Residents who have joined together to oppose the town centre development are now asking:
· By what date is St Modwen required to lay the planning application before Council?
· Is there scope for any extension?
· As a result of the current financial downturn are there any significant changes to the original outline proposal?
· If so what?
· If St Modwen withdrew what alternatives do the Council have in mind?
“We think these are reasonable questions,” Barry Coidan continued.
“Our councillors have no excuse for keeping us all in the dark.”
The Arcade site has been empty for a number of years and a previous scheme to build a library on the site fell though after a deal between Waltham Forest Council and developers collapsed.
Hoardings on the site claim that planning permission would be sought in Spring 2008 with work beginning a year later, but so far no application for planning permission has been made to Waltham Forest Council.Fight the Height argue that the planned 18 story tower block is unwanted and out of keeping with the surrounding area, and that current proposals for a huge Primark and multi-screen cinema will put independent traders out of business and destroy any hope of reopening the historic EMD cinema.

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Monday 8 December 2008

Enough is Enough

On Radio 4s Today Program this morning Councillor Loakes made clear the Councils priorities;

"Its about protecting the quality and the offer of the town centre. ... Enough is Enough"

Hear, hear. We couldn't agree more.

Granted, he was talking about the council's takeaway outlet plan; ' Fastfood Undermining Can Kickstart - Universal Popularity', but nonetheless what is good for the Goose, should also be good for the Arcade Site, the EMD cinema and the Big Screen.

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St Modwen in the firing line

The proposed redevelopment of Hatfield town centre by St Modwen, was called into question at a fractious public meeting last week.

From the council there was;
"We can't produce something which we haven't got funding for."

and from St M we had;
"The project could be smaller than originally planned".
How much smaller was not divulged at the meeting, but if its dependent on the funding they haven't got, then possibly smaller like a cheap Lego model which has seen better days and is missing a quite few pieces.

Still, Hats off to Hatfield Council and St Modwen for standing up to be counted, and shouted at, which is a lot more than Waltham Forest have managed in recent months.

News on our own development is quieter than a hibernating tortoise, in a soundproof box [but with air holes in it], and in the race to wake up and do something useful I know who my money is on.

To read more about the Hatfield meeting go to;
http://www.whtimes.co.uk/content/whtimes/news/story.aspx?tbrand=HertsCambsOnline&tcategory=newslatestWHT&brand=WHTOnline&category=News&itemid=WEED05+Dec+2008+17%3a53%3a10%3a897

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Thursday 27 November 2008

Arcade site hoardings become that little bit more honest

We'd like to shake the hand of whoever made this new amendment to the Arcade site hoardings (and no, we honestly don't know who did it!).
By changing an R to a D, St Modwen has been outed as "The UK's leading degeneration specialist". We couldn't agree more. Signing a development agreement on a big site in the heart of Walthamstow, then leaving it as rubble potentially for years because of the recession, is really dragging down our area. It's literally a waste of space and it's about time the council did something else with the site.
The new improved hoardings are even better than when someone added a comment on a sticker a while back - after the caption "This image is indicative and does not resemble the final scheme" someone quite reasonably added "So what is the point of it?"
Anonymous graffiti people of Walthamstow, we salute you!

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Friday 21 November 2008

Trashification and Zombification


Click on the picture above to view, in full, Rowan Moore's [Evening Standards Architecture Critic] castigation of the Olympic Big Screens, and the damage he believes they will do to urban public space. Click on the second picture to read Barry Coidan's letter to the Standard pointing out that contrary to LOCOGs [Largely Overpaid Consultants of Gibberish] claims about Big Screen popularity, no official consultation ever took place in Walthamstow, but all recent surveys suggest the Big Screen is decidedly Pasonica Non-Grata.



Interesting aside; 'Walthamstow' was not recognised by the Blogger Spell Check. It suggested 'Wealthiest' as an alternative. Not sure?!

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Saturday 11 October 2008

St Modwen Credit Crunched


"It's Credity and It's OOOhhh SOOooo Crunchy", but if you're a 'brownfield land development specialist' its not especially tasty.
Like lots of companies, which have to borrow heavily in order to make speculative investments, St Modwen are feeling the pinch. Their shares have fallen by over 50% in the last year and, as a result, its borrowings of £470 million are about £100 million more than its worth.

Back in July [before everything went the shape of pears] Bill Oliver [Chief Executive of St Modwen] said that "We will no longer sell any residential land because of a lack of buyers. We put four or five sites [Can't think where that might have been .. Ed.] on the market in spring time and found that national house builders were no longer bidding. There is long-term value there and so we won’t sell into a market that isn’t there".
Which suggests that, even back then, they were not likely to be investing in a large scale retail and residential development like the Arcade Site. In their most recent report to share holders [October 1st] they have said;

"The residential land market remains virtually non existent. We do not expect this market to recover for some time, and are planning our business accordingly."
to which they add, for good measure;
“Cash management and cost control are priorities at this time, and the necessary decisions are being taken to maintain the long-term potential of the business.”
Which, you would think, should put the kibosh on building a monstrous monument to the 'good old days' when credit was cheap, and more storeys meant fatter wallets.
Its not all doom and gloom for lovers of St Ms style in brownfield land grabs. No, even though they are;
"being very selective in the acquisition opportunities we pursue".
They will instead be pursuing
"a number of development agreement opportunities where the initial requirement is to put in our skills rather than cash."

Surely no council would be dumb enough to buy these skills, ......................would they?
Still, it would be interesting to know what LBWF are planing to do now. However, I fear we may be greeted as per, by a protracted silence, a whistling wind and a few tumble weeds rolling down the street [or litter, if the Kier contract is not quite 'embedded' in your street]
For all the latest St Modwen misery check out their FT slot

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Thursday 25 September 2008

One bit of River Lea saved from tower block hell


Seven Storey Tower Block - REFUSED
The council has refused an application for a horrid cluster of tower blocks.
Essex Wharf - three seven-storey blocks near Lea Bridge Road, would have overshadowed a beautiful section of the River Lea. It has been refused for various reasons: Its unsightly impact, dominating the landscape, the poor quality of the 'affordable' living accommodation, unsustainable local transport provision, and the negative environmental affects on the neighboring Lee Valley Regional Park. Of course the developers might well appeal the decision, but with the current property slump, fingers crossed that they don't!
There are a number of other towerblocks planned beside the Lea near Tottenham Hale and alongside the general Olympic (over)development that is fast transforming the riverside further south. We've won one battle....... but there's still a war going on.

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Big Shot Property Developer visits Walthamstow

"THE ARCHERS" [Radio 4] COME TO WALTHAMSTOW
Last week property developer Matt Crawford [normally found concreting over farmers fields in Ambridge, or converting the barns of struggling tenant farmers] paid a visit to Walthamstow. Ostensibly he was here to meet his real mother [he was adopted at birth], having tracked her down to an old people's home in The Stow. This first meeting didn't go very well, and to the strains of wailing sirens, the old girl told him he needn't bother visiting again.However, passing back through Walthamstow, wide-boy Crawford [no stranger to making a quick buck from forcing through unpopular and controversial developments] could not have failed to be impressed by the gargantuan tower block, gaudy cinema and hopeless retail development proposed for the Arcade Site by St Modwen. As the Dog Track faded into the distance, one can only assume that he was salivating at the opportunity, and maybe tempted to make another visit to see his long lost mum. Move over St. Modwen, the big boys from Borchester Land are in town.

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Wednesday 10 September 2008

Queens Market go to City Hall


FtH representatives Barry and Anita supported the Friends of Queens Market [FoQM] outside City Hall where they were petitioning Boris. Here is Barry's report; embedded on the front line.

"A hard core of supporters gathered outside City Hall on a Wednesday morning. We were in good spirits, attracting the attention of busy office workers striding along the Thames walkway to begin their day's toil. When I arrived at 8:45 am a large crowd of Chinese tourists were happy snapping each other with Boris's Bunker as a backdrop. Anita my fellow FtH campaigner arrived shortly thereafter and we fell to discussing the joys and challenges of living in Walthamstow. Anita steadfastly held one end of FtH's banner – no idea who held the other.
The FoQM banner had been unfurled and stretched across a section of crowd barrier. As protesters we naturally stood behind it. By 9:15am a small, tight group of us were quietly explaining their concerns to interested passers by and to a couple of reporters from "The Guardian". They aim to visit the market and do a follow up piece.

Overhead a helicopter hovered and security guards, cleverly impersonating security guards, kept a watchful eye on our small knot of campaigners. Then the megaphone revv'd up, with FoQM organiser Pauline Rowe, quietly haranguing the seagulls and the Thames barges as they passed by.

Apparently the area around City Hall is a non leafleting zone. Surprisingly the FoQM banner stretched across the crowd barrier was classed as a leaflet so it had to be removed. Also we weren't allowed to hand out leaflets but if someone asked for one that was ok.

By 9:30 am, about 10 people had stopped to ask what we were doing there (and why weren't we in an office somewhere doing something useful). An attractive young woman asked me what's it all about and then went on to express her dismay at what was happening to Shepherd Bush with its massive shopping mall overhanging the Green there.

As Mayoral Question Time at 10 am drew near the FoQM activists were briefing and being briefed by their elected representatives. And then they marched in an orderly fashion into the beating heart of London's politics to hear Mayor Boris lay out his policy on dropping lumps of concrete haphazardly on London's thriving communities.

I'm afraid, having got up rather too early for me, your reporter sneaked off for a late breakfast before attempting the rest of the day's challenges."

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Friday 29 August 2008

Ugly tower blocks... beautiful art!

Visit the E17 Art Trail 6-14 September to see dozens of local artists, many of them exhibiting either at home or in quirky locations. In particular, do check out two artists whose work is inspired by the Fight The Height anti tower block campaign:
Valeria Bateson has a window display at 25 West Avenue Road - the picture above left is part of her artistic exploration of the impact of tower blocks, present and potential, in our local area (open every day within daylight hours).
Alke Schmidt is one of many artists exhibiting in The State of the Borough 2008 at Wood Street Market, 98 Wood Street (open 10am-5pm most days; closed Thursdays and Sundays). The picture above right is part of a collage she's exhibiting. Oh and there's a rumour that our tomato-throwing antics from the June demo may be featuring in another artist's piece at the same exhibition... so you might be immortalised in a work of art!
For more info see the E17 Art Trail website.

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Wednesday 27 August 2008

Fancy becoming a planning geek?!

Over years of campaigning, we've discovered that not only is it too late to fight developments when the bulldozers arrive, it's also sometimes too late when they apply for planning permission.
Why? Because months, often years, earlier the council has agreed a planning policy which sets in stone what will happen. For example, a policy might mark out a particular area for development, dictate what the housing density should be, maybe even state that a specific site is suitable for a tall building. Once a policy is agreed, it's extremely hard to fight applications that fit it.
So... if you like getting into the nitty-gritty of the policies that will shape Walthamstow over the coming years, check out the council's new online "consultation portal" where you can read draft documents and comment on them. Anyone can register to comment... so please do! (a couple of the consultations end Monday - but there will be others in the near future)
Hmm, sounds a bit boring - why should you?! Well, we can promise you that other interested parties - especially the big developers who are planning tower blocks for Walthamstow - will be all over the website leaving detailed comments. This is one of those times where we need to fight them at their own game.
Don't worry, we'll still be chaining ourselves to bulldozers too ;-)

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Thursday 21 August 2008

Comment on the Giant Telly

Democracy seemed absent in the decision to erect a giant telly in Walthamstow Town Square. But at least the BBC website is giving the public the chance to comment on the screen. It'll be interesting to see whether your opinions are published...!
Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/bigscreens/get_involved.shtml to tell them what you think of it.

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Friday 15 August 2008

March to Save Our Stow

Join the march on Saturday 16th August to try and save Walthamstow's world-famous dog track from housing developers. Meet outside the track at 12 noon for a march to Walthamstow town square.
For more on the campaign visit https://saveourstow.wordpress.com/
To sign the petition visit http://www.petitiononline.com/savestow/

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Thursday 7 August 2008

Council turns giant telly on

The "screen on the green" – the Olympic "Live Site" giant telly plonked on Walthamstow town square gardens, with the childrens' play area directly behind it, flickered into life today, after a last-minute planning hearing by the Waltham Forest Planning Committee. The committee agreed to 16 hours a day operation, seven days a week, 7am to 11pm, until at least the end of 2012.
Despite the Director of CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) calling the screens "intrusive" and suggesting our town square could become "an outdoors Currys", as well as fierce arguing from the Cleveland Park Residents' Association representative, a local dad and a Civic Society member, councillors rejected limiting the hours to "when something good is on" and also rejected a formal six-month review. Mainly due to "computer says no" counsel from two of Waltham Forest's Planning Officers.
Councillors did ask the Olympic arm of the council (the applicant in this case) for a (non-binding) six month review of how the screen was doing. And asked also that the review included local community representatives and ward councillors.
More news on the six-month review and how intrusive the screen is in action soon…

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Monday 21 July 2008

Giant telly: object now!

ACT NOW if you object to the giant telly in Walthamstow Town Square broadcasting (with sound) 16 hours a day, every day of the year, for the next four years.
Please send a quick email to Rachel.Jagger@walthamforest.gov.uk with your objections. She must receive them by the morning of Tuesday 5th August for them to be considered by the planning committee that night.
The screen already has planning permission. That battle is lost. But the applicant (the council) was told to return to the planning committee with revised operating hours. Instead it has (rather arrogantly, in our opinion) sent a letter attempting to justify the original operating hours proposed. These are 7am-11pm - the screen would be broadcasting both video and sound for all those hours. And it wants to start on Friday 8th August!
The truth is, the contract with the BBC (as yet unsigned) insists on those hours. But there is no real justification for them. And plenty of reasons for concern.
Our proposal is that the hours are approved... but only for six months. That way the screen can prove itself through the Beijing Olympics and beyond. Or else our concerns will be proven to be valid. It's called giving them enough rope...
OBJECT NOW!
Below are two documents to download: a detailed objection that has been sent in by the Cleveland Park Residents' Association. Plus a template to make it easy for you to write your own objection letter/email. It basically says that you support the main points in the CPRA objection and then gives room for you to add your own comments/points (which is important - the council will take your letter far more seriously if you personalise it).
Deadline:
morning of Tuesday 5th August at the very latest.
CPRA objection letter
Objection letter to personalise

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Wednesday 16 July 2008

Giant telly - the fight continues

If the sight of the huge Olympics-funded telly in Walthamstow Town Square being built is hardening your resolve to fight the height... then good! We're going to need everyone to get involved when it comes to opposing the tower block plans.
Meanwhile, there is still something worth fighting regarding the screen. The screen got planning permission on two conditions. One that it was only until 2012. The other was that the insanely long proposed operating hours, of 7am-11pm every single day of the year, were rejected - the applicant (the council) had to return with revised hours.
And guess what? They have now applied for approval... with the exactly the same operating hours!
So... watch this space. We'll be posting details of how to object ASAP. Meanwhile the application number is 2008/1087/RSM if you want to check it out at the town hall for yourself.

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St Modwen posts £20m losses

If you heard a high-pitched sound on Tuesday, it was probably the world's smallest violin playing for Arcade developer St Modwen. Thanks to the property market collapse, it posted £20m losses for the first half of the year (last year it posted £65.1m profit in the same period). It has written £54.6m off its portfolio in what it describes as the worst period for the industry in almost 20 years.
Quoted in this Telegraph article, St Modwen says: "For residential land, there is currently no genuine market, as the major housebuilders are unwilling to invest in land until they can see the way ahead more clearly."
Meanwhile this BBC News story says that St Modwen is delaying its housebuilding plans in Longbridge. This comes just days after it announced it's delaying a development in Hatfield (see story below).
Again this suggests we will face delays (or maybe even get a reprieve - after all, St Modwen doesn't own the land yet) for the Arcade...

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Sunday 13 July 2008

St Modwen delays elsewhere, demands money from council

We'd already heard that St Modwen (the company behind the Arcade site plans) was delaying developments elsewhere. But the incredible news is that according to a local newspaper story St Modwen say their Hatfield town centre plans will be delayed by two or three years... unless they council makes "a substantial investment" to help make up for the flailing property market.
Is this the shape of things to come in E17? We've already seen written proof that Waltham Forest council is going to receive barely more in the St Modwen deal than the £4m they have already spent on the Arcade site. If they spend any more, they will have made a loss... in order to bring an unwanted tower blobk to our High Street.

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Friday 27 June 2008

Boris advisor: Towers will not be allowed in inappropriate locations

Good news: We had feared that Boris Johnson was about to backtrack on his pre-election pledges to oppose tower blocks in low-rise suburban London. But yesterday his senior planning advisor Sir Simon Milton said tower blocks must fit into the "local context" and will not be allowed in inappropriate locations, even if they have "wow-factor architecture". He said Boris will favour "high-density development" but not necessarily "high rise".
Read the full story in the Evening Standard.

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Wednesday 25 June 2008

ITV coverage of our demo

At last... here's the ITV coverage of our first demo (on 1st June). Sorry, it took ages for someone to find the time to do all the technical stuff to put it online! But if you haven't seen it already, it is worth the wait.
If the video is jerky then we recommend hitting play, then hitting pause for a moment, and then play again.

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Tuesday 24 June 2008

Planning Magazine story

Planning Magazine recently ran a little diary piece on our June 1st demo, which you can read here. You need to subscribe to read the whole thing - or just click on "Read more..." below where we have pasted a copy of the story.

Diary - Planning, 13 June 2008
Developers got a fruity local response over retail plans for Walthamstow town centre last week.
More than 200 residents, using tomatoes supplied by local traders, pelted effigies of the developers behind plans for a major scheme in north-east London.
Residents and market traders are up in arms over St Modwen's proposals for an 18-storey tower, a Primark store and a Vue multiplex cinema. The site is directly next to Europe's longest daily open market.
"The development will cast a shadow over Walthamstow, devastate the market and kill off any hope of bringing back our cinema," says Caramel Quin, co-founder of the Fight the Height campaign. It is calling on the developers and the London Borough of Waltham Forest, which owns the site, to reconsider the proposals.
"This is being done to 'regenerate' the area, according to the council and St Modwen. If they won't reconsider, we'll be asking mayor Boris Johnson to call them in," Quin adds. Could this see the first test of Johnson's election pledge to veto tall buildings?

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Sunday 8 June 2008

Please help our sister campaign!

Friends of Queens Market are also fighting St Modwen, the developers behind the Walthamstow Arcade tower block plans. And they are fighting to save their own historic East End market (Queens Market in Upton Park) from being blighted as a result! In short, we have lots in common and we must help each other...
St Modwen has recently submitted a planning application for Queens Market. And it will see tower blocks of up to 30 storeys, while the market is halved in size. Increased rents for stallholders will mean collosal changes to this ethnically diverse market that helps huge numbers of families on low incomes eat healthy food. (Sound familiar? it'll be Walthamstow market that's threatened by St Modwen's next planning application!)
Anyway, FoQM have checked with Newham council, and it turns out that residents from other boroughs can send in objections to the plans. Please download the two files below, which make it very quick and easy to object, and SEND YOUR OBJECTION TODAY!
And when it's our turn to fight a planning application from St Modwen - which could be very soon indeed - we hope that the good people of Upton Park will return the favour.
Downloads:
FoQM objection info
Objection letter template

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Giant town square telly approved :-(

The bad news is that this week the council planning committee ignored public opinion (39 letters of objection and a number of public speakers) and approved plans for the Olympic-funded giant telly in Walthamstow Town Square, backing on to the children's play area.
The only tiny bits of good news are that...
1) Rather than being there forever, the screen only has planning permission from this summer till summer 2012, after the London Olympics. So if it's unpopular, too loud, vandalised or otherwise a failure then we can hope the council won't grant planning permission for it to stay.
2) The insanely long operating hours of 7am till 11pm every day of the year were not approved. Instead the applicant will have to come up with revised operating hours and return to the planning committee with them for approval. So we will have the opportunity to lobby for shorter hours (i.e. only switch it on when there's something genuinely worth watching!) and for the sound to only be switched on when appropriate. This would also result in energy savings - by our estimates, the screen would have the same carbon footprints as 59 households if switched on for the proposed 18 hours a day.
Oh, and finally, one councillor made a big thing of the fact that there weren't many people in the public gallery - suggesting that this meant no-one cared! We don't really see why people should have to spend their evening watching a council meeting, at which they're not allowed to speak, in order to prove that they care. But if this is the way that the councillors see it (i.e. they might have even voted differently if they had a bigger audience) then it's essential that a huge number of us turn up when it comes to the planning applications for tower blocks in Blackhorse Road, the Arcade site, etc.

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Wednesday 4 June 2008

Please join BAG... now!

It takes 2 seconds to fill in an online form to join Blackhorse Action Group and to give them your comments on the insane overdevelopment planned for the area. The plans include 10 tower blocks, the tallest of which will be 23 storeys (230 feet).
So please visit the Blackhorse Action Group website and sign up now!
And also check out the BAG Flickr page where they have posted yet more fab pics from Sunday's demo. Are we the world's most photographed (and photogenic) protestors or what?!

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Tuesday 3 June 2008

Indymedia demo coverage and Evening Standard article

Do read this Indymedia story, including yet more fab pics of Sunday's demo. Many thanks to Peter Marshall for coming along (and for letting us use this pic).
Also forgot to post a link to this Evening Standard feature from last week that singles the Arcade out as one of the tower block proposals that Boris Johnson may veto.

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Monday 2 June 2008

Pics from Sunday's demo

Thanks to the 200+ of you who turned up on Sunday for the tomato-chucking and the TV cameras! And thank you to the countless residents who emailed with their support - it's great to know that we have even more supporters (and we're going to need you all when it comes to fighting these tower block plans!)
Many thanks to photographers Nick Watts and Tom Glendining for the pics. And of course huge thanks to Alan, Tina and Rowena for being game enough to have tomatoes chucked at them.
Finally, before this turns into an Oscars speech, we mustn't forget to thank the London Borough of Waltham Forest and St Modwen Properties Plc, not to mention their allies Primark and VUE Cinemas. Without their hideous, market-killing proposed tower block development, none of this would have been possible...
We have uploaded a few more pics from the protest - click on "Read More..." below to see them. (Oh and if you're from the media and need print quality pics, email us!)

And here are the rest of our favourite pics...







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BBC coverage of Sunday's demo

Will post the ITV news story too, as soon as we have time! Or if anyone else has recorded it and has time to stick it on YouTube and send us the link, that'd save us a job...
Oh and as ever with YouTube, if the video is jerky then we recommend hitting play, then hitting pause for a moment, and then play again.

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Friday 30 May 2008

Fight The Height needs you! Demo at noon on Sunday 1st June

The demo against the Arcade tower block - and tower blocks in Walthamstow generally - will be at noon this Sunday, 1st June in Walthamstow town square.
Please save the date, please come along and please tell all your local friends and family. Everyone involved in tower block decisions - from local councillors on the planning committee to Mayor Boris who has the power to veto tower block plans - cares about public opinion. So put simply, the more of us that turn up the more notice they will take!
The demo promises to be short and fun for all the family. Hope to see you there...

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About us - why Fight The Height?

Fight The Height was originally founded by Cleveland Park Residents' Association but now has members from all over Walthamstow. What brings us together is our opposition to the tower block planned for the "Arcade" site (on the corner of High Street and Hoe Street) and to the many other tower blocks planned for Walthamstow, such as the ones currently being fought by Blackhorse Action Group.
The general problem with tower blocks in Walthamstow is that they're out of place in an area that's typically low-rise, two- and three-storey Victorian houses. Plus no-one wants to live in them - according to a recent survey by the Architecture Commission, less than one per cent of people would live by choice in a tower block. What's more, the main argument in favour of tower blocks is that we need high density housing, but there are better alternatives - as explained in this interview with the experts from The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment.
There are a couple of other reasons why the Arcade tower block in particular - which developer St Modwen and LBWF council plan to be around 18 storeys - would be disastrous for central Walthamstow. For starters, it will contain a massive Primark, which would put many small shops and traders on Walthamstow Market out of business. And it is also due to include a VUE multiplex cinema... and while Walthamstow certainly needs a cinema, the right place for it is undoubtedly the highly listed EMD/Granada two doors away. A multiplex in the Arcade development would be the final nail in the coffin for plans to get the beautiful EMD reopened.
What do we propose instead? Put simply, we think the council - which owns the land - needs to go back to the drawing board. And this time it needs to: a) genuinely involve the community in the design process; b) come up with a low-rise design that includes facilities that the community wants and needs; and c) balance the need to recoup money from the site with the need for a quality development that residents want - right now the council is simply planning to sell to the highest bidder!
[Many thanks to the Walthamstow Guardian for the use of the photo. It was taken by David Edwards and is copyright Newsquest]

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St Modwen flags are coming down

Haha! As suspected, the arrogant St Modwen flags on the Arcade site are indeed illegal because they don't have advertisement consent.
Responding to our complaint, a council officer said: "The matter has been raised with St Modwen who have undertaken to remove the flags at this time. They have however indicated that they will be making an application for advertisement consent to put them back, and we will consult on this in the usual way." He adds that the flags should be down by early next week.
Hmm, small victories. But this isn't just about the illegal flags themselves... although they are pretty obnoxious. It's about the fact that St Modwen have pitched up in Walthamstow and think they can act like they own the place. They've put up hoardings that boast they will be on site in Spring 2009 but they haven't even applied for planning permission yet, let alone got it. They make it sound like it's a done deal. Trust us, it isn't!

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Thursday 22 May 2008

Could St Modwen's plans be delayed?

Arcade site preferred developer St Modwen has delayed plans for revamping Hatfield town centre, blaming "the unstable state of the finance, retail and property markets", according to this Herts 24 news story.
Could this happen to their tower block plans for Walthamstow? We very much hope so... but a delay isn't enough. We're hoping that the impending housing crash will make the council and St Modwen do a complete u-turn on their plans.
What Walthamstow really needs is for the council to go back to the drawing board - this time with genuine involvement of local residents and market traders - and to come up with a scheme that will actually be good for Walthamstow. Time and again councillors and officers have come up with plans that won't work, and that never materialise anyway. Locals seem to have a much better idea of what Walthamstow needs - so why don't they just ask?!

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Wednesday 21 May 2008

St Modwen's Arcade site flags illegal!

It turns out that St Modwen isn't allowed to fly those horrid big flags on the Arcade site! We've consulted a planning expert who tells us that flags are regulated under advertisement consent, not planning permission, but that a developer is only allowed to fly such flags on site once they have full planning permission for the development itself. St Modwen hasn't even applied for planning permission yet.
We're not in the least bit surprised. Flying corporate flags illegally fits perfectly with a developer that arrogantly boasts that it will be working on site in Spring 2009 (almost as if the council has promised that it will get planning permission...). Ordinarily a council would serve an enforcement notice on a developer for putting up flags illegally, but because they're working together we're guessing the council is unlikely to do so unless we remind them.
So... we have complained to the council and asked them to get St Modwen to take those flags down at once! If you're furious about them too, please send a quick email saying so as well - to LBWF's assistant director for development Shifa Mustafa and CC it to the cabinet members for environment Cllr Bob Belam and regeneration Cllr Terry Wheeler.
Many thanks to the resident who tipped us off about this. Please everyone keep all those ideas and relevant newspaper clips coming!

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Antiscrap: Calling all artists

Fab campaign group Antiscrap is organising an exhibition for the E17 Art Trail called "State of the Borough 2008" (a response to the council's invitation only non-debate of the same name) and are asking artists to give vent to their feelings about the state of Waltham Forest... celebrate life here, get involved with the debate, produce mock film posters, postcards, prints, paintings or what you will.
For example, they've suggested local campaigns could translate their messages into art works: a film poster for "Withering Heights" from Fight the Height, a "wish you were here postcard" from the St James St library, a "where are they now" set of photos for all the closed and missing cinemas, etc.
Entries have to be ready for hanging on Friday the 5th of September, they must be in wooden frames with mirror plates. The exhibition will be in the indoor market in Wood St, where the "Inspired by William Morris Exhibition" was held last year. If you would like submit work or request further information drop an e-mail to exhibition@antiscrap.co.uk
So... if you feel inspired to contribute, whether for Fight The Height or with something else, drop them a line! We'd certainly love to see artists respond to the monstrous tower blocks planned for Walthamstow and the lack of council foresight that will see a multiplex and a giant Primark where locals want to see a reopened EMD and shops that compliment Walthamstow market and trigger real regeneration not corporate .

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Tuesday 20 May 2008

Arcade hoardings take the mickey!

Look really closely at the artists' impression on the Arcade hoardings you can see a Bang & Olufsen shop (a very high-end hi-fi emporium - click on the picture above to see it bigger). Which stands in stark contrast to the planned Primark that we, and market traders, fear will put many stalls and smaller shops out of business - see the story below.
The devil is in the detail... The hoardings do say "This image is indicative and does not resember the final scheme" but we think the contrast between Bang & Olufsen and Primark shows how much St Modwen is taking the mickey out of Walthamstow.
The Arcade scheme was supposed to kick off regeneration. But we don't think a massive cheap clothes shop, a boarded up high street and decimated market sounds like regeneration. This planned tower block offers Walthamstow nothing that we want or need, but it threatens to damage what we already have.
If you agree, please join us at noon on Sunday 1st June in Walthamstow town square for a short demo against the tower block plans that promises to be fun for all the family.
Oh and many thanks to the resident who pointed this out - and the many of you who are constantly emailing in with relevant news, it's much appreciated!

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Could Boris block the tower block?

It's well worth reading two stories from yesterday's Evening Standard: The towers that Boris could stop being built and Comment: credit crunch will dictate skyline. These explain that Boris is embracing the powers to veto planning permission that Ken gave himself, but intends to use them to overturn planned tower blocks all over London.
The interesting thing is that many of the 14 developments the Standard picks out as likely to be axed are barely taller than the ones we're facing in Walthamstow, on the Arcade site and at Blackhorse Lane. Could we be numbers 15 and 16?!
We're contacting Boris, and his new planning adviser Sir Simon Milton. And we'll let you know how we get on...

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Monday 19 May 2008

Developer buys Walthamstow Stadium

No prizes for guessing the site of the next piece of overdevelopment for Walthamstow... news reached us this weekend that the world famous Walthamstow Stadium dog track has been sold to a development consortium. See the Walthamstow Guardian story. The sale has been rumoured for years but the owners have long denied it. The track's tote board was listed by English Heritage last year... but now it looks like the stadium will be demolished and the tote board will no be surrounded by yet another high-rise housing development that no-one wants.

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Friday 16 May 2008

SAVE THE DATE! Sunday 1st June

Our first demo against the tower block plans will be daytime on Sunday 1st June in central Walthamstow.
More details to follow soon but please try to be available for a short, fun protest against the plans that should get us lots of publicity.
New to Fight The Height? Please click here to find out more about how and when you can object to the planned tower blocks that would overshadow low-rise Walthamstow, the planned Primark that would be a disaster for market traders, and the planned multiplex that would be the final nail in the coffin for the EMD/Granada cinema.

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Meeting re: the giant telly

Next Tuesday (20th May) 7:30-9pm at Waltham Forest Theatre in Lloyd Park there will be a meeting about the giant telly - sorry, "live site" - proposed for the town square.
Sadly the meeting is only open to members of Apex Arts (the artists formerly known as Waltham Forest Arts Council). But... you can join on the night for a tenner, so if you're feeling a bit arty and you want to find out more about the plans and question the people behind them (about stuff like why does it have to be right next to the children's playground or why must it be on for 16 hours a day even when there isn't anything worth watching) then why not turn up and sign up!

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Blackhorse Action Group social

It's not all doom and gloom, even when you're fighting several tower blocks - including one 23 storey monster! Tomorrow (Saturday 17th May) the fabulous Blackhorse Action Group are having a big social at Douglas Eyre Sports Pavilion, Coppermill Lane. Expect fun for all the family from 3pm, then a bat walk and grown-up entertainment from 7pm. See the Blackhorse Action Group website for more info - and see you there!

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Sunday 11 May 2008

"What can I do?!"

New to Fight The Height? Thanks for visiting! Here's how to get involved in the campaign against tower block plans in Walthamstow...
1. Join us! Please send a quick email to mail@fighttheheight.co.uk saying that you support us - we'll add you to our email list and keep you updated on actions, for example letting you know when to object to planning applications and when we are holding demonstrations.
2. Tell everyone! Please send a quick email to all your local friends and family and tell them about our campaign, giving them the website address. It's simple maths... if tens of thousands of people see this website, thousands will join the campaign and hundreds will send in objections at the right time. Being bombarded by hundreds of letters will make a HUGE difference to the councillors who make the decisions - and could be enough to save Walthamstow from tower block plans.

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Friday 9 May 2008

Could Boris's new man help us?!!!

According to this Evening Standard story (from 6th May) Boris Johnson has appointed Westminster Council leader Simon Milton to advise him on housing and planning... and Westminster is known for its opposition to tower blocks. Mr Milton will be hearing from us!

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High rise: heaven or hell?

In this recent article from Star magazine, Bill Hodgson looks at the history of what went wrong with tower blocks. It's fascinating stuff... According to a recent survey by the Architecture Commission, less than one per cent of people would live by choice in a tower block. Which is why tower blocks are being torn down while others are being built! (like the one pictured, in Glasgow, being demolished last year).
Over to Bill for a history lesson...
The recent row between council leader Clyde Loakes and his deputy Keith Rayner over the role of tower blocks in public housing has re-opened a long running debate on the merits of high rise living. While Councillor Loakes believes new blocks could solve the borough’s potential housing shortage, his deputy argues such a move would repeat the costly mistakes of the past. The dispute erupted following the publication of research suggesting 12,000 homes must be built in Waltham Forest to accommodate a projected population increase of 20,000 people.
Click on "Read More" below to read the full article.

On the up
In May 1949 London’s first council housing tower block was opened in Holborn. A staggering 2,700 more would follow around the capital in the years ahead. The early blocks were inspired by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier who sought to solve the problem of overcrowded cities by building elegant ‘streets in the sky’ for socially diverse communities. “We must decongest our cities by increasing their density,” he said. “We must improve circulation and increase the amount of open spaces”. He envisaged residential towers with lavish communal roof gardens set amidst vibrant green spaces with transport freeways to ferry inhabitants to their workplaces.
His ideas were seized upon by councils across Britain, desperate to replace slum dwellings and re-house citizens made homeless during the Second World War. Le Corbusier’s vision seemed irresistible at a time when economical construction methods using prefabricated panels and concrete promised a brave new world for the urban dweller.
The early blocks offered spacious and well-appointed living space but it was not long before financial constraints forced compromises in both materials and dimensions. Le Corbusier’s emphasis on green spaces and public facilities was also sidelined in the rush to accommodate as many people as quickly and cheaply as possible.
The crowning glory of London high rise living emerged in the 1960s when the heavily bombed Cripplegate area provided the setting for the new Barbican Estate. An enormous concrete jungle softened by artificial lakes and networks of terraces and trees, the Barbican offered affordable accommodation for City workers with social housing available on the neighbouring Golden Lane Estate. “The intention is to create a residential precinct in which people can live both conveniently and with pleasure,” said chief architect Peter Chamberlin. “Despite its density the layout is spacious. The buildings and the space between them are composed to create a sense of order without monotony”. The project was perhaps closest to Le Corbusier’s intentions and the aspirations of the post-war planners. Ironically, as the Barbican prepared to welcome its first tenants, the reputation of British tower blocks was about to be dealt a fatal blow.
Disaster
The fall from grace of tower blocks began on 16 May 1968 in Newham when the newly opened 23-storey Ronan Point partially collapsed following a gas explosion, killing residents and causing chaos in the local area. Although blocks would continue to be built for housing throughout the 1970s, the disaster destroyed public confidence in their structural safety while reports of poor insulation, inadequate security and insect infestations further tarnished their appeal. Many blocks had also been hastily constructed at inconvenient out-of-town locations with little provision for transport, welfare or shopping which isolated them from the wider community. Problems with faulty elevators made them especially unpopular with the elderly, young families and disabled tenants. Meanwhile, poorly maintained and badly lit communal areas provided a breeding ground for petty crime which left many residents living in a climate of fear. The blocks were now firmly recast as ‘slums in the sky’, blighting the landscape and perpetuating the social problems they were designed to eradicate.
Widespread demolition of tower blocks began in the 1980s with mass removal programmes carried out around the country throughout the 1990s, echoing the post-war slum clearances which had preceded them.
When Labour swept to power in 1997, architect Richard Rogers was appointed to formulate a new model for urban living and social housing. Planning laws were introduced to encourage sustainable low rise developments of three to six storeys. Lord Rogers developed blueprints for human scale urban villages with a ‘ten minute walk rule’ to ensure residents would have easy access to shops and services.
Yet a select few tower blocks remained surprisingly resilient and would eventually inspire a cautious reassessment.
Rebirth
In the 1980s, Notting Hill’s Trellick Tower was London’s most notorious housing block. Stories concerning vicious rapes in dimly lit stairwells, children being attacked outside their homes by heroin addicts and squatters setting fire to flats made lurid newspaper headlines. The block’s fortunes were unexpectedly revived when ownership transferred to a tenant’s management organisation that introduced a range of improvements including a concierge, intercoms and CCTV. Crime dramatically fell and the block was boldly reinvented as an icon of urban cool. Now a mixture of private and social housing, it gained the ultimate seal of approval when English Heritage listed it. Tellingly, Trellick stands amidst some of the country’s most attractive Victorian housing and is a stone’s throw from the fashionable bustle of Portobello Market. Less than 10 minutes from the West End by tube, it makes a strong case for the viability of tower blocks situated in an already popular location.
Similarly, the Barbican Estate has confounded the sceptics and is now regarded as a stylish London address. “It is of special architectural interest for its scale, cohesion and ambition,” said former arts minister Tessa Blackstone. “It is much loved by residents and has earned itself a place in the hearts of Londoners”. Location has again played a major role in the Barbican’s appeal with one of the world’s greatest arts institutions on its doorstep and the City of London a gentle stroll away. Nowadays one bedroom apartments sell for £350,000, well beyond the reach of the average City worker for whom it was designed.
Nevertheless, one local housing expert warns these examples are not indicative of the bigger picture. “Despite a few notable exceptions, the overwhelming evidence is clear,” she said. “Exceeding five storeys does not work in the context of social housing. It is a proven recipe for disaster and shouldn’t even be considered”. She points to a recent survey by the Architecture Commission which found less than one per cent of people would live by choice in a tower block.
With much brownfield land earmarked for development in the neighbouring boroughs of Newham and Tower Hamlets and the government planning a massive expansion of London to the east via the multi-billion pound Thames Gateway project, perhaps councillors should really be debating whether Waltham Forest needs substantial extra housing at all.
Article reproduced courtesy of Star Magazine/The Lightside.

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Tuesday 29 April 2008

How to object to the giant telly

We've had lots of emails (thank you!) about the giant telly planned for Walthamstow town square and asking for more details on how to object...
The deadline for objections is Monday 5 May. And seeing as that's a bank holiday it's probably best to send your objections by email, to Rachel.Jagger@walthamforest.gov.uk
Below are three links to Word documents that should help you draft your own objection. The first two are the official objections from Cleveland Park Residents' Association and Waltham Forest Civic Society. They go into lots of detail in terms of what's wrong with the current plans and the planning arguments against them. The third document is a template to make it easy for you to write your own objection letter/email. It basically says that you support the main points in the CPRA and WFCS objections and then gives room for you to add your own comments/points (which is important because the council will take your letter far more seriously if you personalise it). Enjoy!!!
CPRA objection letter
WFCS objection letter
Objectional letter to personalise

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Friday 25 April 2008

Arcade site: giant Primark spells disaster for Walthamstow Market

"Over 75,000sqft of new shops, cafes and restaurants" claim the new Arcade site hoardings this week... What they don't tell you is that more than two-thirds of that floor space is set to be a massive, two-storey Primark store that could spell disaster for the many Walthamstow Market traders whose livelihoods depend on selling clothes.
We were told directly by the developers St Modwen at a recent meeting that the development would include a 53,000sqft Primark store and just one other shop (10,000sqft), plus two restaurants (hmm, we're thinking fried chicken), an eight-screen cinema and probably a coffee shop.
We've contacted the Market Traders' Association and they agree that a huge Primark could be a nightmare for the many clothing stalls and also the countless clothes shops up and down the High Street.
Call this regeneration?
Remember, Waltham Forest council decided to redevelop the Arcade site specifically to kick off "regeneration". Does a massive cheap clothes shop, a boarded up high street and decimated market sound like regeneration to you?
By way of contrast, the previous developers Henry Boot were in negotiation with Marks & Spencer! It just goes to show what the council and St Modwen think of Walthamstow: the current plans for the Arcade site are literally "pile it high and sell it cheap".

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Wednesday 23 April 2008

Giant telly planned for town square

Not a tall building, but still definitely an issue of height - the council's Olympics team are planning a giant telly for Walthamstow town square. And when we say giant, we mean HUGE, it's set to be approx 7m wide, 3m high and 3m off the ground. The one pictured here is a similar screen in Canary Wharf.
If it gets planning permission (which they have just applied for) the screen will be erected by August in time for the Beijing/London handover and then by a PERMANENT fixture, switched on and blasting out sound a minimum of 16 hours a day. What's more, it will back onto the children's playground!
To see the plans for yourself, and then object if you want to, visit the council's planning department (which is now at Sycamore House, tucked beside the town hall) and ask to see application 2008/0566/LA. We're encouraging people to object to the location (we think it'd be better placed against BHS's ugly side wall), noise issues and hours of use (surely it should only be switched on when there's something worth watching?!).
While you're at the planning office, you might also like to see 2008/0554, an application for a 5 storey block of flats in Tower Mews.
Click on the "Read more..." link below to see an aerial photo of the location proposed for the screen, to see for yourself that it's bigger than a double decker bus, and to find out what we can expect to see on the screen...

Where will it be? See the orange line on the aerial photo above (click on the photo if you want to see it bigger). The screen is planned for the grass beside the "stage" on the town square and, as you can see, would directly back on to the children's playground!
What will the screen show? Aside from lots of Olympics stuff, there will be programming from the BBC and also content within council control (which on the bright side could mean arts programming for local filmmakers and film groups... but could equally turn into an Orwellian TV version of the council's propaganda rag WFM). Oh and allegedly there will be no adverts. But the screens are sponsored by Lloyds TSB and the Olympics are sponsored by everyone, so presumably the telly will be awash with corporate logos all the same.

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Here's one they regenerated earlier...

News reaches us of another grand "regeneration" project from St Modwen: the destruction of Farnborough town centre.
According to a detailed UK Indymedia article, Farnborough used to have a viable town centre, a large number of small independent businesses, many family owned, many had been in the town for 30 years a more (sound familiar?!). The town centre now lies derelict, little more than a ghost town. About ten years ago Farnborough town centre was bought by KPI (apparently a Kuwaiti-financed front-company for St Modwen). Last summer half the town centre was demolished. During the demolition and other work , the remaining shops have regularly had their services cut, electricity and telephones cut, access blocked. All of which has hit businesses. Within the last few months, more shops and businesses have pulled out or been driven out - the catalogue of local businesses lost according to the Indymedia story is quite tragic.
See the picture below for St Modwen's broken promises... No amount of pretty pictures on hoardings boasting the new shops coming to Farborough can disguise the fact that the town centre has lost all these local businesses - and that in the current financial climate there is no guarantee that the new shops will be built at all.
Join the fight to make sure this doesn't happen to Walthamstow town centre - please see the Join Us section at the top right of this page.

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Wednesday 16 April 2008

Arcade tower to grow?

As if 12-18 storeys wasn't high enough, at a Local Forum meeting last week, St Modwen's development director said that the tower block could be "one or two storeys higher".
When you consider that a 23-storey tower block is also plannned for Blackhorse Road, it looks like High Rise Walthamstow is getting higher by the minute...

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St Modwen fail to get claws into Walthamstow Central

News just in... Kier Property beat St Modwen to the Walthamstow Central contract. See the story in Property Week

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Tuesday 8 April 2008

St Modwen in E17 land grab

St Modwen – the company planning to overshadow Walthamstow High Street with an 18-storey tower block – is one of three developers shortlisted by Network Rail to revamp Walthamstow Central station, according to Property Week.
It’s terrible news for residents fighting overdevelopment. As if the tower block plans that St Modwen and the council have cooked up for the Arcade site weren’t bad enough, the council has long hinted that the station and its car park could be the site of another major (and highrise) development, possibly containing a hotel or conference centre. They’ve even suggested that this could be built over the top of the overground station.
This amounts to a land grab by St Modwen. Friends of Queen’s Market campaigners, who are also fighting St Modwen, believe the property developers are currently trying to get a foothold in East London. If these plans for the Arcade and the station go ahead, they will land both their big boots into Walthamstow…

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Thursday 3 April 2008

Tower block plans hit house prices

Residents backing onto the Arcade site who recently had their flats surveyed were shocked to discover that they were worth £10,000 less thanks to the tower block plans.
This stands in stark contrast to the previous plans for redevelopment. When the council was working with developers on a seven-storey scheme, property experts told us that the area would be improved and prices would go up.
"I’m appalled that my flat is worth £10,000 less thanks to the development. I’m going to lose my view, my light, my privacy... and now a large sum of money,” said Carolyn Magson, whose garden will literally be overshadowed by the tower block.
“I’m sure values will be reduced,” said Philip Waterfield of surveyors Strettons, who blames the tower block but also market conditions. “Speaking personally, I wouldn’t want it at the bottom of my garden full stop!”
This council is hell bent on dropping skyscrapers into traditional low-rise areas. It could be your back garden next. This affects all residents in Waltham Forest, so if you don’t want your garden overshadowed or your house price to drop, please join our Fight The Height campaign – click on the Join Us link at the top right of this page.

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Wednesday 2 April 2008

See the tower block plans for yourself

Want to see what's in store for the Arcade? The council and St Modwen aren't all that good at consultation. So most people haven't had the chance to see what's planned for the Arcade site. Fortunately, we've managed to get hold of a set of the presentation St Modwen put on display at their brief consultation event. It should give you a feel for the monstrosity planned for Walthamstow.
Click on the "Read more..." link below to see all of the initial plans.

Simply click on one of the pages if you want to see it big enough to read the words...

Page 1
Note how the tower block bit is hidden as much as possible!

Page 2 Ah, there's the tower block looming over low-rise Walthamstow.

Page 3 St Modwen shows that it understands the site's context. And then blatantly disregards it with plans that don't include the EMD and that overshadow the surrounding houses and street market!

Page 4 The immortal words "It's (sic) elegant form could be as high as 18 storeys".

Page 5 Design philosophy: "The investigate the opportunity to incorporate a landmark tall building". Developer speak for £££.

Page 6 Some waffle about how they can make their huge metal and glass tower block sustainable by putting a bit of grass on the roof of one bit.

Page 7 Interesting they flag up Edmonton Green Shopping Centre, which locals tell us has been the kiss of death to their own street market.

Page 8 What happens next? If you don't want to see this 18-storey tower block in Walthamstow then get involved with Fight The Height!

Page 9 "Your views contribute"? The brief consultation has been and gone. Your only official chance to get involved now is with the planning application. But it's crucial that residents unite to tell the council and St Modwen that this tower block is not welcome...

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