Elsewhere, sense prevails...

Farewell to the 1960s, 17-storey Glencairn Tower in Motherwell

Here in Walthamstow, our councillors are still rubberstamping new towerblocks. Up in Scotland they're busy blowing them up! We challenge anyone not to enjoy videos like this one from BBC News.

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Walthamstow Central tower block, now with even more hotel rooms!

They've just started work on the grim tower block at Walthamstow Central station car park. But news reaches us that they have already filed a new planning application - to increase the number of hotel rooms and change design elements. See the letter below (click on it to read), which rather marvellously they only sent to residents on one side of Priory Avenue!
Details of how to complain are on the letter too - deadline 22nd November.

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Arcade Site update

The council has now inked its agreement with Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA) to develop the Arcade site. You can see the latest news on their plans here and also download a recent presentation on their ideas.

ISHA and their architects are making all the right noises about working with residents, a good quality development, family and affordable housing, not building enormous tower blocks, etc. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating. And we haven't seen residents' concerned taken on board yet. So let's hope the delays (they were hoping to file a planning application last month but they're still in talks with the potential cinema operator) give them plenty of time to improve the plans. Wouldn't it be nice to *not* have a fight on our hands just this once?!!!

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Have your say on locally listed buildings

If you care about which local buildings are added to the council's list (or indeed taken off it) then check out this consultation before the deadline of 25 November. Note that while the dog track and a couple of other important local buildings are being taken off the list, that's apparently because they are now listed by English Heritage which gives them more protection than the council's list.

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Tower block work starts

Work is finally underway for what will quite possibly be the ugliest and most depressing tower block in the world, at Walthamstow Central station. We say finally not because we want it there (it does loom a bit in the picture, no?) but because developer Solum swore back in January that they'd start work soon and that it'd be complete in time for the Olympics. We always said that was tosh designed to blackmail the council into rushing through planning permission. And now we're sure of it!

Anyway, we do hope that the real thing is less miserable looking - maybe the person who did the artist's impression was feeling a bit low that day...

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