Everyone agrees that it would be nice to pull down the 1975 Town Hall extension, and reinstate the monumental steps and the square in front of the 1930s Hammersmith Town Hall. The problem is the cost. The administration in Hammersmith (leader Stephen Greenhalgh) is trying to find someone else - a developer - to bear this cost and also provide new offices for the Council to replace those demolished, instead of getting council-tax payers to bear it. After all the extension was a mistake made by a previous council and in fairness the council should fix it at their own expense. Of course council-tax payers can't afford it in the present economic climate. The proposed scheme is a bad deal for council-tax payers: Helical Bar and Grainger plc will reinstate the square, yes, but only by foisting on us blocks of 15 storeys which are completely out of scale with the surrounding mainly Victorian architecture of 3-4 storeys and with the older riverside listed buildings. The riverside skyline will be ruined. The site is surrounded by many conservation areas, of which the Mall CA is the best. It is unique in London. The proposed scheme is vandalism. We don't want huge blocks of flats, comparable in size to Charing Cross Hospital, to be built to provide enough profit to fund the demolition of the 1975 extension. In addition the cinema and the mansions blocks (54 social housing flats) would be destroyed and not replaced to accommodate the 320 luxury apartments. It is better for Hammersmith Council to take a stepwise approach: sell the car park for a low-rise scheme in keeping with the surrounding area (while digging out and retaining a bigger underground car park), use the receipts to cover the quadrangle and get the new offices (if the Council still needs them after cutting so many jobs and outsourcing), and finally get the extension quietly pulled down in due course. But we will have to wait a few years for this less testosterone-fuelled, developer-led solution.

Entire Thread

Topic	Date Posted	Posted By
SaveOurSkyline Campaign	14/10/10 16:44:00	Madalyn Roker
Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	15/10/10 00:26:00	Rosemary Pettit
Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	16/10/10 06:58:00	Ellen Kearney
Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	16/10/10 15:55:00	Jenny Durley
Re:Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	18/10/10 14:42:00	Ellen Kearney
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	18/10/10 16:38:00	Rosemary Pettit
Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	16/10/10 19:34:00	Mrs Una Hodgkins
Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	20/10/10 14:03:00	Paul Corcoran
Re:Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	20/10/10 14:24:00	Rosemary Pettit
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	20/10/10 14:40:00	Paul Corcoran
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	20/10/10 15:47:00	Rosemary Pettit
Pocklington Trust Housing	20/10/10 17:43:00	Paul Corcoran
Re:Pocklington Trust Housing	20/10/10 17:54:00	Rosemary Pettit
Re:Re:Pocklington Trust Housing	20/10/10 18:14:00	Paul Corcoran
Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	04/11/10 07:42:00	Ellen Kearney
Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	04/11/10 12:56:00	Rosemary Pettit
Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	04/11/10 23:05:00	Paul Corcoran
Re:Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	10/11/10 12:49:00	Mrs Una Hodgkins
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	23/11/10 15:08:00	Ellen Kearney
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	23/11/10 15:34:00	Mrs Una Hodgkins
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	23/11/10 16:08:00	Rosemary Pettit
:SaveOurSkyline Campaign	23/11/10 16:51:00	Madalyn Roker
Re::SaveOurSkyline Campaign	23/11/10 17:04:00	Mrs Una Hodgkins
Re:Re::SaveOurSkyline Campaign	20/01/11 09:22:00	Paul Corcoran
Re:Re:Re::SaveOurSkyline Campaign	20/01/11 10:00:00	Mrs Una Hodgkins
Re:Re:Re:Re::SaveOurSkyline Campaign	21/01/11 09:06:00	Paul Corcoran
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re::SaveOurSkyline Campaign	16/02/11 13:57:00	Ellen Kearney

Forum Home