Tags
City of London Corporation, Dorset Street, Exemplar, LBTH Planning, London Fruit and Wool Exchange, Spitalfields, Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust, Tower Hamlets
Last night at the Town Hall, Tower Hamlets councillors voted across party lines to strike down Exemplar’s plans for the demolition of the Fruit & Wool Exchange, Gun Pub and Dorset Street and reject the advice of their own planning – and conservation – officers who argued strenuously that the demolition should go ahead.
A sole dissenting voice was Councillors Helal Abbas who praised Exemplar’s scheme, but in the end abstained in the vote.
Councillors agreed with us that;
– The Fruit and Wool, Barclays, and the Gun Pub are fine old buildings worthy of saving
– 16th Century Dorset Street should be saved and re-opened
– housing should be re-introduced on site
– a mixed use development with ground floor shops would provide jobs for local people.
This is an extraordinary victory for local opinion against a big
developer, and saves a huge chunk of Spitalfields from being absorbed
as bland City office space.
A huge thank you to all of you who campaigned with us on this
issue, and who recruited friends and colleagues. Without your letters,
texts, and e mails this battle would never have been won.
Thank you too to our friends in the Spitalfields Trust who stood
shoulder to shoulder with us in the campaign.
Additional information and history on the Fruit and Wool Exchange can be found here:
Save the London Fruit and Wool Exchange Facebook Page
Spitalfields Life Blog – At The Fruit and Wool Exchange 1937
Spitalfields Community Action 