A conservation group has submitted a letter of objection to the proposed redevelopment of London’s Smithfield Market. Save Britain’s Heritage (SAVE) says that Henderson Global Investors plan to introduce 230,000 sq ft of commercial space “constitutes the worst mutilation of a Victorian landmark in the last 30 years.”
The plans, drawn up by architects John McAslan and Partners, involve retaining the perimeter of the market hall and inserting a new office development into the gutted interior. Together with retail and leisure outlets, they say the office blocks will combine the most significant features of the original building with sensitive contemporary design.
Despite support from the Design Council and English Heritage, which describes Henderson and McAslan’s proposal as the only financially viable option for Smithfield, SAVE has consistently opposed the plans.
Last year the group enlisted architect John Burrell to come up with an alternative design for the site. Crucially for SAVE this plan, for a cultural and retail hub, preserves the lofty iron and glass roofs that typified Europe’s nineteenth century market buildings.
SAVE’s objection letter states that the Sir Horace Jones’ market hall forms part of an enclave of historic properties which have remained largely unchanged since he re-planned the whole neighbourhood in the 1870s and 1880s. It goes on to list ten grounds for objection and calls on the City of London Corporation to place the site on the open market to test the commercial viability of a conservation-led redevelopment.
This view is supported in an independent appraisal of the scheme. Challenging English Heritage’s revised position, the report concludes:
“As for the scheme being the optimum viable use of the site, it should be stressed that despite the request of the Planning Inspector and English Heritage at the time of the Inquiry, there has been no marketing of the site, freehold or leasehold.
“Without market testing there is no conclusive evidence that the current proposal is the optimum viable use for the site.
“Given the degree of harm caused, this scheme should not be allowed to proceed without such testing.”
Because the City of London Corporation is in the position of being both the owner of the land and the planning authority, SAVE’s objection is extremely unlikely to succeed. However, the group has vowed not to give up the fight and will press for a new public inquiry if the plans are approved.
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