Hackney Mayor accused over tower plans for Shoreditch and Hackney Downs
Hackney’s elected mayor, Jules Pipe. Photograph: Hackney Council
Hackney’s mayor Jules Pipe has launched a campaign to ‘save Shoreditch’ from a £800 million scheme backed by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, for two high-rise towers containing luxury flats on the Bishopsgate Goodsyard site.
But James MacDaid, Chair of Nightingale Partnership Resident’s Association, is questioning the consistency of the mayor’s position, as the council has plans to promote a high-rise housing scheme in Hackney Downs, called Downsview, that will not include any affordable housing.
“I would like to query the Mayor’s reasons for regarding the environment between Bethnal Green Road and Commercial Street as more precious than that of Hackney Downs,” said Mr MacDaid.
In response, Mayor Pipe said: “There is no comparison between the Bishopsgate scheme and the Council proposal for Downsview.
“The Bishopsgate scheme threatens the area with high-rise luxury flats of up to 48 storeys that will do nothing to benefit local residents.
“The Council proposal for Downsview is a medium-rise scheme with a 13-storey building, the purpose of which is entirely about generating funds for the building of school places and affordable housing for which the Government will not give us sufficient funding.
“One is about lining the pockets of developers and investors, the other entirely about being able to build social infrastructure that this borough needs.”
Towering: Bishopsgate Goodsyard
Plans for a lower-rise, alternative design for Bishopsgate Goodsyard, commissioned by Hackney Council, see the controversial towers replaced by an employment-led development featuring ‘layers’ of workspace.
Related:
Leader – Mayor must stand tall to block towers
Tower power – building up to more school places
Mayor of Hackney slams ‘out of scale’ plans for Bishopsgate Goodsyard
Bishopsgate Goodsyard: document used to justify lack of affordable housing revealed
Revealed: Hackney Council’s ‘alternative’ designs for Bishopsgate Goodsyard
48 stories versus 13 stories? Can we assume that by giving the ‘hypocrisy’ story legs, the Hackney Citizen is opposed to the Hackney Downs development?
@Kate Thank you for your comment. You may be interested in Leader – Mayor must stand tall to block towers and also Tower power – building up to more school places – Ed.
Bards or Beards?
Re: Curtain lifted on £750m Shoreditch JV deal:
http://www.costar.co.uk/en/assets/news/2015/March/Curtain-lifted-on-750m-Shoreditch-JV-deal/
Hackney have granted a 250 year lease to the Bard Family under the name ‘Plough Yard Developments’ who, in turn, are flipping it on under a new 250 year lease to the American Private Investment Company Cain Hoy to fund the development
This does raise a couple of questions:
Why would Hackney grant such a lease to ‘Plough Yard Developments,’ a company with no visible means of support:
and
Does the National Heritage agree with The Curtain Theatre being owned, for 250 years, by Americans?
Thanks in advance for your anyone’s comments
Peter