Campaigners have lost their battle to stop developer Crest Nicholson demolishing part of a Grade II-listed former London chest hospital in Bethnal Green, as reported by the East London Advertiser.
East London Advertiser writes:
Crest Nicholson won its bid to build 291 homes by knocking down most of the former London Chest Hospital in Bethnal Green and moving a centuries old mulberry tree.
Tom Ridge, from the Residents First campaign group, said: ‘It’s very regrettable that the application was permitted. The hospital was the best of only two mid-nineteenth century chest hospitals in England. We have lost our hospital and heritage for luxury flats and so called affordable housing.’ The hospital’s main block dating back to 1855 remains but its roof will be replaced with a design critics labelled ‘fake heritage’. Council officers told Tower Hamlets planning chiefs the tree’s removal would probably kill it. Mr Ridge described it as ‘unique cultural icon and living memorial’ to six people killed after a parachute mine hit the hospital in March 1941…
Steve Westlake, Park View Tenants and Residents Association chairman, revealed that Crest Nicholson’s chairman threatened in a letter dated July 6 to remove the affordable housing offer if the application didn’t get approved. ‘This can be read as blackmail,’ Mr Westlake said before questioning whether the process had been fair. But council officer Paul Buckingham said that was common behaviour from developers. ‘It’s absolutely not a threat. This [decision] is not being made under duress,’ he said.
The council received 386 letters objecting to the bid – with one from as far away as Australia…. It received three in support…
The developer argued it was committed to putting the hospital at the heart of the scheme and would pay £1.7million towards community facilities. It paid £49.6m when it bought the site from Barts Health NHS Trust…
