Local artists comment on the authorities vision

Take a stroll along Dalston Lane and see what local people have to say about Hackney Council's plans for New Dalston



Local artists have also added their comments to TfLs "artist impression" of its proposed tower block development (left click to see the images bigger)



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Municipal vandals have destroyed our children's heritage

The municipal vandals have completed the demolition of Dalston's heritage buildings. They have destroyed the earliest surviving circus entrance in England. This 1886 entrance, with its stepped parapet and Corinthian pilasters, was described as "extremely rare" by the Theatres Trust and as "altogether quite delightful" by English Heritage. It was an urban gem.

The philistines have also destroyed the 1898 entrance to Dalston Variety Theatre, built forward from the circus entrance, and which for 33 years was the home of Newton Dunbar's legendary reggae and soul music club, The Four Aces, and became a second home to international black musicians.


Gone too are the locally listed Georgian houses next door,the earliest in Dalston Lane, which the Council's policy was to "preserve and enhance", and which made up this unique group of historic buildings.




Also destroyed forever is the Dalston Theatre, where Hackney's own international music hall star Marie Lloyd worked and which Compton MacKenzie's father managed. The magnificent interiors became the jewel in Dalston's crown in 1920 when it was converted, at enormous expense, into a cinema. In its final years the Theatre became the home of the Labyrinth Club.




Hackney Council acquired these heritage buildings in 1977 and their destruction began in 1995 when it declared the Theatre a development site. The Theatre's roof was removed, the occupiers evicted, the buildings were boarded up and they ran to ruin whilst the Council awaited offers from developers.

The demolitions have been financed by the London Development Agency, with the agreement and approval of Transport for London and the Greater London Authority.



The government refused to intervene. The authorities said that redevelopment of the site with tower blocks, and children living up to the 20th floor, was essential to finance New Dalston's transport interchange as part of the 2012 Olympic infrastructure. The Council will give TfL the profit from the sale of its site to meet the £39 cost of a concrete slab for a bus station above the rail station



These buildings stood as landmarks in our lives and in the lives of Dalston's previous generations. Since April 2005 OPEN has fought to save something of the site's 185 year diverse cultural history. We informed and worked with the community, we sought to persuade the authorities through consultation, petitions, planning objections and personal contacts. We obtained four Court injunctions to stay their hand. But the forces of municipal vandalism had made up their minds long before the public consultation started and have now achieved their objectives.

The Vandals: an eastern Germanic tribe which earned notoriety by it sacking Rome in the 5th century but which was defeated by the Goths.
Vandalism: the gratuitous anti-social destruction of the environment and artistic creations.
Municipal vandalism: the destruction of our cultural heritage by corporate ignorance, deliberate neglect, vanity and greed all in the name of progress



Hackney Council and Transport for London now have plans to complete the demolition and Croydonisation of the remainder of Dalston Junction. The writing is on the wall.

“Con”
noun: a complicated confidence trick planned and executed with great care;
verb: to deprive of by deceit;
colloquial: abbreviation of consultation

How did this happen? Read the posting
"The story that was never told" for a more detailed history.

Hackney rips the heart out of Dalston

How it was - despite the years of deliberate neglect by Hackney Council, the buildings had survived: the pair of 1820's Georgian houses, the original 1886 circus entrance, the 1898 Theatre Entrance in front of it (aka The Four Aces Club) and the Dalston Theatre behind (aka The Labyrinth).

"There is absolutely no doubt, based on my experience, that (these buildings) can be satisfactorily brought back to a situation where they can be reused. My experience suggests that repair will not be excessively expensive."
Brian A Morton MBE C.Eng MICE Dip Conservation(AA) IHBC Structural Engineer to Canterbury and Bury St Edmunds Cathedrals and the Spitalfields Trust

How it could have been - restored as part of a new housing and railway station development.


"[These buildings] represent the heart and soul of Dalston. We believe they represent both the past and the future of Dalston’s prosperity. We want to see them restored so that we can show our grandchildren how Dalston used to be and so they can share our pride in our heritage and identity."
Ridley Road Market Traders Association


How it is today - destroyed by Hackney Council with the approval and agreement of Transport for London, the Greater London Authority and the Secretary of State.

The Philistines
Noun: the natives or inhabitants of ancient Philistia
Adjective: those who pursue only material gain and who place no value on beauty, culture or artistic creations;
Philistinism: the vandalism of our heritage and culture as justified by institutional policy.

How did this happen ? See the posting "The story that was never told".

Hackney destroys its local listed buildings

The destruction of the Dalston Theatre continues. The rear of the original circus entrance, with its 1886 arch under which elephants may have passed to enter the circus ring, has now been revealed. The Theatres Trust advised that this 1886 entrance is “important both architecturally and historically...actually very rare because it pre-dates all of the surviving British examples”. But the Theatres Trust letter of objection was not shown to the Planning Committee and the Council’s report advised that these buildings are “ not of such merit architecturally or from the point of view of historic interest to warrant retention”.
Now the Council’s contractors have also ripped the back off 10 Dalston Lane, one of the earliest surviving Georgian buildings in Dalston Lane, and which is "locally listed". The Council's policy is to "retain and enhance" such locally listed buildings. The Council’s most recent policy statement, in September 2005, claimed “Most buildings in Hackney are not listed but many are of group value and have particular historical associations or are cherished local landmarks. The Council is committed to keeping such buildings wherever possible and views them as an asset for regeneration and for their relevance to diverse local communities”. However the Council did not consider the possibility of retaining any of these buildings as part of the new development.

The destruction of Dalston Theatre has begun

"We are championing the historic environment and using the Borough’s heritage as a key component of economic regeneration... " Hackney Council, September 2005













Independant environmental consultants, White Young Green, advised the Council "...given the strength of local public feeling towards the site, the nature of the development and the loss of the theatre building in particular...a more detailed analysis of alternative development schemes considered for this site would be helpful...". The Council did not consider any alternative to demolishing these buildings.



















English Heritage commented in June 2005 "..parts of the site have a strong historic character...These should be retained where possible and used positively to inform new patterns of development and reinforce the areas character and identity..". The Council officer's report to the Hackney Committee said that English Heritage had not commented.













Ken Livingstone's London Plan prescribes 50% affordable housing in new developments. Hackney Council's Planning Brief for the site prescribed 50% affordable housing and a maximum of 12-15 storeys. The new developments here will have only 24% affordable housing, towerblocks of up to 20 storeys and with families with children living up to the top floor.



















The Council's property consultants, Drivers Jonas, stated that "Throughout the project it has been the intention of the client group (ie the landowners Hackney Council and Transport for London) that any land value arising from the Dalston Lane south proposals would contribute to the extraordinary costs of construction of the slab". In other words,they had decided before the public consultation started that Dalston's heritage buildings were to be demolished to pay for TfL's £39million new bus station which is to be built over Dalston station. That cost works out at over £2million per bus stand and Dalston being blighted.















The Council's own architects, Arup Associates Ltd., had proposed in their Environmental Impact Assessment report that an event be held to celebrate the history of Dalston Theatre before its demolition. OPEN had made a similar proposal to the Council. These suggestions have been ignored by the Council. There has been no event to celebrate this building's service which has been to provide public entertainment and performance arts in Dalston for over 120 years.

For a more detailed history of this site, please see the posting below "The story that was never told"




All photos are the copyright of Mike Wells
+44 77 99 152 888

Hackney prepares for demolition

It's finally curtains for Dalston Theatre














and for the Four Aces Club


















and it looks like curtains for the oldest surviving circus entrance in England






















where Sir Robert Fosset's circus performed in its first season 1886






The Council is finally to achieve its objective. In 1995 the Council declared the Dalston Theatre a site for redevelopment. In 1997, despite a petition of 25,000 signatures and 12 deputations, the Council still decided to evict the Four Aces, Labrynth and community organisations from the buildings so that it could sell the site to a developer. The development didn't materialise. Then in 2003, after the buildings had remained boarded up and on death row for 5 years, the Secretary of State gave outline approval on appeal for their demolition and redevelopment. Since December 2005 OPEN has obtained court injunctions to stay the Council's hand and urged the authorities to consider reusing at least some of the buildings. But the decision to fund New Dalston's Olympic bus station, by demolishing historic Dalston and selling the land for towerblock developments, had already been taken before the recent public consultation started. The Council, the Greater London Authority and the Secretary of State have refused to change the plans. Next they will implement the demolition plans for Dalston Lane north. All these decisions have contributed to the planned destruction of old Dalston.

The Philistines
Noun: the natives or inhabitants of ancient Philistia
Adjective: those who pursue only material gain and who place no value on beauty, culture or artistic creations;
Philistinism: the vandalism of our heritage and culture as justified by institutional policy.

Hackney Council free to demolish Dalston’s heritage buildings

High Court Judge refuses OPEN permission to proceed with legal challenge
On 29 November Judge Gilbart QC refused OPEN permission to proceed with judicial review of the planning permissions granted by Hackney Council to demolish the Dalston Theatre, the locally listed Georgian houses and the oldest Circus entrance in the UK at 4-12 Dalston Lane E8. The planning permission entitles the London Development Agency (LDA) to replace the historic buildings with residential towerblocks of up to 20 storeys but which will have only 24% affordable housing. The Greater London Authority and the Secretary of State have refused to intervene.

The Judge found, in effect, that the Council has a very wide discretion as to how it may deal with its property. The Council was, for example, entitled to depart from its policies which aim to protect and retain historic buildings, and was not under a duty to consider an alternative scheme for the site which would incorporate any of the historic buildings or to asses their viability for re-use, particularly when there was a redevelopment scheme proposed which the Council approved. The Judge’s view conflicts with the legal advice which OPEN had previously received.

The Judge also refused OPEN’s application for there to be a cap on the legal costs which might be claimed by Hackney Council from OPEN should the case proceed and ultimately be lost.

The Council has produced documented evidence that it had been charged over £90,000 by a security firm for the eviction of the theatre occupiers on 2 November and that it is paying for 24 hour guards on the site, at a cost of over £22,000 per week, to secure the site until the demolition. The Council required OPENs agreement to meet those expenses if the injunction protecting the buildings from demolition were to be extended.

Injunction discharged – Hackney Council free to demolish Dalston’s heritage buildings
In view of the Judge's decision, and the prospect of facing an unlimited liability for costs and possibly a claim for the Council’s security expenses should the case continue and be lost at the end of the day, OPEN Directors felt unable to pursue the claim for an extension of the injunction. On this basis the injunction protecting the historic buildings has been discharged by agreement on 1 December. Hackney Council is now free to proceed with demolition.

London Development Agency and Transport for London claim immediate decision had to be made
Lord Low of Dalston had arranged a meeting on 17 November between the London Development Agency’s Chief Executive Manny Lewis and OPEN’s representatives, to discuss the numerous concerns about the LDA’s plans for Dalston. On 29 November the LDA responded to the issues raised, saying that it could take around 15 months for a major redesign of the scheme and that there would be substantial expense to incorporate any of the historic buildings.
The TfL scheme is to be subsidised by the sale of its own and the Council’s demolished site to a developer, Barratt’s. The LDA stated that Transport for London’s timescale, to conclude the contract to build a concrete slab over the railway cutting to support a bus station and private towerblock flats, meant that an immediate decision needed to be made whether to proceed with the two schemes which had been granted planning permission by Hackney Council.

Expert Opinion said Theatre and Georgian houses could be saved at reasonable cost
When reviewing the structural engineer’s reports obtained by the Council OPENs independent structural engineer Brian Morton MBE said “The condition of the historic buildings has been brought about by the deliberate neglect of the owners....We have repaired many buildings in similar condition, indeed some in much worse condition, and these works have not proved significantly expensive”.

Consultation a sham
For 18 months OPEN has been urging the authorities to consider preserving something of Dalston’s unique historic character to assist the regeneration of the area. What has become clear is that they agreed to demolish everything long before the public consultation started so they could maximize the profit from the sale of the Council’s site to finance TfLs new bus station. The hundreds of legitimate objections from the local business and residential community, and from national societies and trusts, have fallen on deaf ears. Now they say that it is too late to change their plans.
A history of this site can be seen below at "The story that was never told".
OPEN’s campaigns for genuine public consultation and sustainable developments which meet local needs will continue