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Thursday 21 September 2006

Historic Dalston's demolition is one step nearer

On 4th September, the Council granted planning permission to the London Development Agency to demolish Dalston Theatre and Georgian houses and redevelop the site with towerblocks. The Council claims that whether any of the historic buildings can be repaired and reused is irrelevant. It claims that only with permission to build towerblocks would the proposed sale of the site to Barratts raise enough money to fund TfL's £38million neigbouring bus station development and that these developments are a once in a lifetime opportunity to “regenerate” Dalston which must not be missed.

If reuse of any of the historic buildings is to be considered then OPEN must start new Court proceedings to challenge the permission granted to the LDA.

Theatre occupiers call for assistance

The Dalston Theatre was occupied last February when the Council granted itself planning permission to demolish the buildings. In response to recent developments the Theatre's occupiers have issued a fresh call to resist the demolitions.



Jaw not War

Neither the Council's Mayor nor its local Councillors nor the LDA have attended any of OPENs public meetings despite invitations to do so. Last May OPEN again invited the Council to meet to discuss its concerns but this proposal was ignored. The Council are reported in the press to now want dialogue and not further court action.

4 comments:

  1. Hi
    I am an architecture student studying law, and am currently looking at several local projects to write a paper on and this is one of great interest.
    i am aware of the situation at dalston, and have found your blog interesting, but i would like to do further research. would you be able to point me in the right direction at all, or let me know of other websites regarding the issues at dalston.
    it would be very much appreciated.
    regards,
    amy

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  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  3. And now it is too late! I climbed a fire escape in a school playground - no, I wasn't arrested - and took photographs of the demolition of the theatre. It was very sad to see, but someone had to record this staggering act of municipal vandalism. A tragedy.
    Regards,

    Charlie

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  4. Greetings. I lived west of Dalston in Newington Green, but Dalston Junction was the magnet for me as a kid. I went often to the Gaumont Dalston as the Dalston Theater was called then. It was the theater for our Saturday morning picture club. It was on the Dalston stage that I was awarded first prize for my essay on the North London Line. Even here in the United States I feel a great sense of loss over the demise of old Dalston. The Odeon, Plaza, ABC, and Coliseum are all gone, but at least the old Classic cinema remains as the Rio.
    Every Saturday, I would help my father with his stall on the "Waste" and then there would be a trip back to Cookes for pie and mash for dinner. I wonder if the old plane tree, reputed to be the oldest in London at the time, is still there further down towards Graham Road.
    regards
    Roy Barnacle
    WAYLAND MA USA

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