Dalston's £63million Olympic Transport Interchange (Not)

OPEN has been informed by Transport for London (TfL) that, despite its earlier claims, no particular use will be made of Dalston's £63m Transport Interchange during the 2012 Olympic Games.

The bus/rail interchange was built on The Slab - a massive, and massively expensive, concrete structure which spans over the Dalston Junction railway cutting. The Slab was purpose built to accommodate the "Transport Interchange" - a bus turnaround and bus stop where passengers could conveniently interchange between buses and trains within a single site

The front page article in this week's Hackney Gazette, and in The Telegraph, explain something of  this convoluted mystery . 

The Slab scheme involved demolition of Dalston's historic buildings and the Secretary of State wrote to OPEN's solicitor, Bill Parry-Davies, on 18.7.06 to explain her refusal to halt the demolitions by stating that “the proposed interchange will be a major transport interchange between the East London line northern extension, the North London line and London buses, an essential part of the transport improvements required for the London Olympics 2012”.

The Secretary of State explanation didn't make sense. The East London line at Dalston Junction does not interchange with the North London line which is at Dalston Kingsland. Neither do the buses from Dalston Junction go to the Olympic site.

Now, following a series of Environmental Information requests made on behalf of OPEN,  we learn from TfL that no increased use will be made of Dalston's Olympic bus stop at all during the 2012 Olympic Games. It seems that the Secretary of State was sadly misinformed by TfL when she was told The Slab was essential for the 2012 Olympics.

The Slab under construction over the Dalston Junction railway cutting. It was built to accommodate the bus/rail Transport Interchange on top of the rail station. The Dalston Square towerblocks, with 90% of the flats for private sale, and shops (still empty) were built to help pay of the scheme.

OPEN objected to the authorities at the time saying that The Slab would be the most expensive bus stand in history. There was widespread community opposition to the expense and vandalism of the scheme.

The demolitions included the 1886 Dalston Theatre, Georgian houses and the oldest circus entrance in the country. All were demolished when  the Council granted itself, and TfL, planning permission to build The Slab scheme ( known as Dalston Square) on the Council's and TfL's neighbouring sites. The Council didn't want to keep the old circus building but now we've been left with a massive, publicly subsidized, white elephant.

The architect's drawing of Dalston's 1886 circus entrance, with the 1898 variety theatre entrance built in front of it, which was at 12 Dalston Lane. These buildings became home to the legendary Four Aces Club and later The Labyrinth. OPEN's independent  engineer said they could be repaired, as did the Council's own Planning Department survey.  But the Council's officers reported to its Planning Committee was that they were beyond repair although their own engineer didn't even inspect these entrance buildings.  They were demolished in 2007.

The sale of the development sites to Barratt, to build retail units and tower block flats (with only 10% for affordable social housing), was insufficient to pay for TfLs estimated costs of building The Slab. So Hackney gave up its site on a peppercorn lease to help cross-subsidise the scheme. The sale was so under market value that Hackney had to get the Secretary of State to approve the deal.

There are 150 buses an hour passing through Dalston at peak times but TfL recently revealed that none of these would be using the bus station after all - because having to drive onto The Slab and off again would just delay passengers. These delays were pointed out to TfL by its own consultants, and OPEN, before The Slab was built. But TfL went ahead and spent the £63m regardless.  Of up to 70 buses an hour capacity that The Slab was built to service there are now only 5 buses an hour at peak times, and only since the 488 extension from Clapton to Dalston was introduced last year .

Dalston's empty Olympic Bus Stop on The Slab. A non-place which is now to be used by only the 488 bus route running 5 buses an hour during peak times and not up to 70 buses an hour capacity that it was designed for.

The cost of The Slab over Dalston Junction rose from an intial estimate of £18million to £26mn to £39mn and, finally, to an estimated £63mn during the course of the project. There was controversy when the escalating cost became public knowledge.

The Mayor of London promised to investigate. However Boris' report didn't explain the massive increase in the Slab's cost at all and even said that only one building was demolished to make way for the scheme. The report was a deluge of drivel.

Still, even if public money has gone down the drain, TfL's contractors, Balfour Beatty and Carillion, have had a good Olympics. In addition to building The Slab for TfL's Dalston Olympic Bus Stop they secured other valuable construction work in Hackney.  Balfour Beatty recently secured a £73million 5-year contract for the Council housing Decent Homes programme. Carrillon built the Media Centre on the 2012 Olympic site ( formerly public Lammas land). But, although Hackney still hopes the Media Centre will provide a lasting legacy for the borough, its demolition is now being considered as an option.

These two companies 2012 profits will dwarf the fines of over £5million each which they had to pay to settle allegations that entities within their companies had been involved in irregular practices in the West Midlands. The payments followed investigations by the government's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which discovered widespread price fixing and corrupt practices involving numerous construction companies when they tendered for public works projects.
 

Dalston solicitor suffers art attack

Dalston Lane solicitors' firm, Dowse & Co., have sustained an art artack. Graffiti art was painted onto their wall at the weekend. Enquiries with the Council reveal that their policy is to insist that owners of buildings remove grafitti or they send in the Environmental Enforcement Team to remove it and charge for the privilege.   Solicitor Bill Parry-Davies said  "It will cost us several hundred pounds if we have to remove the paint from the brickwork. So, who ever did this, thanks a lot guys! "


Funny how the policy doesn't seem to apply to the Council's own buildings, like these Georgian terraced houses in Dalston Lane Conservation Area which have been ruined by municipal neglect. These houses are part of a "conservation led regeneration programme" . But now they are so far gone that, they say, only the facades  can be saved. The Council has applied to itself  for planning permission to demolish the remainder You can comment on that here. 

Guess who's back. Re-developer returns to Dalston.

This winter scene shows the demolished Western Curve above the tunnels - between Ashwin Street and the High Street in the foreground and, in the distance, the Boleyn Road/High Street junction.

Transport for London, which led the scheme to demolish old historic Dalston and build the Dalston Square tower blocks, is back in Dalston with a new scheme. TfL propose that their partners, Taylor Wimpey, re-develop two of the key town centre sites which were demolished when the tunnels north of Dalston Junction station (towards Canonbury) were renewed. The sites are collectively know as the Western Curve.

The scheme, by architects RMA, is to be presented to the public at Bootstrap's Print House Gallery, 18 Ashwin Street, on Friday 15 June between 4pm and 8pm and on Saturday 16 June between 10am and 1pm. We urge all local people to attend and comment. A planning application is expected later in the year.

The Western Curve sites, which appear in dark purple on this diagram described as the Southern Site and the Northern Site,  are on the north side of Dalston Lane west of Ashwin Street and on the east side of Boleyn Road. Both have extensive High Street frontages.

Reeves Colour Works, which is being refurbished by Arcola Theatre, and Shiloh Church on the Southern Site have an open aspect presently but will be enclosed and concealed by the proposed scheme.

OPEN recently organised a meeting with Taylor Wimpey and RMA Architects to discuss their proposals. Tfl, the landowner, did not attend. It was pointed out that the scheme failed to make provision for any public  open or green space anywhere, that the proposed 15 < 20% of affordable housing does not met the policy target of 50%, that building heights exceeded the Dalston Area Action Plan current policies and would diminsh local heritage assets, that the buildings would enclose Ashwin Street and block light and views of the listed Reeves Colourworks building and Shiloh Church, and would be out of scale with the Boleyn Road buildings.You can read a more detailed critique of the scheme here.

The scheme will abut and dominate this historic 1902 terrace, by the Boleyn Road junction on the Northern Site, which includes Grade 2 listed Cooke's old Eels Pie and Mash shop (now Shanghai) and The Kingsland which English Heritage recently recommended should be listed by Hackney Council.

What is needed is a comprehensive "joined up" plan, which also considers the additional demolition sites in the area which are owned by TfL and Hackney Council and which addresses the issues of public open and green space, rather than the piecemeal approach proposed by TfL.

As mentioned above, the scheme does not comply with present Dalston Area Action Plan (DAAP) policies. The DAAP is to undergo an Examination in Public by a government appointed Inspector on 3rd July at the Town Hall. Both TfL and Taylor Wimpey have made written representations to the Inspector that they should be entitled to exceed the DAAP guidelines on building heights. OPEN has also made representations. You can read all of these here.

We hope that TfL/Taylor Wimpey will improve their plans before making a planning application. You can see and comment on the scheme. See the details below.

App Fab! Hackney Hear triumphant (again).

Multi-award winning Hackney Hear is the winner of the Race for Apps Gold Award which celebrates ground-breaking apps which successfully transform visitors' experience of the Hackney area. Produced by the Sony-award winning Hackney Podcast, the Hackney Hear iPhone app was launched in spring 2012 and is available for free download at www.hackneyhear.com. It's Director, Francesca Panetta, said "We're delighted....We hope that the app will help visitors to the Olympics and residents to explore our borough and its delights."
 

Triggering sound via GPS-location, Hackney Hear provides an innovative way to explore and rediscover London’s east end by combining sound and storytelling.The app uses “tri-sound technology” to totally immerse listeners in the area playing multiple combinations of words, music and sounds.

This fab app has been described by Independent Shoreditch as "a great example of creativity, technology and ingenuity...incredible" . It's an exemplar and the National Trust London is now developing a sister project "Soho Voices". It's Director said "Hackney Hear is the pioneering Big Daddy of the immersive audio tour – transcendental in scope and trippy in experience."

 

We're great fans of Hackney Podcast which uniquely chronicles contemporary Hackney's layers of cultural and social history. Here's another example of their sonic fabulousness!

HRH Camilla Duchess of Cornwall visits Dalston's Eastern Curve Garden

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, turned up at noon today, after a thorough security sweep, to have a look at Dalston's Eastern Curve Garden. News travel fast - the Garden is playing a key part in the Chelsea Fringe Flower Show.You can read a bit about the Garden's history here. 

Here is Camilla having a chat with OPEN Dalston's Marie Murray, who tends the garden, and its landscape designer Johanna Gibbons. You can read more about the Eastern Curve Garden events  here.

There's no doubt that in times of austerity the Eastern Curve Garden, which is Dalston's only green public space, provides a welcome respite to the thousands who visit Every year.