Dalston’s heritage suffered a massive blow on Monday when campaigners lost an appeal to save a row of Georgian houses.
Save Dalston Lane campaigners were left disappointed when High Court Justice Andrew Collins said in a judicial review that there was no chance of the buildings being rescued.
Campaigners raised thousands of pounds to fund their crusade to stop the buildings being knocked down by contractors Murphy’s.
But the group’s proposal to have The Spitalfield Trust create 24 affordable homes on the site instead was thrown out by Mr Justice Collins, who said that it did not represent “the optimum viable use”.
Only last Sunday celebrities joined campaigners at an event at the Passing Clouds venue in Richmond Road in support of Save Dalston Lane.
Eminent art historian Dan Cruickshank made a speech blasting the move to destroy the houses as “utterly unneccesary”.
“It is a destruction of the beauty and memory of Hackney.”
Sandra Agard, a Save Dalston Lane campaigner, expressed her fears that Dalston Lane will now go the same way as Kingsland Waste Market, which she described as “a wasteland.”
Michael Rosen, the famous children’s author who also took part in the workshop, said after the judicial review decision: “I wonder how it is that elected representatives can think they are doing a good job on behalf of the people.
“They spend years neglecting fine historical buildings, longstanding tenancies and then spend thousands of pounds in court to justify demolishing the buildings with the argument that it was their neglect that made it necessary.”
The campaigners’ only remaining option is to appeal against the decision.
