Conservation campaigners in Hackney have reacted angrily to plans approved last week to demolish a terrace of Georgian houses in Dalston.
The strip of largely boarded-up shops close to Dalston Junction station – many of which have stood vacant for around 20 years – will be turned into flats and shops.
The application was given the green light at a planning meeting last week despite objections from conservation groups and local residents.
The buildings, at 48-76 Dalston Lane, fall within a conservation area but are not listed for protection.
Loss of heritage
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings said it was “deeply concerned” with the plans which would leave the street suffering “a significant loss of integrity and authenticity.”
The demolition had been postponed last month following complaints from conservation group OPEN Dalston, but was confirmed during a council planning sub-committee on 5 March.
OPEN Dalston received 785 objections to the demolition, a record number of complaints.
Hackney Society spokesman Nick Perry labelled the proposals a “poor imitation” and said the historic buildings could have been saved.
“It’s a great shame that in the face of overwhelming advice from a wealth of heritage organisations and a professional specialist that the Chair voted for demolition,” he said.
“Small changes to the proposed plans could have saved these buildings but Hackney Council have allowed the destruction of the last vestiges of historic fabric in Dalston Lane.
“In our opinion this is a decision that is not only clearly wrong but one that does enormous damage to any claim Hackney may make to be guardians and custodians of heritage in the borough.”
Two music shops, the last businesses to have remained in the terrace, have secured leases in the new development.
But Peter Powell, owner of Hy-Tek Electronics shop, said tenants had previously been “badly treated”, although he is now satisfied that space had been guaranteed for him to reopen his store.
A spokesman for Hackney Council said: “Planning permission was granted for the demolition after a structural report concluded the façade could not be retained.
“The conservation-led redevelopment will provide new council-owned shops with existing Dalston Lane businesses included, and 44 new homes.”
Hackney Council is a disgrace, flouting planning law and disregarding local opinion. An Orwellian distortion of the term “conservation-led!
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