Beware The Curse Of Norton Folgate!
Click on Adam Dant’s map to enlarge
After Henry VIII destroyed the Priory of St Mary Spital, the Spanish Mystic, Dona Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza who resided in Spital Sq, placed a curse upon anyone who might seek to despoil Norton Folgate in future and this week the ancient curse is making itself felt.
Ever since Boris Johnson waved through British Land’s proposal to obliterate Norton Folgate under a hideous corporate plaza last week, there has been a cloud of gloom hanging over Spitalfields, as downcast residents trudge the streets with their eyes to the pavement and hands deep in pockets.
No-one was surprised when the Mayor overturned the Council’s unanimous decision in favour of the developer, since he has done it a dozen times before, yet everyone was sickened by his vanity and the British Land executives high-fiving each other in the chamber once they got their desired result.
But yesterday there was a sudden break in the cloud, as the joyous news circulated that The Spitalfields Trust has been granted a Judicial Review to challenge Boris Johnson on of each of the four grounds upon which they believe the Mayor erred in law by intervening in the Norton Folgate case in favour of British Land’s plans to destroy more than 70% of the fabric of their site in a Conservation Area.
As our shameless Mayor approaches the end of his tenure, we await the full hearing at the High Court in the Spring – but in the meantime you can read the full text of the Judicial Review documentation by clicking here.
Boris Johnson & British Land, Beware the Curse of Norton Folgate!
Adam Dant is producing a limited edition of thirty copies of his Map of Norton Folgate at £500 each – sized 30” x 22” and all hand-tinted by the artist. Contact AdamDant@gmail.com for purchase enquiries.
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What Boris-the-greedy has done is really criminal, I hope the High Court will be able to overrule him. Valerie
The trust’s akternative plans are so appropriate to the spirit of the area in human and urban geographical terms. That Boris and his cronies don’t get this is sad. The fight goes on.
I hope all goes well for the Trust in the forthcoming judicial review, may your gods be with you. Let us bloggers know the result. On a less serious note I would like to buy a tea towel with the map design shown ?a good fund raiser. John
May the curse fall roundly upon him. Such gloating greed and self-love is almost impossible to imagine. I hope, with all my Labour voting heart, that he gets absolutely everything in life that he deserves. Everything.
May the curse be upon him and all of his ilk! Let us keep fighting.
Living in a neighborhood savaged by malls and under constant assault by heedless developers heaping ugly apartment blocks where small houses used to be, I have so much sympathy for your cause. Don’t awaken in a foreign land, as I do. Good luck to your worthy fight.
I could not be more pleased for Spiltalfieds. And may the old saying “as ye sow, so shall ye reap” see justice done to blight Boris Johnson’s credibility in future. He has demonstrated he cannot be entrusted with the country’s valuables.
Let’s hope that silver lining stays bright!
The Spitalfields Trust must win if only to validate the democratic process. Giving that arch-narcissist, Boris one in the eye would be the icing on the cake.
I couldn’t agree more, may the curse of Norton Folgate strike down Boris and all his greedy cronies, they are despicable, and the story of the high fives just beggars belief, how do they sleep at night. What exactly will happen if the JR finds against Boris where will British Land stand then? Are they forbidden to start any work on the site before the decision is made?
Appropriately, and if you didn’t know, Incomers, part of the 1985 Ours To Keep BBC documentary series can be found on BBC iPlayer.
Incomers tells the story of the restoration of Georgian houses in Spitalfields by Dan Cruikshank and others. I’m sure you know the story. Here’s the link.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00t3f42/ours-to-keep-incomers
And good luck folks.
Wonderful development. I hope the Guardian picks up on this and the judges see the light
from america, where we have a glut of odium going on, i am here to tell you bojo is almost as odious as our clowns. perhaps even more so ’cause he’s smarter, sneaker, and in office. ugh.
…..that would be sneakier.