Comments on: The East End Preservation Society Launch

By: Stuart Grist

Stuart Grist — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 13:47:13 +0000

On my mother’s side, my family has lived in this area for as far back as she can trace. My grandad worked in the goodsyards at Bishopsgate until he retired. Now I live in Hackney and it is heartbreaking to watch everything which makes this part of London worth living in being systematically trashed by big money, and substituted with monstrous penile obscenities in concrete and glass. Change is inevitable, of course, but must we really continue stand by and weep while a criminal overclass drives to crush the human spirit with every chance they get?.

By: Bernice Selvey

Bernice Selvey — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 10:30:13 +0000

If only we could make them see sense, they are going to close the existing businesses in the area to make way for what? People with money and the Developers who give us the spin on the plans talk a good talk, but sadly it will be an area for the rich to live and the poor to visit. A complete turn around on history.

If the council were honest (God forbid) then they would say that they the area will be slashed and burnt and within 5 years it will be the fashionable place to live and who cares about the little person that has built a life there and the history in the area that makes the East End so very special.

By: Akhtar

Akhtar — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 13:53:19 +0000

Does the East End extend only up to the Bow flyerover? In my experience the East End boundary has widened and the EEPS needs to look further into neighbouring boroughs and even Essex to really understand what they are to be fighting againt and what they are retaining. The East End is starting to look a lot like mainland China with its tower blocks which is both disorientating and disturbing. I don’t know when we all decided we wanted the same shops across the whole of the nations high streets. I quite enjoy the walk to different areas of London to get a feel of the place, the local people, what they eat and how they experience life.

By: Toni

Toni — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 18:55:35 +0000

One of the biggest campaigns to save a very special piece of the East End has been raging for the past 3 years http://www.savekemp.org.uk. So sorry you seem to have missed it

By: Jonathan Rickard

Jonathan Rickard — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 22:31:29 +0000

It may be cheeky for a Yank to make suggestions, but I’ve been involved in preservation issues in the states and care about such things. You might find an ally in the Museum of London.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 18:25:51 +0000

Best wishes to the EEPS, from Canada. It is good to read about people getting together to care about something.

By: Allison & Peter Cranmer

Allison & Peter Cranmer — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 17:37:06 +0000

So happy to see this important step in preserving the older buildings of London. The saying “United we stand, divided we fall” is surely applicable to all those involved! Although we live many, many miles away when we do return to my husband’s former home we are saddened each time by the evolving skyline that seems to reward those with a vision that evokes the more odd and incongruous the architecture the better. (Reminded of the Beijing skyline where crazy experiments in architectural design are built while old neighbourhoods fall). In what seems to be a headlong desire to emulate the New York skyline London leaders seem to have lost their way about what makes London and the City beautiful and unique.

We will continue to sign petitions that come our way even though we are unable to actually participate in a broader way. Best of luck.

By: Luke Moloney

Luke Moloney — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 17:34:34 +0000

Bon courage!

By: Keith Chilvers

Keith Chilvers — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 17:21:34 +0000

I agree with Barbara’s point about the appalling 1950’s sci-fi comic vision of hell that is now Stratford and to fight these things local groups need to link in to London wide and nation-wide networks, such as the one provided by the CPRE, with its 80 or 90 years of experience in these matters.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 16:03:25 +0000

What struck me after I left the launch – if this is to truly be about the East End – we need to support the whole of what that encompasses. With Saif’s presentation as the exception, all of the campaigns were very much Hackney/Shoreditch-centric. I’m concerned about what’s going on in Stratford, and can only compare it to the vast urban sprawl seen in China or the US. The work there is post-modern anoymous, buildings far too large in scale for the neighbourhood which in no way reflect the River Lea, the industrial history of the area, the East End… It boggles my mind what has been allowed to happen here. Because this area has no strong voice, no affluent outspoken voices, Newham/Waltham Forest/Hackney/Tower Hamlets seem to have had carte blanche to give over everything to the highest bidders. When they built the Barbican, so much provision was made for the Museum of London, the Barbican Arts Centre, the Guildhall School of Music…. I can’t see any of this social planning in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Yes, luckily there is a new school. And they’ve built…one cafe according to the website. I love Shoreditch, and have worked there for years, but I think there are other neighbourhoods that really desperately need support right now too.