22nd December 2021
The High Court has rejected SAVE Britain's Heritage's case for a Judicial Review of the City of London’s decision to grant itself permission for a large controversial development in one of London’s best-known thoroughfares.
Under the highly controversial plans, a large chunk of buildings on Fleet Street and adjoining alleyways would be gouged out for a massive new 18-courtroom complex, a new ten-storey police station and an office block, squeezed into a cramped site. SAVE considers the proposals raise significant issues regarding the management and protection of the City of London’s historic environment, and in particular, the Fleet Street Conservation Area and multiple unlisted buildings which contribute to its national significance.
Both SAVE and Historic England objected, arguing that the proposals caused major harm to the Fleet Street conservation area as well as the of 1, Salisbury Square and 8, Salisbury Court. SAVE remains convinced that the case for the development is deeply flawed and a colossal breach of the Government's own carbon zero targets.
In a hearing on 16th December before Judge Stephen Eyre, SAVE was opposed by two sets of lawyers acting for the City Corporation as both applicant and planning authority.
Our case was ably put by Richard Harwood QC who has handled a series of successful legal challenges for SAVE with Kimberley Ziha as his junior. SAVE’s solicitor was David Cooper who won two public Inquiries for SAVE over Smithfield General Market leading to its current transformation into a new home for the Museum of London.
Marcus Binney, executive president of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, says “The City Corporation and the Ministry of Justice are proposing a monstrous blot on one of the finest and most famous thoroughfares in London. Their windowless facades step straight out of George Orwell’s 1984 and the Stasi.”
Marcus Binney continues “It is appalling that such a controversial scheme blowing a major whole in one of London’s most renowned streets should be waived through with the applicant as judge of its own case. SAVE is determined this should not be a precedent.”
Henrietta Billings, director of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, says “Conservation areas are designed to recognise and protect the special character, flair and heritage of our important streets and places. We have also objected to the monolithic scale and singular design of the buildings proposed which is totally at odds with the characterful and varied historic frontages which make Fleet Street and the conservation areas along its length so special. Large scale demolition-creep of this kind is crass and short-sighted in any location - let alone in a so-called conservation area.”
Eric Reynolds, Chairman of SAVE Britain's Heritage Trustees, says: "Huge developments like this in relative narrow historic streets cause major disruption with their intrusive hoardings and pavement diversions which can last for years and blight neighbouring properties in complete contradiction to official policies to make London's streets lively and attractive places for pedestrians"
David Cooper, solicitor, David Cooper & Co., says: “We are disappointed with the high court decision regarding both the merits and the award of two sets of costs when the arguments were almost identical”
During these proceedings the real client for these new courts, the Ministry of Justice, has remained mute, saying the City is paying for the Courts. The Ministry is thereby ignoring the huge carbon hit which is in total contradiction to Government and Ministerial policy.
In SAVE's view the City failed to recognise the importance of the processional route along Fleet Street to St Pauls Cathedral. Fleet Street, more than any other thoroughfare in London, evokes eight centuries of national history beginning with narrow building plots dating from medieval times to newspaper palaces like the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Express, numerous splendid banking houses including a branch of the Bank of England, and numerous premises where newspapers where were printed day and night. With its mix of lively narrowing frontages in vigorous Victorian Revival style. Fleet Street is testimony to way that in London small businesses have mixed with great ones.
The City's decision in favour of its case should have triggered a public inquiry and when ministers failed to intervene it was left to SAVE to mount a legal challenge. The essence of SAVE’s case s that the City Corporation failed to give sufficient weight to the harm done to historic buildings. We argued that the City made an error of law in failing to give great weight to Historic England’s advice which flagged up the need weigh up the heritage harm of the proposals versus the specific public benefits of demolishing the buildings on Salisbury Square and Salisbury Court. This resulted in a failure to carry out that balancing exercise – a further error of planning law.
Nothing was more expressive of the David and Goliath nature of this challenge than the City's employment of two sets of lawyers - one acting for it as planning authority, the other as applicant and seeking to deny SAVE the Aarhus Convention protection which allows individuals and small organisations to challenge state parties and large corporations and developers without exposure to ruinous costs. The judge in the High Court last week agreed to re-instate our costs protection – thanks to the well-argued case made by Richard Harwood QC on our behalf.
Background
Fleet Street has been one of London’s most historic thoroughfares since Roman times, and today runs all the way from the West End to the heart of the City’s historic ‘Square Mile’ at Ludgate Circus. The eclectic mix of historic buildings along its length make Fleet Street one of London's most characterful and recognisable streets. Together with the Strand to its western end, Fleet Street has served as a ceremonial procession route from St Paul's Cathedral to Buckingham Palace for many centuries.
The City of London’s Fleet Street Conservation Area Character Summary and Management Strategy Supplementary Planning Documents state that Fleet Street is one of London’s most characterful and important historic areas. Of particular note is the street’s complex and rich variety of buildings which illustrate unique elements from many periods of historic development, right up to the modern day.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. For more information and images contact Ben Oakley, Conservation Officer at SAVE Britain's Heritage: [email protected] / 07388 181 181.
2. See here for our previous Fleet Street campaign press release.
3. See here to sign our public petition against the plans.
4. SAVE Britain’s Heritage has been campaigning for historic buildings since its formation in 1975 by a group of architectural historians, writers, journalists and planners. It is a strong, independent voice in conservation, free to respond rapidly to emergencies and to speak out loud for the historic built environment.
