JUDICIAL REVIEW 11 and 12 November 2010
Trillium (Developers) made two planning applications for the demolition of the former POPLAR EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE at 307 Burdett Road, and both were refused by Tower Hamlets Council. One of the reasons for refusing the 2009 application for demolition and replacement by an 11-storey block of flats was that the building makes a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the Limehouse Cut Conservation Area. Trillium responded by starting judicial review proceedings in the High Court against the Council’s designation of the conservation area, with a view to having it quashed.
The judicial review will be held on 11 and 12 November at Administrative Court Office
The Royal Courts of Justice,
Strand,
London
WC2A 2LL
It is absolutely essential for local residents and others to attend so that the judges can see the extent of support for the conservation area. Please meet up outside by 9.45 am on Thursday 11 November 2010; and, if necessary, please also attend on Friday 12 November.
Should Trillium win in the High Court, the Limehouse Cut Conservation Area would be revoked. Consequently, the former POPLAR EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE, and several other buildings in the construction area, would almost certainly be demolished for tall blocks of flats. Most of the historic canalscape on London’s oldest canal would be lost and the canal would become a sunless concrete canyon.
We cannot say or do anything in the High Court but we can at least try to present our petition asking Trillium to allow the former POPLAR EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE to be retained and adapted as a training and social enterprise centre for unemployed people, called the Lansbury Centre.
Public Inquiry
Trillium also appealed to the Planning Inspectorate with respect to both refusals and it has just been announced that there will be a full public inquiry after the judicial review and possibly in February 2011. Of course, should the Council lose in the High Court, one of the main reasons for refusal would be removed. A third planning application would be likely, and the Council might prefer to grant planning permission for the demolition and replacement of the former POPLAR EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE, rather than risk having to bear all the costs of a full public inquiry.