Campaigners are continuing their fight to stop the demolition of the Museum of London's former home, despite planning permission being granted for a new office complex to be built in its place.
Plans to knock down the Museum of London and Bastion House, two 1970s buildings by Powell & Moya, which neighbour the Grade II listed Barbican estate, had been held up after Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, paused the process to examine the proposals. It turned out to be one of the last acts of his political career, as Gove lifted the Holding Direction allowing the planning permission to be given just days before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the general election. Gove then announced he would not be defending his Surrey Heath constituency.
But despite the controversial London Wall West proposals being green lit, it is likely to be years before any shovels are in the ground and campaigners are hopeful the buildings can yet be saved.
Averil Baldwin of the Barbican Quarter Action says those against it are planning their next move. “Nothing is going to happen for probably three years, so we’ve still got time. The planning committee voted to approve the scheme but the City will now look for a developer to take it on. Whoever that is will likely want to value-engineer the plans and make changes. It could get called in again. After the general election we’ll be urging the new secretary of state to ensure that the City of London Corporation abides by their own policy and the policy of the Greater London Authority, which is to seek retrofit first rather than demolition.”
She added that the embodied carbon in the two buildings and the emissions released by their destruction would also be in opposition to net zero targets, citing a recent High Court decision, which ruled the government’s current strategy insufficient. She said: “Developers wanted to retain and retrofit the existing buildings by Powell & Moya but their credible offers were ignored. This was and remains an opportunity for the City of London Corporation and the UK Government to lead the way and demonstrate a commitment to tackling the climate emergency.”
Ironically, Policy Exchange, the Conservative think tank that Michael Gove set up in 2002 published a report this month which backed the campaigners' opposition to the kind of high-rise buildings being proposed for the London Wall site. In a foreword to the report, the actor and TV presenter Griff Rhys Jones writes: “The City of London is a shiny, crooked wall. It is difficult to distinguish where one unimaginative, glass-clad slab ends, and another begins.” The report argues that the spread of tall buildings has harmed the historic fabric of cities like London and Manchester, resulting in the loss of heritage assets and key views.
Baldwin said another solution for the site could be to re-use it as a teaching venue. She says: “Universities outside London are desperate for London-based teaching space. Equally there are arts and cultural organisations which might be keen. Part of our focus now is to pick up any ideas for who might be interested in a new home here.”