The Times today, a full page article “Keir Starmer is so ill-informed”. Basically it’s an interview with Griff Rhys-Jones, who is President of the Victorian Society. “Recycling good historic buildings should be at the heart of policy” he says. He is passionate about heritage.
He mentions the proposal to replace M&S Orchard House and that “it would release 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
”If he could sit down with Starmer and Rayner, what would he tell them? ……’Conservation is commercially very valuable. It gives an area its character, it creates places where people want to live and work. It’s not just about preserving an old building, it’s a record. A record of the continuity of this town that we live in, and a reminder that we are only looking after it for a bit.”
I was shocked to read in the article that in the 1960s and 1970s, there were plans to demolish Fitzrovia to make way for a six-lane highway. Can you imagine? Griff lives in Fitzrovia, Fitzroy Square I think.
I think Angela Rayner is completely out of her depth.
Martine Guy ● 8d