Local Assembly Member John Biggs is joining ‘Save Britain’s Heritage’ campaign to fight for the preservation of London’s Fruit and Wool Exchange. This follows the Mayor of London’s decision last week to approve its demolition.
Tower Hamlets Council has twice rejected the plans for the redevelopment of this 82 year-old building. However, as Mayor, Boris Johnson has the power to overturn local decisions. The proposals, by developers Exemplar Properties LLC and the Corporation of London, are to demolish the 1929 London Fruit and Wool Exchange, The Gun Public House, Barclay's Bank and Dorset (now Duval) Street in Spitalfields.
The Save Britain’s Heritage campaign and English Heritage have asked central Government to “spot” list the landmark earlier this month and requested that the Mayor delay his decision until after this, which he did not do.
Local Labour London Assembly Member John Biggs said:
“The Fruit and Wool Exchange are part of the charm and heritage in this much-loved area. I am proud to add my support to the Save Britain’s Heritage campaign to fight for this beautiful building which survived the Blitz.
“I think the Mayor of London is making a grave error in riding roughshod over local people’s wishes to preserve our heritage. At no stage has Boris justified ‘calling in’ this decision. The East End is changing, but we should trust the people who are elected locally, and listen to the community, to make the right decisions for our communities.”
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