Those flats are an absolute eyesore. I thought they were going to be really impressive, but they look much poorer than the other new builds in the area - all of bermondsey spa beats it on the looks front. I cant believe they used sand coloured brick and silver metal balconies - totally incongruous to how TB looks. Some back hander developer money has gone through here to get this approved. They are so so ugly and don't look luxury. Also I agree ruined Potters Field and what has happened to the cultural venture the complex is also supposed to house?
The previous scheme consisted of towers surrounded by a public park - this would have linked green spaces and trees between Tooley Street with the River.
That has been lost forever, due to the visual illiteracy of local politicans and some of the local residents, and so this previous scheme was blocked.
I believe our local MP Simon Hughes described Ritchie's design as 'dalek towers' - so, we lost the park. Berkeley, of course, had to maintain the same density with the new scheme by Michael Squires architects - hence the dark and narrow spaces that everyone is writing about.
The Council (I recall Lib-Dem controlled at the time?) had to waive it through because they couldn't lose face by blocking a second scheme.
Finally - the 'Cultural Events Space' is nothing more than a Trojan horse for retail cum restaurant spaces, which - as sure as night follows day - will open after the 'cultural space' (which I think is going to consist of a vast model of London with some flashing lights) - submits its financial viability report in, say, 18 months time, explaining why a cultural space cannot work on this site and how other options are being explored etc. etc.
I was going to say I'll put money on this happening, but of course quite possibly, somebody already has!
I'm disappointed with the way Potters Fields has been impacted- half is now in a permanent shadow.
The prices of the properties are an absolute joke- 3 beds start at £3.75m. I appreciate that they are aimed are foreign buyers but what do they get for their money? Asian buyers love heritage, unless you have a view of tower bridge there isn't any! Russian buyers love Knightsbridge for the close proximity to Harrods/ high end fashion boutiques, which we lack. It will be interesting to see what happens.
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