|
|
 |
| |
Exit the man who saved the borough’s heritage
ISLINGTON Council’s conservation “godfather” Alec Foreshaw has retired after almost 30 years.
Although he was a local authority functionary, Mr Foreshaw was always highly regarded by conservationists as being very much his own man.
His impressive record for arguing on behalf of conservation goes to back to 1976 when he fought against plans to close the meat market.
Speaking this week to the Islington Society he said: “I remember the disbelieving disdain, even amusement of some property developers when we suggested that Smithfield and Clerkenwell could actually become an attractive place to live.”
At that time Islington, he added, with a few exceptions such as Claremont Square, Tibberton Square and Milner Square, was still pursuing comprehensive redevelopment schemes.
The old GLC still had large tracts of Clerkenwell “zoned” for demolition.
“We fought them [the Greater London Council] and won at the Lands Tribunal,” Mr Foreshaw said,” without which the whole north side of Clerkenwell Green and much of Clerkenwell Close might have disappeared!”
Out of that debate eventually emerged special area policies, and the birth of what most now accepts as a vibrant city fringe.
Out of it too emerged Mr Foreshaw’s first book, Smithfield Past and Present, which made a more personal case for inner city regeneration
Exmouth Market was repaved in the early 1980s which through population decrease and closure of industry, had declined to a dismal state.
Mr Foreshaw added: “We encouraged landlords to think about converting the vacant and derelict upper floors above shops to flats. We thought, rather hopefully at the time, that Exmouth Market might even become an attractive street for restaurants as well as shops.”
Mr Foreshaw said it was important to encouraging good modern design.
Today there are many excellent new buildings in the borough – Sadlers Wells, a glass house in Canonbury, new sixth-form colleges, the N1 Centre and most recently the Richard Desmond children’s eye centre at Moorfields.
But his era also saw the renovation of dozens of historic buildings for new uses – St Luke’s Old Street, New River Head, the Coronet Cinema, the Crouch Hill Dairy, the Union Chapel and the Regents Quarter in King’s Cross – all buildings which at one time might have been swept away.
The highways department has been transformed. Mr Foreshaw said: “Instead of digging up and throwing away York stone, as we used to, we now keep it, and even put it back down.”
Mr Foreshaw said there were huge challenge ahead to put historic buildings at the forefront of green issues.
“There is no reason why historic buildings cannot become, and be shown to be, the “greenest” of all buildings.”
He added: “Above all, we do need to move away from an ethos of continual growth, with its inherent booms and busts, to one of non-growth and stability, where we travel less extravagantly and do everything on a more local basis.”
|
 |
|
| |
| Your Comments: |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
