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Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published: 20 February 2009

Battle to rescue Mall finally lost

Arcade ‘has no special interest or value’

THE battle to save Camden Passage’s Mall antiques arcade has been lost following a ruling this week by a government planning inspector.
It signals the green light for fashion giant Jack Wills, which targets wealthy university students with its polo shirts and preppy fashions, to move into the former heritage-protected tramshed.
In a ruling against Islington Council, which fought to save the Mall, the inspector dismissed the argument that the 40-year-old antiques market has historical and local interest.
The inspector decided that the change would not harm the Angel conservation area. He described the antique shops as being “of a loose Victorian or Georgian style, and are rather crudely executed”, without any special interest or value.
He claimed that the Mall gave no “richness of experience”.
And although the antiques market has been there for four decades, the inspector said that this “is not a significant historical event in understanding the special interest of the building”.
Camden Passage Mall has housed 35 small antiques and art shops since 1979.
Mike Weedon, from the Camden Passage Association, said: “The Mall was often regarded as the jewel in the crown of Camden Passage. This is a government inspector overruling the will of the people.”
The council’s deputy leader Councillor Terry Stacy slammed the decision. He said: “This was a spectacularly bad decision by Hazel Blears’ government inspector.
“I’m shocked and appalled that he could walk in and dismiss this much-loved and unique arcade as being of no interest.”
Labour councillor Martin Klute, who was in the forefront of the campaign to save the Mall, said he was disappointed the inspector had not seen the arcade when it was occupied and full of life and colour.
“The developers evicted the antique traders so all the inspector could see when he visited the building was an empty shell,” he said. “Is it any surprise he didn’t think it was of interest?”
Six hundred customers signed a petition to save the Mall, which was delivered to Downing Street.

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