50 signatures reached
To: The Mayor of London Boris Johnson
SAVE 55 BROADWAY
Look into alternative options for the preservation of this iconic Grade 1 listed building. Alternatives that will still allow the tax paying general public access to this Public body building for generations to come.
Why is this important?
55 Broadway is London’s first skyscraper and part of British heritage.
TFL has just revealed its proposed residential re-design of the iconic Grade 1 Listed building. If allowed to proceed, TFL will take a Grade 1 listed public body building into multiple private ownership (of apartments) and therefore out of public access.
In a shocking show of greed, TFL even proposes to construct concrete newbuilds to obliterate the historic garden terraces on the 10th floor . These gardens famously offer impressive views from the unique location of the building, significantly positioned by TFL’s visionary leader Frank Pick to be midway between Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament. One of the gardens was even dedicated in honour of an early environmental campaigner associated with TFL.
The form and proportions of the original building and Charles Holden’s vision will be damaged irreparably. It is obvious that if the original architect considered it aesthetic and safe, the extra floor would already exist instead of the gardens.
Funded by tax-payers, TFL calls itself a ‘custodian’ of London property. What kind of custodian except one acting in breach of duty and good faith will pursue cynical financial gain at the expense of history and our legacy?
It must also be a matter of concern whether the rest of the building from the 1920s, is best preserved by a new construction on its wings.
TFL is trying to sell off one of our most important heritage assets designed by Charles Holden as apartments to the rich.
What next – the Houses of Parliament? Reckless renovation of our heritage for unsuitable use as multi-unit luxury apartments will destroy the soul of our city.
TFL is supposed to connect and unite the city. How does it reconcile its ethos and reason for existence with converting its iconic HQ – our heritage as much as theirs - into private apartments for the rich? How does this ‘benefit the city’ (TFL’s own words) and tax-payers?
TFL has just revealed its proposed residential re-design of the iconic Grade 1 Listed building. If allowed to proceed, TFL will take a Grade 1 listed public body building into multiple private ownership (of apartments) and therefore out of public access.
In a shocking show of greed, TFL even proposes to construct concrete newbuilds to obliterate the historic garden terraces on the 10th floor . These gardens famously offer impressive views from the unique location of the building, significantly positioned by TFL’s visionary leader Frank Pick to be midway between Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament. One of the gardens was even dedicated in honour of an early environmental campaigner associated with TFL.
The form and proportions of the original building and Charles Holden’s vision will be damaged irreparably. It is obvious that if the original architect considered it aesthetic and safe, the extra floor would already exist instead of the gardens.
Funded by tax-payers, TFL calls itself a ‘custodian’ of London property. What kind of custodian except one acting in breach of duty and good faith will pursue cynical financial gain at the expense of history and our legacy?
It must also be a matter of concern whether the rest of the building from the 1920s, is best preserved by a new construction on its wings.
TFL is trying to sell off one of our most important heritage assets designed by Charles Holden as apartments to the rich.
What next – the Houses of Parliament? Reckless renovation of our heritage for unsuitable use as multi-unit luxury apartments will destroy the soul of our city.
TFL is supposed to connect and unite the city. How does it reconcile its ethos and reason for existence with converting its iconic HQ – our heritage as much as theirs - into private apartments for the rich? How does this ‘benefit the city’ (TFL’s own words) and tax-payers?
