More Tall Tales from London Town

In August Chris Sumner wrote

A recent trip to Covent Garden to see Simone Boccanegra led me to wonder whether there were parallels between the struggle for power between the Patricians and Plebeians of mediaeval Italy and those of modern London, and whether Harrison Birtwhistle might do for Boris and Ken what Verdi did for the sparring Doges of Genoa.

Any parallels of irregular love lives, ruthless egos and (character) assassination of the protagonists are perhaps better not explored, but high buildings were an issue in San Gimignano, where each family vied to build higher than its neighbour, and the civic life and the traffic of Siena were and still are disrupted by the annual Paglio horse race.

London has its high buildings threats and its prospective Olympic equestrian events, so some things remain evergreen. Boris Johnson seems less ready than his predecessor to subscribe to the myth that every attractive park and river vista in London would be enhanced by a disproportionately tall new building, and the Richmond Park Conservatives' newsletter carries the encouraging headline BORIS BACKS THE VIEW..

"The iconic keyhole view of St Paul's Cathedral from King Henry's Mound in Richmond Park has been reprieved and will be protected... an assurance from Boris Johnson... that not only would he reverse the assaults made by Ken Livingstone but he would also vigorously ensure that there will be no infringements of the original viewing corridor".

Well, we shall see, but it sounds like good news, as does the new Mayor's announced intention to spend £6m on London's parks.

A postscript

The Planning Inspector supported English Heritage's advice that the Doon Street scheme would cause serious damage to London’s most perfect 18th-century space, the magnificent courtyard of Somerset House, as well as the iconic view of Whitehall seen from the bridge over the lake in St James’s Park. The Inspector also agreed that the tower would overwhelm the grade ll* National Theatre and the setting of the grade l listed Royal Festival Hall.

However, the Secretary of State has not only overturned the advice of English Heritage as her expert advisors, but she has also chosen to decline the opinion of an independent Inspector. It is incomprehensible that her reason for doing so was because she considered that community benefits outweigh harm to the historic environment as though one must be at the sacrifice of the other. There are alternative options that would have provided the same community benefits but would have been more sensitive, without causing serious damage to historic buildings, spaces and views.

Mayor allocates £6 million to revitalise London's parks and green spaces

In June the Mayor of London announced a £6 million funding package to clean up and improve London’s rundown green spaces, with Londoners getting the final say on which areas will benefit. The money for this programme comes from further savings made from the former administration’s publicity budget following the scrapping of The Londoner newspaper.

How will the money be divided up?

The scheme expects to improve about 10 sites with up to £400 000 funding each. Subject to securing match funding, one or two large parks that are in need of major restoration may be supported, with a larger grant of between £1 and £2 million.

How will sites be selected to receive funding?

See the diagram on the left. Local authorities have been invited to nominate by 15th September up to three sites each to be considered for inclusion on the voting list to secure up to £400,000, and one site that could potentially receive a large grant funding. The final list of candidates will be selected by an Expert Panel. Londoners will then have the chance to vote online for which green spaces will benefit from the funding.

What criteria will the expert panel use?

The expert panel will take into account:

• The authority's ability to deliver significant enhancement within two years (or three for the larger grant) which will make a real visible difference on the ground;
• Public safety and/or cleanliness/litter management;
• The need for a stronger sense of welcome or improvements to accessibility;
• The potential for significant landscape improvements which, where appropriate, will include biodiversity enhancements; ·
• Size and level of use - preference will be given to sites that have potential to be used by a large number of people.

In addition, the panel will consider whether the site

• has been identified as a priority for improvement in Borough Open Space Strategy or similar document; ·
• lies in an area of social deprivation, identified as an Area for Regeneration in the London Plan
• has been identified as a priority in the London Plan Implementation Report Improving Londoners' access to nature
• lies within a regional park opportunity area as identified in the London Plan; ·
• has been  identified in a sub-regional or other strategy (e.g. East London Green Grid) as a priority for improvement.

October eBook Giveaway

Free eBooks from Gardenvisit.com

Come October Gardenvisit.com will be giving away two of their eBooks to celebrate their 10-year anniversary! Further details on http://www.gardenvisit.com/ebooks

The Principles of Garden Design, Tom Turner

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The eBook explains the 3 classic design principles: gardens should be useful, gardens should be well-made and gardens should be beautiful. The principles come from Vitruvius. They have influenced the design of gardens since ancient times and are as important today as they have always been.

24 Historic Styles of Garden Design, Tom Turner

(ISBN 978-0-9542306-3-0, 84 pages, 230 illustrations, 2008)

The eBook gives simple and clear explanations of the use and form of the 24 best-known historic styles of garden design in the west. The period covered extends from the temples and courtyards of Ancient Egypt to the Modern and Postmodern styles of the 21st century, including recent examples of show gardens from the Chelsea Flower Show.