To Save, or Not to Save?

As has been pointed out to me 'I thought this blog was about having a moan', so here goes and apologies for the wait.

What the hell is going on at the Department of Culture Media and Sport?

They have refused to give statutory protection to yet another significant modern building put forward for 'listing' by English Heritage. On March 15th Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt wrote to EH stating that he did not feel that phases 1-4 of the Broadgate development in the City of London were worthy of protection and as a result are likely to be demolished imminently.

It is perfectly true that buildings less than 30 years old have to be deemed of special merit, but bodies such as the Twentieth Century Society and English Heritage made strong cases citing the quality, American influence and historical significance of the buildings in relation to ushering in the 'Big Bang' transformation of the London Stock Market in the early 80's. However, the proposed 'listing' caused uproar in the City with London Mayor Boris Johnson chiming in stating the idea was 'ludicrous' and would send a message to the world that London was 'closed for business.' You see the buildings need to go in order to make way for a £340 million new headquarters for a large Swiss bank.

The suspicion is growing that whether to 'list' a building or not has more to do with economics than aesthetics, which is very naughty and not really pukka. This view has been gaining ground since the government refused to list the South Bank Centre in London, the headquarters of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Maidenhead, Birmingham Central Library and the library at Redcar. All are deemed architecturally significant as important examples of their period, but they also happen to be unloved and unwanted by their current owners who find them costly to maintain and apparently no longer fit for the purpose for which they were originally commissioned. They also just happen to be mostly in public ownership.

This is becoming a worrying trend as the previous administration refused to list the International Swimming Pool in Leeds, the amazing Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth and the iconic 'Get Carter' multi-storey car park in Gateshead. All have subsequently been demolished in orgies of wanton destruction. Now it's true that all the buildings I've mentioned may have their detractors and critics, but then so did the St Pancras Hotel in London when British Rail wanted to demolish it in the 60's and the Victorian Society fought successfully to save it. Just look at it today.

This is precisely the reason that bodies such as English Heritage are charged with the task of making informed assessments and judgements on the merits of each building and it's contribution to our heritage and culture. It really isn't right that government can be allowed to ignore such advice for purely economic reasons.