House of Commons - Crossrail Bill

Select Committee on Crossrail Bill Minutes of Evidence

Examination of Witnesses (Questions 16080 - 16099)

16080. As you can see, the worksite spans Sutton Row and contains a large number of stalls and workshops and will require access into the site for lorries and vehicles as well as space to move around within the site itself. So far as the buildings on the corner, buildings 1-7 Oxford Street and 9-15 Oxford Street are concerned, if we can go to exhibit 009, here we are the other way round; north is to the left.[14] We can see outlined in red the existing buildings and underneath that in grey what is proposed. It can be seen immediately that right on the corner there is to be constructed a deep station box. That, as Mr Berryman will explain, will mean the corner buildings cannot be retained.

16081. Moving away from that particular quadrant and on to the buildings in the Dean Street area, there are two sites in Dean Street. The first can be seen in exhibit 28904A-016.[15] There you can see on the plan, on the left-hand side of the page, the site bounded by Oxford Street, Great Chapel Street, Fareham Street and Dean Street, which is to be demolished in order to provide the western ticket hall. If we go to the previous slide, 15, we see the additional site that is to be used to the south side of Fareham Street for the provision of ventilation shaft/emergency escape stairs, lifts and escalators.[16]

16082. The works involve the demolition of a listed building, 94 Dean Street, and there has been considerable discussion with Westminster City Council and English Heritage regarding that particular building, including a detailed review conducted looking at retention of the building. You will hear evidence explaining that the conclusion of that review was that Westminster City Council and English Heritage and the Promoters agreed that 94 Dean Street could not be retained because of the proximity of the large shaft. If we go to slide 13 you can see the circular shaft to the right of the worksite location.[17] I should also point out—and, indeed, again, Mr Mason, who will be called to address this, will explain—that the interior of 94 Dean Street has been completely stripped out.

16083. That is a brief overview of the three sites, and I hope that has been of assistance. Just briefly, before we turn to hear from the Petitioner, we would suggest the Committee needs to bear in mind when considering this Petition that there has been close consultation with the relevant local authorities and English Heritage regarding the impact of the Crossrail project on heritage buildings, and in relation to the buildings to be addressed by the Petitioner no objection has been raised by the local authorities or English Heritage to their demolition.

16084. As I have explained, Crossrail will be calling two witnesses after we have heard from the Petitioner: Mr Berryman, who will explain to the Committee why it is the buildings have to be demolished, and Mr John Mason, who is a heritage expert, who will address matters relating to the heritage value of the buildings that are proposed to be demolished. Thank you very much

16085. Chairman: Thank you. For the record, the references referred to there will be A182.

16086. Mr Wilkinson: Firstly, thank you for the opportunity to address the Committee. We are extremely grateful to be able to put forward our side of the argument—when I say "our side" I am talking about the historical environment, not just the group's arguments.

16087. I intend to make a statement and call no witnesses, firstly, on the loss to the historical townscape (it is not just individual buildings you are losing here, it is areas and areas of buildings, and areas of character) and, secondly, looking at the necessity of these buildings lost and, thirdly, consider briefly some alternatives, and then let Crossrail take it from there.

16088. If I can start by reading a list of the losses, and then we will look at some of the buildings more closely, because the slides Crossrail put up did not really do justice to these buildings. To start off, the Great Western Main Line's parcel office at Farringdon will go. Bond Street, 65 Davies Street; around Tottenham Court Road, 94 Dean Street, 135a to 167 Charing Cross Road; 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 Fareham Street; Goslett Yard; 12 Sutton Row; 3 and 9 Diadem Court; 1a-12 Great Chapel Street; 1-15 Oxford Street. Around Farringdon, 3, 8, 9 and 10 Hayne Street; 2a, 3, 4, 5 Lindsey Street; 20-23 Long Lane; 33, 35, 36, 37 Charterhouse Square. It is not a particularly short list and we hold it can be made even shorter.

16089. If we can possibly look at some of the pictures and start at Farringdon. First, a picture of the Astoria.[18] You saw earlier a slightly larger and more colourful picture. The Astoria is not listed. However, it is a local landmark; it is a building which people know about and care about and feel strongly for. It has been reported in the press that this building is to be lost to Crossrail. It will be lost for a worksite. What will replace it we do not know; whether it will have a similar quality to the townscape we do not know.

16090. Moving on to the next slide, we have got very mixed up here. We are looking at the western area. This is on the corner of Dean Street.[19] It is a pub, a lovely pub, it could be in your local village, it could be in your local town, and has a lovely atmosphere. This, too, would go as part of the scheme.

16091. If we go on to the next slide, there is another picture of this pub showing how it fits into the area with Victorian buildings next-door to it.[20] Around the corner, on the left-hand side, you have Diadem Court on Dean Street. This block would go. Again, it is a coherent piece of townscape. They are not ugly buildings; they are handsome buildings; they are very much a part of the local scene.

16092. If we go on to the next slide, we have suddenly gone back to behind the Astoria, and you can see Centre Point rising up behind there.[21] The building you have there is a Victorian warehouse; a powerful building in shade and unseen, largely, by the public. A decent building, nonetheless, and economically viable in its own right. This would go.

16093. If we go on to the next slide, we have more of the street scene around Charing Cross Road.[22] Again, correct me if I am wrong, but I believe these ones are in the area for clearance. Here you have something which is low-rise, well-balanced and a good composition. It is clearly lively; it is used by Sainsbury's at the lower levels and is part of the life of the street and the life of the area.

16094. If we flip over to the next slide, the building at the end of this will come off.[23] It is a nicely detailed building with a handsome, French-style roof, you might say, sticking up high and sharply and performs a very interesting contrast with Centre Point behind. This will be sliced off for the works.

16095. If we move over you see it again in a slightly wider perspective with the townscape around it.[24] It may look a bit dirty right now but given a clean it would look splendid and contribute handsomely to the area.

16096. Moving on, we have seen this once before but we see it here from the side.[25] It addresses both streets. It has a careful composition and is generally a handsome building.

16097. Moving on to the next slide, these are the fountains at Centre Point.[26] The fountains themselves are shaped echoing Seifert's work on Centre Point with the pre-cast concrete ribs. These would be lost. At present it is very awkward for pedestrians but we still struggle over there and enjoy the coolness and freshness the water gives, particularly at this time of year. There is no reason why something could not be put back resembling these fountains, at least with the fountain units themselves which are mentioned in the listing as well.

16098. Moving over, we have a slightly more savoury shot of them here.[27] What this does show is the height. It shows a number of things. It shows the church of St Giles behind—a very handsome church. It shows, off to the right, large advertising hoardings which hide the scarred building. Crossrail has an opportunity to do something positive for the townscape rather than taking down old buildings; it can look at areas which could be taken down with less effect on the historic environment and generally create an opportunity to repair the historic environment and stitch back the fabric.

16099. Moving on, we have a prime example of where it could do this. This is over at Farringdon, on Charterhouse Square.[28] Charterhouse Square is a very pleasant square indeed; it is well-planted and surrounded by handsome buildings. The red brick building you see to the right of the picture is a hotel. Next to that is the Charterhouse itself, which is of medieval origins; around the corner University Quadrangle, to the side of that a handsome 1930s building that has been acquired and then, behind me photographing this picture, is a building to be destroyed. However, this ugly brute in front of us, the dark building dating from the 1950s, would survive Crossrail. This would stand there proudly still besmirching the square which it looms over.

14 Crossrail Ref: P115, Tottenham Court Road, Proposed plaza level showing outline of existing Oxford Street entrance (LINEWD-28904-009). Back

15 Crossrail Ref: P115, Tottenham Court Road Western Ticket Hall-Buildings bounded by Dean Street, Oxford Street, Great Chapel Street and Fareham Street (LINEWD-28904A-016). Back

16 Crossrail Ref: P115, Tottenham Court Road Western Ticket Hall-Buildings bounded by Dean Street, Fareham Street , Great Chapel Street and Diadem Court (LINEWD-28904A-015). Back

17 Crossrail Ref: P115, Tottenham Court Road worksite layout-station box construction (LINEWD-28904-013). Back

18 Committee Ref: A182, View of Astoria Theatre (LINEWD-28905-001). Back

19 Committee Ref: A182, View of The Bath House, Dean Street (LINEWD-28905-002). Back

20 Committee Ref: A182, Alternative View of The Bath House, Dean Street (LINEWD-28905-003). Back

21 Committee Ref: A182, View of Sutton Row (LINEWD-28905-004). Back

22 Committee Ref: A182, View of Charing Cross Road (LINEWD-28905-005). Back

23 Committee Ref: A182, View of Eastern side of Charing Cross Road (LINEWD-28905-006). Back

24 Committee Ref: A182, Alternative view of Eastern side of Charing Cross Road (LINEWD-28905-007). Back

25 Committee Ref: A182, View of Charing Cross Road and Goslett Yard (LINEWD-28905-008). Back