We received acknowledgement yesterday from Lambeth Council of our Conservation Area submission regarding Herne Hill "Station Square". The text of Colin Wight's letter of 16 May 2018 appears below.
"I am writing on behalf of the Herne Hill Society. The Society has always taken an active interest in the built environment and historic heritage of Herne Hill. Conservation Areas, and national and local listing, are vital tools in conserving the special character of our area.
The Society understands that Lambeth are considering preparing proposals for the designation of Herne Hill Station and that part of Railton Road often referred to as “Station Square” as a Conservation Area (CA). We strongly support such proposals and urge that they be given urgent attention. Given the existence of the Herne Hill CA on the east side of the railway, that CA could be readily enlarged to include the station and Station Square.
In the past few years, especially with the exclusion of through traffic, the great variety of many independent shops, the establishment of a popular Sunday market and the restoration nearing completion of several buildings by Network Rail, this part of Herne Hill has seen a huge improvement. We want to see this improvement enhanced and protected from inappropriate development. The station and the buildings that form the “village centre” around it have a natural cohesion and work together as an architectural group, making the area particularly suited for CA status.
There is now a great urgency to progress this designation as a very characterful historic building immediately adjacent to the station, currently occupied by the Flower Lady florists, which it is understood dates back to the early 20th century (it is clearly shown in the attached photograph of c.1921 when it was Raphael The Tailor) is now under threat of demolition to be replaced by an electricity substation which would seriously reduce the quality of the local environment and have a negative impact on the likelihood of CA status.
We would be interested to know the current state of the draft proposals and when it is thought they might be put into effect. The Herne Hill Society is able to call upon resources in terms of architectural expertise and historical research (not least from Lambeth’s leading architectural historian, Edmund Bird) and would welcome the opportunity to make these resources available to the Council’s officers."
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