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Plans to demolish concrete house don't stand up
Thursday 27 September 2007
Plans to knock down one of the few Victorian houses made largely of concrete have been slammed by the Victorian Society, the national charity campaigning for the Victorian and Edwardian historic environment.
Built in 1873 by Charles Drake of the Patent Concrete Building Company, 549 Lordship Lane, Southwark, is an attractive example of the technical innovation and experimentation that characterized the Victorian period. A Grade II-listed building, the house has been derelict for some years and has fallen into serious disrepair. Now the owner wants to demolish it to make way for a block of five flats.
‘There’s no way these plans can be allowed,’ said Heloise Brown, Conservation Adviser of the Victorian Society. ‘Government guidance clearly states that listed buildings must not be demolished simply because redevelopment is more lucrative than repair. The only justification the owner gives for knocking 549 Lordship Lane down is its poor state of repair, a situation which is largely down to him. It’s time he was brought to account.’
