Save Museum Street

ALERT! SAVE MUSEUM STREET

WILL YOU HELP US?

A wide coalition of local groups has come together to prevent a redevelopment which will be damaging for a historic part of Central London and the community in Holborn, Covent Garden and Bloomsbury. Help us protect this area from LabTech’s development which rides roughshod over local needs, architectural heritage and environmental sustainability.

IS THIS THE BEST WE CAN DO?

Their ‘vision’ consists of 92% offices and commercial uses and 8% housing. There will be only 29 homes (they should be offering 50, having ‘miscounted’ the existing housing on the site) and only 6 social housing. A 22-storey tower block, 70% as high as Centre Point, will rise from the site, looming over Covent Garden and Bloomsbury, adding to the capital’s stock of redundant office space and casting its shadow over nearby dwellings and landmark buildings.

WHY NOT INVOLVE THE COMMUNITY?

LabTech refuse to discuss the proposal in any meaningful way with local groups. They are intent on imposing this development without consultation and regardless of the area’s true needs.

DON’T IGNORE CLIMATE CHANGE!

The plan involves wholesale demolition on the site, resulting in 4 years of disruption to the neighbourhood, when retrofitting of existing buildings is far less damaging to the environment by re-using the original building’s embedded carbon and can still achieve Net Zero Carbon standards in the future life of the building. Buildings account for 40% of the world’s carbon consumption and embedded carbon (used to construct the building) is up to 70% of that figure. Consequently, demolition and rebuilding is an inherently selfish act wasting the assets on the site, which is not a ‘brownfield’ site as described by the developer.

PRESERVE OUR ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE

This tower will overshadow numerous listed buildings in the area, damaging the visual quality of the four neighbouring Conservation Areas and affecting many protected views.

OUR AIM IS TO:

• Ensure that the existing building is repurposed sustainably

• Preserve protected views – no tower blocks

• Have substantially more housing (at least half of which should be social housing)

• Create public open spaces and commercial facilities that genuinely benefit the local community rather than the preferences and pockets of LabTech developers.

We need to raise funds urgently to engage experts to fight this disastrous development at every stage of the process and for publicity. Donations large and small are welcome. Your donation will make a difference however modest. Any surplus funds will be used by the group to benefit the locality.

The Save Museum campaign is led by a community coalition including:

The Bloomsbury Association

The Covent Garden Community Association

The Covent Garden Area Trust

The Seven Dials Trust

Save Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury Conservation Area Advisory

Committee

The Soho Society Leicester Square Association

South Bloomsbury Tenants and

Residents’ Association

Tavistock Chambers Residents'

Association

Grape Street Residents

Drury Lane Residents

Willoughby Street Residents' Association

And numerous local businesses and individuals