Save The Foundry! - action needed

3 tents and a dude outside when i rode past at 8.45

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For the people who do remember Shoreditch before it got all gentrified (I'm too young); what sort of streets/parts of London now did it resemble? Totally can't picture it as a shit hole
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by the early-mid 90s it was already well on it's way to being gentrified and night-life-centric but you could still get mugged by taking a shortcut though hoxton square at night. there were still plenty of working girls along what is now the hipster spice route. overall it was certainly very much quieter.

in about 1995 i was a student and my girlfriend at the time worked as a photographer's assistant at a studio on commercial street and was the hostess at the still great eastern dining rooms. there were a few small clubs such as home, a couple of popular bars like the bridge and tunnel, the bricklayers, cantaloupe and mother at 333, but a pretty limited choice really. it was pretty quiet compared to what it's like now (total vomitty, topshop carnage from friday to monday).

spitalfields was just big jumble of food and hand-made clothing stalls, with a small hot food section selling curries and potatoes. brick lane still had more bengali residents than fixié skidders but it was definitley on it's way to becoming what it is now.

i used to live (doss with the missus) on hanbury street , just off brick lane above what is now the duke of uke shop and soup studios, opposite shop14. there was nothing much of interest on that street back then. you got a bit of foot traffic between the market on sundays and brick lane, and occasional nail bomb.

now, on that same little side street you've got a recording studio, a music shop, a custom bike shop, vintage fashion shops, and a handful of restaurants spilling over from brick lane. the just round the corner there's a tescos, a nandos, an all saints, rough trade, countless new bars and spitalfields is open 7 days a week and chock full of chain restaurants. the previously off-limits "locals only" old-man pubs have been reclaimed by young professionals and tourists. i'd struggle to label it better or worse really. it's certainly much, much busier, more prosperous and commercialised but i don't know if i want to condem that as a bad thing necessarily. what they've done to spitalfields is apalling. there's no doubt about that. they've just killed it. totaly destroyed the atmosphere. but if i was still young and living in the area i'm sure i would have loved having all that lot on my doorstep...

... but then again if i was young i wouldn't be able to afford to live there now. i''d be forced out to whitechappel, limehouse or finsbury park.

it's still a shit hole, it just got a new layer of paint and everything's overpriced

i've never seen such run down flats, or poorly built new ones, for so much money anywhere

This is very true. Last week I went to look at a room in a council flat behind Shoreditch Park. The flat was in a neglected state, the lounge had been turned into another bedroom, and they wanted £550 a month for a room! So that's £2000-£2200 they'll have been charging, for a grim council flat on a rundown block. How could any locals afford to pay those rents unless they're on housing benefit?

that was prob ex council, bought out cheaply by the previous tenants, then either sold for plenty money or they rake in fuckloads by renting it

Lots of council flats are sold cheap to people renting them, the basics of that is a good idea but it tends to end up being sold straight away or rented for a load of money, especially if it's in a up-n-coming / trendy area.

So you might pay 2k/month for an ex council flat, while your next door neighbour is on housing benefit in an un-sold flat

that was prob ex council, bought out cheaply by the previous tenants, then either sold for plenty money or they rake in fuckloads by renting it

Lots of council flats are sold cheap to people renting them, the basics of that is a good idea but it tends to end up being sold straight away or rented for a load of money, especially if it's in a up-n-coming / trendy area.

So you might pay 2k/month for an ex council flat, while your next door neighbour is on housing benefit in an un-sold flat

Yes, the tenants showing me round did say they rented the flat through an agency, so it will have been privately owned. If it had still been council-owned I can't imagine it would have been allowed to be in such a state of disrepair!

Here's a BBC article. I'm not sure about the choice of photo!: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/10469697.stm

The Rise of the Squat: http://www.estatesgazette.com/blogs/london-residential-research/2010/06/the-rise-of-the-squat.html

Art'otel recieves thumbs up from Boris despite large objections
http://www.estatesgazette.com/blogs/london-residential-research/2010/05/artotel-recieves-thumbs-up-fro.html

I'm told by other residents who attended planning meetings that he was the only local resident who argued strongly in favour of the hotel.

He's probably doing very 'well' out of the whole deal.

Art'otel recieves thumbs up from Boris despite large objections
http://www.estatesgazette.com/blogs/london-residential-research/2010/05/artotel-recieves-thumbs-up-fro.html

I haven't seen the decision, but when the Mayor of London states that he is content for the local authority to determine the application itself, he is merely relinquishing his potential for influencing the application. It looks as if there may have been some gushing by planning officers in the report, but what concerns the Mayor is whether there are strategic implications of any development (which are supposed to be reflected in regional planning guidance, i.e. the London Plan). If there aren't, the local planning authority is the appropriate body to make the decision alone.

Thanks Oliver, needed to be said. Our boring fucking media always have to dress it up.

"Boris Evicts couriers", etc.

More here:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23802278-foundry-in-shoreditch-to-close-to-make-way-for-hotel.do

More Philip here:

*"Despite its bohemian credentials, Foundry [sic] is primarily a bar, of which there are far too many in the area anyway. *
Its main "contributions" to the area are alcohol and graffitti, both of which we need less of, so I welcome this proposed change."

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23802278-foundry-in-shoreditch-to-close-to-make-way-for-hotel.do

Love the picture caption

"Top venue: the pub/gallery is frequented by the likes of Gavin Turk and Pete Doherty"

Good enough reason to knock it down i reckon!

More here http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23801868-commerce-is-chasing-art-out-of-hoxton.do
and here: http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/content/hackney/gazette/news/story.aspx?brand=HKYGOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newshkyg&itemid=WeED04%20Feb%202010%2014%3A20%3A26%3A470

And again: http://www.foundry.tv/archive/press/view/press_images/20100206.BD.jpg.html

Link dumping - good pics from Monday morning: http://www.filkaler.com/category/squatting/

Link dumping - nice blog post, forgive the grammar:

http://adatewithhate.blogspot.com/2010/07/death-of-shoreditch.html?zx=f26bd721dc4cbda

They were still there this morning when I cycled past.

There's an open mike night outside the Foundry tomorrow, as advertised on their blog.

Bring your own bloody awful poetry!

I thought they'd get booted out this morning but no, they're still there. But yesterday they were visted by the council, who aren't keen on the sofas spread over the pavement.

I thought they'd get booted out this morning but no, they're still there. But yesterday they were visted by the council, who aren't keen on the sofas spread over the pavement.

I rode past this morning, and the sofas looked very comfortable. I think a few of the squatters had slept in them overnight. Good luck to them!

Video interview with one of the occupiers: http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=30VPNlVt6Z4

these protests usually have a short lifespan. it will be art wankers, cows cut in half, Moet and canapes before the end of the year

the foundry can fuck off. it was a hole. ... but a major intersection with commercial real estate fronting the street can't attract a single interesting business.

Repped...

...as with the LCC in Hackney we were very involved in the traffic scheme to turn it back to two-way operation...

And a bloody great thing that was, really really improved the quality of life 'round there.

Oliver, any news on what's been happening elsewhere with removal of other gyratories? There's seems to be so much long-term traffic disruption a.k.a roadworks at New Cross at the moment, I'm wondering if something is actually happeneing there ...

Sorry to derail ...

I don't know about New Cross, but Tottenham Hale is being returned to two-way, to start implementation in 2012. (They're delaying it because they're worried about the effect construction might have on the Olympics.) Unfortunately, the TH proposals, while very welcome in principle, are very, very poor in detail--five traffic lanes in the High Road, very complex junctions, removing an important pedestrian crossing at Philip Lane, etc. These problems all occur because TfL assume that at least the same amount of motor traffic will be using the area after any changes. They're not assuming motor traffic evaporation. We always argue for a reduction of motor traffic capacity to create better environments for walking and cycling.

Brixton has just been done, with mixed results--some absurd decisions in there, again because of unjustified motor traffic capacity fears. There are some plans around Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street, but I don't know how far they've got.

Generally, there is still no concerted programme to return London's streets to two-way operation. Progress is far too slow.

Link dumping - long article:

http://londonist.com/2010/07/the_continuing_after_hours_lock-in.php

JUst come back from Foundry - it was fucking hilarious tonight - Roger's back on form and someone handed him a fucking mike! Oh dear - Chas n Dave 'songs', Seamus's jokes and a whole lot more. Beatles jamming on the sound system, along with Hank Williams and a four track efect unit all bike towed!!! Get your arses down tomorrow night its good fun.

Fuck the hotel - long live the REAL Foundry and all the great friends I've made there over the years.

It aint dead yet. . .