Published: Janaury 27, 2012
by ANDREW JOHNSON

A ROW of Victorian houses in one of Islington’s most fashionable streets could become the latest piece of the borough’s heritage to be bulldozed.

Planners were expected to give the go-ahead last night (Thursday) to the scheme by developer Ferngrove Construction to demolish 149-157 Whitecross Street, Finsbury, and replace it with a four-storey block.

The row, which has been empty for several years, and is in a conservation area, is in too dilapidated a state to be repaired, the company claims.

Residents in the Peabody Estate opposite have objected en masse, however, arguing that the new building – which will be a third higher – would create a “drastic” fall in daylight and damage the skyline.

“Whitecross Street is already a fairly narrow street and the noise and fumes from the market need space and air to be allowed to clear... some of us have lived in the Peabody building adjacent to the site for over 20 years and we find a drastic cut in our daylight,” said an objector.

“Some of us would no longer be able to see the sky or the trees from our windows.”

Michael Collins, who chaired the Peabody Estate Tenants’ Association when the objection was lodged, added that the building had been allowed to fall into disrepair.

“A lot of people have lived here all their lives,” he said. “It would change the character of the street, making it feel gloomy and soulless.

“One of the things about living here is that you do get a sense of the cityscape because of the varying heights of the buildings.

“If they tear down that block – and it’s really been allowed to run down – and rebuild it higher it will remove that. It really is quite an unusual street.”

A report to the council’s planning committee says that, while it would be better not to knock down the buildings, they are “beyond practical repair”, according to English Heritage.

It adds: “The properties are currently vacant and in a state of disrepair. The proposed development is appropriately sympathetic to the appearance and character of the conservation area.”

Harley Sherlock, of The Islington Society, said that the presumption should always be to retain buildings, adding that after the last war many buildings thought to be beyond repair  were not.

Whitecross Street has become one of the most fashionable areas in Britain, according to a poll last year by Google, which named it third “hippest” street in the country.

Its proximity to Clerkenwell has made the food market a favourite lunch haunt of the area’s new breed of technology workers.