Demolition of Robin Hood Gardens, Cotton Street
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Demolition of Robin Hood Gardens, Cotton Street by Stephen Richards as part of the Geograph project.
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Demolition of Robin Hood Gardens, Cotton Street
Image: © Stephen Richards Taken: 5 Jan 2018
The bell has finally begun tolling for the Smithson's iconic estate. Redevelopment of the site has been on the cards for at least ten years. Campaigns to have it listed have failed; a succession of starchitects proclaiming the estate to be the best building since the Parthenon have left the powers that be unmoved. As to what the current residents think, you can find an opinion poll to support demolition and another to preserve the estate. The replacement development, Blackwall Reach, looks to be offering bog-standard fare, in many ways inferior to RHG and possibly to be even more short-lived, but will at least have the merit of providing more housing than is being demolished. That is a novelty. It seems unlikely, however, that many current residents will be able to remain in the area. One would not have to be overly cynical to suspect that that is not an accident.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.509955
Longitude
-0.009938