Developers vs Hampton Court

. . . and it looks as if the developers are winning:

Henry VIII would have suppressed it savagely, but the current custodians of Hampton Court Palace are having difficulty dealing with a conspiracy of local and national authorities.

Developers have been given preliminary approval to build a four-storey hotel, flats and retail outlets across the river from the palace – to the fury of its guardians.

Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) is demanding a public inquiry into the proposals, which it says will destroy riverside views surrounding the Tudor building, in East Molesey. . .

HRP is angered that its fight to secure a full public inquiry has been undermined by the refusal of English Heritage, the Government's adviser on historic sites and buildings, to support it.

Tim Jones, a team leader at English Heritage, said: "We would still prefer to see nothing on this site other than a landscaped park, but we felt this scheme was less harmful than the previous one."

. . . apparently falling for the old-but-too-often-successful trick of first submitting a development plan that is over-the-top outrageous, then "backing down" and submitting a plan that would itself be seen as outrageous were it not for the lingering shock and relief over the first plan. From the Times of London.

Posted by David on November 1, 2008 11:15 PM