Landmark left to rot

From the Hackney Gazette:

CONSERVATIONISTS have raised concerns about the deterioration of a Hackney landmark.

Members of the Central and South Hackney Conservation Area and Advisory Committee (CAAC) are worried about the poor condition of the New Lansdowne Club in Mare Street.

Planning permission was granted in 2004 to turn the grade two listed building, which is on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk register, into a Vietnamese cultural centre on condition it was fully restored.

However, three years on, no repair work has been carried out on the 18th-century building and CAAC members are shocked that it has been left to rot.

One of their number, Louise Oldfield, said: "Ownership of a listed building comes with a responsibility and the deterioration of this building over a few years has been shocking. It's one of the most important buildings in Hackney."

Rossana Tich, another CAAC member, who is also a Hackney Society trustee, added: "It is sitting there rotting. The council is dragging its feet to use its statutory powers."

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