please empty your brain below
Hear hear. I too was appalled when I wandered through before Christmas, after chatting to Charlie in Artillery Row (he sent me to Dennis Sever's House). I took photos but didn't have the heart to post them.

Ham | Homepage | 06.02.06 - 7:49 a.m. | #

Thankfully, however, because of the "Jack the Ripper" associations, Spitalfield Market and it's surrounding area must have been one of the most photographed parts of London over the year (I have hundreds of photos starting from about 20 years ago myself) so at least we won't totally lose what it once was.

Alan | Homepage | 06.02.06 - 8:55 a.m. | #

Ugh. I was through there a few weeks ago and that artificial boulevard you mention is just atrocious and soulless. The office block isn't so bad, but *that* thing...

Chz | Homepage | 06.02.06 - 10:14 a.m. | #

I like the office blocks, but... didn't expect anything else from the downstairs apart from CloneUrbanRetailDevelopment (TM).

Inspector Sands | Homepage | 06.02.06 - 10:54 a.m. | #

Dear god, will they never learn? Why the hell do we need all these bland shops, what's happening to the character that actually makes London, 'London'?

andy | Homepage | 06.02.06 - 8:16 p.m. | #

andy, it's called the developers' disease and it's fuelled by greed. What has happened to the Planning Act, Urban Design guidelines and all the rest of that crap designed to make our communities and neighbourhoods fit to live in?

Cheryl | 06.02.06 - 10:21 p.m. | #

Cheers Cheryl, Well I don't like it, not just from a purely selfish point of view (ie if I take photos in london I want them to look like London, not 'any' town centre ) but also for Local people, do they use these shops?.
This struck me the other day when I was on a bus with my girlfiend (going along the Fulham road through Chelsea on our way to Putney), compared with my local shops they were very varied, not shops I'd personally go in mind, but at least they had (by and large) some character, were quirky or were sometimes downright weird. In other words what makes a street interesting, for me anyway.

Piece by piece we all becoming the same, time to kick against it and remind ourselves we are individuals not some consumer clones

andy | Homepage | 06.02.06 - 10:32 p.m. | #

I think Spitalfields Market is overrated now anyway. (Up)market on Brick Lane for me anytime!

Anonymous | 07.02.06 - 5:54 p.m. | #

I'm local and no I don't use those shops because they sell useless things at ridiclous prices but most of all they are to damn ugly. I have watched the destruction of spitalfield market bit by bit and it is truly depressing how everywhere in the world this greedy disease has spread. But then I think the Ghurkin is ugly to so who needs my opinion...

SCHRmm | Homepage | 11.02.06 - 6:55 p.m. | #











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