143 Clapham Road

So, South London is to get an "exclusive new development [which] has everything... including a fashionable address..."

"Situated within a conservation area and amid opulent tree lined Georgian terraces and Regency villas, it is within easy reach of one of the most cosmopolitan and exciting areas of London."

Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

The website goes on to gush that "The streets of Clapham are alive and buzzing with an eclectic mix of bars, café's, restaurants and clubs. Boutiques and curios provide fascinating shopping whilst the Old Town retains its atmospheric charm."

Lovely, but this development is not in Clapham; it's in Stockwell. It's the Freemans building and environs.

Onionbagblog rightly laments the destruction of the criminally abandoned Art Deco building next door to make way for all this nonsense.

Of course, it will be lovely for we Tradescantians to be able to stroll through Albert Square to take advantage of the "landscaped public square providing the perfect setting for a planned array of café's, bars, eateries and shops" but presumably these will all be Portuguese too.

Anyway, I think the development has gone in totally the wrong direction. What we really need is what was there in the late 19th century - a lovely marble rink:

More at the Lambeth Landmark archives.