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Green revamp
makes a splash
WORK on restoring the fountain in South End Green,
Hampstead, will finally be completed next month, Town Hall environment
chiefs revealed this week.
The £100,000 refurbishment, which will provide a new perimeter
wall, shrubs and a restored fountain bowl, was hit by delays
in December last year when surveys revealed problems with the
fountain foundations.
The fountain work was funded by developer GHP, which is building
luxury flats and a Marks and Spencer store on the site of the
former ABC cinema at the Green.
The £45 million development with 36 apartments ranging
in price from £495,000 to £1.65 million is due to
be completed at the end of this month. The new Simply Food store,
which will create more than 50 jobs, is to open on March 29.
While residents are relieved that months of building work are
nearly over, they have mixed feelings about the new-look Green.
Dougal Gonsal, a former Town Hall engineer, said: “The
problem is that the new building is so appalling. Also, no one
knows precisely what the new fountain area is going to look
like. At the moment, all you can see is a concrete brick wall.”
Flower seller John Atkins, who is fighting a Town Hall attempt
to evict him, said: “The new building is very ugly. It
doesn’t fit in with anything around here.”
But Jeska Harrington, chairwoman of pressure group Save Our
Green, which worked with developers on the fountain improvements,
said: “It’s too late to do anything about the new
building – hopefully the orange cladding will weather down
a bit. But the M&S is a major step forward and the new Green
is going to look great.”
Pam Gilbey, secretary of residents’ group the South End
Green Association, also believed the store would bring “a
new vibrancy to the Green”.
She added: “I agree that the fountain wall is looking a
bit grim and the time taken to complete the work is inexcusable.
0But the work is going according to plan.”
A GHP spokeswoman said the firm had received “many positive
comments” about the new building, adding: “People
are welcoming it as a massive improvement.” |
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