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| Background
and Introduction
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FORWORD The Right Honourable Peter Brooke MP The Cities of London and Westminster.It is wholly characteristic of Covent Garden’s coherence and enterprise that the Environmental Study of Central Covent Garden should have been so admirably prepared and produced. My father was an L.C.C. councillor for this constituency in the 1940s and 1950s and was followed as Leader of the Opposition on the L.C.C. by Geoffrey Rippon, who of course played a notable role in Covent Garden in the 1970s. I was myself a Camden councillor in the 1960s before becoming MP here twenty years ago. With Jocelyn Stevens I have collaborated on other constituency initiatives. With Alan Bradley I beat the bounds on foot of the old City of Westminster on Rogation Sunday 1983. It is a real pleasure to be part of this Covent Garden continuum, and I look forward, via this study, into the next century. Councillor Alan Bradley, Chairman Environment and Planning Committee, City of Westminster. I congratulate the Covent Garden Area Trust for commissioning this invaluable study of central Covent Garden, Covent Garden has had a remarkable history and continues to evolve and change to meet the conflicting demands of residents, businesses and tourists. The City Council has recently completed improvements along the Strand and some of the routes into Covent Garden, The guidance in this Study and the continued commitment of the Study partners will help to sustain this momentum for improvement. I am confident that Covent Garden will continue to thrive and at the same time retain its unique character and sense of history that make this one of London’s most popular places. Neil Bisset, Central Market Surveyor, Guardian Properties This document will provide valuable guidance on environmental improvements in Covent Garden and will help underpin the continuing economic success of the area by preserving its unique and historic surroundings. As owners of Covent Garden Market, Guardian Assurance plc supports this initiative and, over the coming years, will always refer to the study when considering environmental design issues. Sir Jocelyn Stevens, C.V.O., Chairman of English Heritage I am delighted to join Peter Brooke and Alan Bradley in a joint foreword to this excellent study and policy statement for the heart of Covent Garden. Covent Garden is one of the most important Conservation Areas in Greater London with a concentration of some of the best known and most visited historic buildings in the heart of the Capital. At its heart lies the Piazza; one of the most significant historic urban spaces in England. Saved from a particularly destructive development plan by Geoffrey Rippon, Secretary of State for the Environment 1972 - 1974, for the last twenty years Covent Garden has thrived commercially and culturally; justifying and celebrating the bold, conservation-led approach to its planning, development and management. There is now a serious danger that the sheer scale of its public popularity and commercial success could seriously detract from its particular architectural and historic character. Accordingly, the publication of this study of the heart of Covent Garden and of recommendations for its effective management is most timely. Its publication by the Covent Garden Area Trust is to be keenly commended and reflects very clearly English Heritage’s interest not only in the preservation and enhancement of our Conservation Areas, but also their effective management for changing needs. Covent Garden Area Trust 13 New Row, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4LF Tel: 020 7497 9245 Fax: 020 7240 2405 Registered Charity no. 299874
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