First 19 comments on planning application 24/03125 Fleet Street Heritage Wall . Mr David Cole-Adams 82 Muswell Hill Road London London N10 3JR (Supports) Comment submitted date: Thu 06 Mar 2025 I have many years experience or working in this area and have been invoIved in the design and upgrading of some of the buildings in the vicinity of the application site. I am in support of this application as the contents of the information which the scheme conveys to the public is unique. There is a rich cultural and historic heritage in the area which has a powerful social and architectural history. Even though there is a dearth of Grade 1 listed buildings, the area contains a wealth of architectural detail which passes largely uncommented on and would remain so if it were not for this display. I am of the opinion that the authors of this work are communicating an invaluable selection of information to visitors to the Fleet Street area which is not readily available from any other source. They are to be thanked for their considerable efforts. Mr Michael Fairmaner 160 Fleet Street London EC4A 2DQ (Supports) Comment submitted date: Thu 06 Mar 2025 I am writing on behalf of Fleet Street Quarter BID. We were formally established on 1 April 2022 and represent over 350 businesses located in and around Fleet Street. We are working with our partners to create a world class destination here in Fleet Street, making it a dynamic leading business quarter with high quality public spaces. Fleet Street is synonymous with the newspaper industry which is why it is one of the few City of London streets found on the original Monopoly Board. But there is little visual reference to this historic legacy on Fleet Street and with the major changes currently underway with several major developments, there is a risk that the few visual historic remains might be lost. This is why we have worked with the applicant on the temporary display of the newspaper history in Hind Court. Whilst the panels in nearby Magpie Alley are very informative, they are hidden away and not visible to casual visitors and passers-by on Fleet Street. The current sundial on Bouverie Street is eye catching and the proposed exhibition panels to go at eye level underneath the sundial is very much supported as a means of providing much needed visual references to the history of the area. The fact that the panels in Magpie Alley is directly opposite the site is a happy coincidence and will have the effect of signposting more people to visit these and learn more about the area; which in due course will complement the proposed cultural use in the ground floor of the development at 65 Fleet Street. The proposal will revitalise the rather blank wall under the sundial with high quality ceramic panels depicting local historic buildings, businesses and personalities throughout the ages. It is a well considered and informative proposal. It will hopefully draw more people to the area and increase dwell time, leading to more trade for the near by retail premises in this designated shopping centre. I therefore very much support the proposal and hope that the City will grant planning permission. Ms Joy Vick Medway Court Judd Street London WC1H 9QZ (Supports) Comment submitted date: Thu 06 Mar 2025 I'm a frequent visitor to Fleet Street and often see tourists looking around for evidence of its newspaper history. This set of information plaques beneath the sun dial will be an excellent way to fulfil the expectations of tourists who up to now I feel will have been disappointed by their visit. Christopher Sandars 10 Crescent Grove London SW4 7AH (Supports) Comment submitted date: Wed 05 Mar 2025 I would like to support this planning application for the provision of historical information on Fleet Street on an empty wall in Bouverie Street. I am a frequent visitor to Fleet Street, particularly to St Brides Church and I always feel that it is a shame that there is today very little evidence of the rich history of our national newspaper industry which dominated this area for so long. The striking and imaginative sundial higher up on the same wall in Bouverie Street goes some way to remedying this defect but the detailed information boards proposed to complement this would provide a far more interesting feature would be of great benefit to Londoners and ought to prove a significant tourist attraction. Yours. Mr Barnaby Bryan The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple Middle Temple Lane London EC4Y 9BT (Supports) Comment submitted date: Tue 04 Mar 2025 As the Archivist & Head of Collections for the Middle Temple, I am entirely supportive of this initiative. Fleet Street, and the nearby alleys, courts and squares, represents an area rich in hidden history, which these plaques would illuminate effectively, to broad public benefit. They would enhance the experience of those visiting the area, and add to the sense of a place in history for those who work and live nearby. The sheer breadth and diversity of organisations, individuals, networks and industries represented in this collection is scarcely parallelled, and to make these stories available in this way would only be of benefit to Fleet Street, its people and the community. This is a well-thought out and professionally presented proposal for which I am pleased to offer my wholehearted support. Ms Pamela Charlick Cambridge Gardens London W10 (Supports) Comment submitted date: Mon 03 Mar 2025 As an architect with a special interest in how data and information can be harnessed to improve people's lives, I am supporting this proposal to enhance the Fleet Street Sundial wall with a richly informative display of the fascinating heritage of Fleet Street. Located below the prominent mastheads of five historic newspapers - the Fleet Street Sundial - the Heritage Wall panels tell the story of Fleet Street as the centre of the newspaper industry, with well-researched stories of its people and places, architecture and monuments, history and ideas. The City of London suggested in 2021 the addition of heritage information panels to the planning application for the Fleet Street Heritage Sundial - a resource for visitors to London and for locals to enjoy. This design makes a coherent and engaging 'newspaper on a wall' design from an array of ninety-four heritage panels. Legibility and accessibility have been well considered in the design of the heritage wall: - Clear section headings guide viewers quickly to the part of the display of most interest to them. - QR codes are integrated in the design, linking each panel to its digital counterpart on the FleetStreetHeritage.co.uk website. Visitors can view content on their own device, in a format to suit their needs e.g. larger text, or save for reading later. - The digital webpages also have an audio link for visitors who prefer to listen. - These features will make this important information resource accessible to a wide range of people. It exemplifies the careful thought which has gone into all aspects of this planning application. I support the application and will look forward to seeing the Heritage Wall become a reality. Ms Sar Ms Sarah Williams 1 Highbury Hill Top flat London N5 1SU (Supports) Comment submitted date: Mon 03 Mar 2025 As an accredited City of London guide, I share the City's rich history with guests from London, the rest of the UK and the wider world. Fleet Street is a unique district - and we must celebrate and showcase the important role it has played for centuries in the dissemination and democratisation of information. This heritage wall would be a welcome addition to a street undergoing transformation. It's vital we make the history accessible to all - at street level. I fully support t his proposal. Ms Caroline James 111d Richmond Avenue London N1 0LR (Supports) Comment submitted date: Mon 03 Mar 2025 I strongly support the installation of tiles below the Heritage Sundial at the top of Bouverie Street. I'm a City of London Guide and bring people on walks here. Magpie Alley and it's tiles is a hidden gem which people are delighted to discover. They tell me they go back there and bring friends to see it. The new tiles would be close by and would be seen by many more people as they walk along Fleet Street. I sincerely hope this project goes ahead, it will be an important record of the history of Fleet Street. Ms Sally Horton 65 Beechwood Avenue Orpington BR6 7EZ (Supports) Comment submitted date: Mon 03 Mar 2025 This proposal would be a great extension to the existing sundial and information plaques. I lead guided tours in the area and it's one of the points of interest along the route which always attracts attention. Along with the wonderful tile wall in Magpie Alley this will provide a depth of information and historical context in appealing visual form. I wholeheartedly support this proposal. Miss Celia Pilkington 68 Strahan Road London E3 5DB (Supports) Comment submitted date: Fri 28 Feb 2025 As the archivist at the Inner Temple I strongly support this proposal. The rich history of Fleet Street is fascinating to many. The tiles will be both aesthetically pleasing and informative, allowing many to discover what once lay beneath their feet - from the lands belonging to the Knights Templar to the great newspaper empires of Fleet Street. It is important to keep this history alive, and the tiles will achieve this perfectly. Miss Joséphine Betzer 13 rue cavé Paris 75018 (Supports) Comment submitted date: Thu 27 Feb 2025 I graduated in English Literature at Sorbonne University last year and worked on the history of Fleet Street in my Master's thesis : I come to London on a regular basis to carry out research work. The Fleet Street heritage wall is a great way to make accessible historical and cultural data about one of the main thoroughfare of the City. Its patrimony is very rich and diverse, full of great stories that the publi c, be they tourists or locals, would be glad to know about. This initiative, quite different from the mindset of advertisement, is also a way to adorn the city with something that gives meaning to surroundings rather than engages in consumption. Mr Ian Fergusson Dominus London W1H 5FJ (Supports) Comment submitted date: Thu 27 Feb 2025 Dear Madam/Sir Dominus is a leading real estate investor, developer and asset manager. We are currently on site at 65 Fleet Street delivering a mixed-use development that includes refurbishing and extending the Tipperary Pub, providing public access to the Whitefriars Crypt, delivering a new cultural space designed in partnership with St Bride Foundation, and creating a new public courtyard. We are pleased to write to the City of London to support the following planning application made by Fleet Street Heritage CIC at 6 2 Fleet Street (ref: 24/01325/FULL): Works to Fleet Street Heritage Wall including: (i) placement of 3 rows of A3 ceramic tiles across the length of the Wall; (ii) relocation of 2 existing plaques to new positions and addition of a plaque below the 3 existing; and (iii) repaving of the private area beneath the wall and within title 80056. Our 65 Fleet Street site faces the application site (62 Fleet Street) across Bouverie Street. We agree with the applicant (Fleet Street Heritage CIC) that the blank lower part of the wall at 62 Fleet Street presents a great opportunity to animate the local streetscape and presents an ideal canvas for the stories that the Fleet Street Heritage Wall will tell. Yours faithfully Mr Luca Jellinek 28 Ramillies Road London W4 1JN (six ) Comment submitted date: Tue 25 Feb 2025 The inclusion of semi-permanent, detailed information in the Fleet Street Heritage Wall would add greatly to the accessibility of historical understanding by residents of and visitors to this iconic area of the City. The sundial already promises to improve the aesthetic perception of what would be otherwise an unsightly blank wall. Adding the information tiles would further this purpose. As one of the few architectural historians specialising in the City of London, I strongly support this initiative. Mr Hugo Vickers, DL 62 Lexham Gardens London London W8 5JA (Supports) Comment submitted date: Mon 24 Feb 2025 I write as Chairman of the Jubilee Walkway Trust (until we branched out into the Commonwealth in 2012). This was created in 1977 by Max Nicholson, the father of Piers Nicholson, whose proposal this is. I fully support the Application on the grounds that it is of historical importance and will be most interesting in informing the general public. Therefore it enriches London. I see it as wholly positive Mr Peter Zymanczyk 83 Canterbury Road Harrow HA14PD (Supports) Comment submitted date: Thu 20 Feb 2025 I am a City of London Guide and I do tours in Fleet Street. I think this artwork would be a great asset to the Fleet Street neighbourhood. It will encourage people to stop, look and then maybe explore the alleys around Fleet Street. With the new developments in Fleet Street and the development of the BID it can only enhance the public realm. Jamila N Stoke Newington High Street London N16 0LH (Supports) Comment submitted date: Wed 19 Feb 2025 I lived near Fleet Street for many years and still visit frequently. The tiles beneath the sundial on Bouverie Street, EC4, are a brilliant idea. They would offer a more detailed history of press freedom in the UK while complementing the sundial above. Fleet Street has an incredibly rich history-it was here that British press freedom was forged and fiercely defended. Few people today realize that this was not achieved overnight. Coming from a country where the press is far from free even today, I find it especially meaningful and valuable to reflect on how Britain secured this right. What a fantastic initiative! Mr Luke Miller The Rectory, St Andrew's House 35 St Andrew's Hill London EC4V 5DE (Supports) Comment submitted date: Mon 17 Feb 2025< I am a local resident having lived here for 10 years, and Rector of the Ward Church of Castle Baynard. This proposal seems to me to help interpret the history of the area to visitors and local workers. As the memory of Fleet St as a place of print media fades, this will be an appropriate way to make it known, and help people to interpret the built environment which still in the Express, Telegraph and Daily Sketch buildings, among others, including Punch Tavern, retains memories of the newspaper industry that was once centred here. Mr Phillip Bennison Intense Capital Limited 7 Bell Yard United Kingdon WC2A 2JR (Supports) Comment submitted date: Mon 17 Feb 2025 I write in support of this application as a local business and in the capacity as Development Manager on behalf of the owners of both Peterborough Court and Daniel House, diagonally opposite 62 Fleet Street. The lower sections of wall forming the subject of the application are currently very plain. I note that this wall will be revitalised by the applicant proposing to install high quality ceramic panels depicting fascinating local, historic buildings, businesses and personalities throughout the ages. It is a well considered and exciting proposal. Fleet Street is well known for its former printing heritage, but there is very little evidence of it remaining today. Furthermore, Fleet Street has association with fascinating characters from the printing, scientific and business communities since the early 1500's and again, there is little evidence to be found by residents, let alone tourists in our neighbourhood. This proposal addresses these shortcomings. The exhibition proposals will be a very welcome, impressive and timely stimulous in our neighbourhood to promote its unique history. It is very important that vitality and commerce is encouraged to return to Fleet Street and our local business community by projects like this. It will certainly compliment the exhibition in Magpie Alley and if approved, will undoubtedly become an important destination attraction for tourists and a source of pride for those in our community for years to come. Once again, I fully support this application.