Written on 4 October 2016 by Alistair Boscawen in Belgravia
The oldest timber yard in England and Wales is facing closure despite campaigners urging Grosvenor Estates to rethink plans to turn it into luxury apartments.
Newson’s Timber Yard in Belgravia has been running for 175 years but would be forced to close if the developer wins planning approval for the residential and commercial development.
The yard has a long history of working with events like the Chelsea Flower Show but would be forced to shut if the plans are approved by Westminster Council.
The plans, which include the redevelopment of five neighbouring Victorian galleries, have led to more than 200 official objections to Westminster Council, while a petition against the loss of the “unique” timber yard has attracted more than 1200 signatures.
Be
lgravia Residents’ Association chairman James Wright says: “We are averse to losing that facility from the neighbourhood. It is very well used. We are a community, like one big village, and to keep that we need the coffee shops, the bakers, the greengrocers and the chemists. Little by little they are being eroded.
“Grosvenor’s viewpoint is they want to make Pimlico Road a world-leading design centre. We don’t want a world-leading design centre in the middle of our community, we have got Bond Street for that.”
Travis Perkins, which runs the 175-year old yard, has been offered an alternative site by Grosvenor, which the company says is unsuitable.
A heritage assessment has recently confirmed that the yard in Pimlico Road is now the “only surviving historic timber yard in England and Wales”.
The council is due to make a decision on October 18.
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