• WE comprise a group of eight apartment owners in Peter Street, Soho.

We are watching with pure amazement that commercial buildings in Soho and Mayfair are arbitrarily being razed to the ground, little consideration being given to their listing status or that the majority of the area is within a “conservation” area, and replaced by sealed glass boxes seemingly with high levels of carbon footprint as everyone is air-conditioned or façades are lit overnight. Their lifespan? Presumably 20 or 30 years.

Our block was constructed in 1999 and absolutely of no architectural merit, being a pretty bland yellow brick façade; but our attempts to secure consent for the replacement of weathered, ill-functioning, wooden, double-glazed window frames with UPVC triple-glazed windows, absolutely refused; the argument being on the grounds of sustainability.

One rule for big corporates and landowners another for residents.

TIM DRAPER
Peter Street, W1