3.311 Rose Theatre, cont. (62)

Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@VM.EPAS.UTORONTO.CA)
Tue, 1 Aug 89 20:16:50 EDT


Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 311. Tuesday, 1 Aug 1989.

Date: Tue, 1 Aug 89 10:32:56 EDT
From: UDAA270@ELM.CC.KCL.AC.UK
Subject: rose theatre update

Not all campaigns have a happy ending ...
Steve Miller's report on the Rose theatre.
***************************

27 July 1989 ROSE UPDATE -
Though for a while during the meeting on Tuesday 25 July
it seemed that some members of the Southwark Planning
Committee might attempt to defy the efforts of the Department
of the Environment and English Heritage to push through
the developer's plans for an office block over the Rose Theatre,
in the end the committee bowed and accepted the revised office
block plan, though saying that they would attach legal clauses
to try to protect public access to the site eventually. They
did this despite advice from their solicitor that they
might still delay things a bit longer to seek more
archaeological advice.
Before the meeting, the developers had already begun digging
foundations for their revised plan on the Rose site. From
one sample brought up by a drill a bone was rescued that
proved to be from a brown bear. Museum of London archaeologists
produced this at the meeting along with eloquent pleas
that a full archaeological investigation of the whole site
be requested before building work destroyed some of the
evidence for good. In effect the Committee chose to
ignore them. Dame Peggy Ashcroft, after the meeting, professed
to be baffled by the decision and said that the fight for
the Rose would continue. Pressure will still be needed
and other attempts to influence events will still be mounted.
I must admit to having found the committee decision, though
not unexpected, very disappointing.
Anyone wishing to write to the new Secretary of State for
the Environment appointed three days ago should address -
The Rt Hon Christopher Patten,
Secretary of State,
Department of the Environment,
Lambeth Bridge House,
LONDON SE1 7SB ENGLAND
telephone: 01-211-3000 TELEX: 886 598 FAX:01-238-4330
| One further bit of news, again sad I am afraid, is that
| Philip Brockbank, former director of the Shakespeare Institute
| died on Tuesday 18 July. His page and a half of reflections on
| the Rose was published in the Times Higher Education Supplement
| on June 23. I suspect that, as with Lord Olivier, his last
| public utterances were in support of the Rose Theatre.

Sincerely, Stephen Miller
c/o Dept of English, King's College London, The Strand
LONDON WC2R 2LS England
e-mail JANET udle031@UK.AC.KCL.CC.OAK