1) opposing
RBK&C’s proposals to change Sloane Square into a
crossroads by driving a four-lane road through the middle of the
Square;
2) promoting a
renovation plan for the Square, which will enhance its beauty and
improve access for pedestrians by reclaiming unused road space for
better pavements; and
3) not wasting
£6 million of ratepayers’ money on
‘traffic improvement plans’ when the extended
congestion charge in February 2007 will reduce traffic using the
Square.
History of Save Sloane Square
History of Save Sloane
Square
June
2005
Save
Sloane Square was founded at a public meeting.
October
2005
Concern
over the future of Sloane Square was raised by Baroness Trumpington
during Questions in the House
of Lords on 12 October 2005.
April
2006
Faced
with the unilateral imposition of the Council’s crossroads
scheme in early 2006, Save Sloane Square
was registered as a political
party with the Electoral Commission in April 2006, with Dr
James
Thompson as Chairman, Mrs Elspeth Chowdharay-Best as Treasurer and Sir
Philip Goodhart as Nominating Officer. Save Sloane Square announced
that it would field candidates at the local elections in Kensington
& Chelsea, and presented a petition with more than 3,700
signatures calling on the Council not to implement the scheme.
May 2006
The
Council agreed with Save Sloane Square to (i) develop an alternative
scheme for improving Sloane Square in its current setting, retaining
the existing layout but implementing a long overdue programme of
maintenance and upgrading; (ii) offer people the choice between the two
schemes in a new consultation process, which it promised would be fair
and impartial; and (iii) abide by the outcome of the process. In
return, Save Sloane Square withdrew its candidates from the local
elections.
August 2006
Notwithstanding
the above, implementation of the crossroads scheme remained the
Council’s clear objective, and they continued to promote it.
The Deputy Leader said he would be using Council resources to explain
to the public the merits of the scheme, which he strongly supports.
Save Sloane Square believes that although the future of Sloane Square
is a matter of national importance, the deciding factor is likely to be
the vote of local residents. It therefore launched an appeal in August
2006 in order to fund the preparation and distribution of campaigning
materials to several thousand households, to ensure that voters were
aware of the process and to urge them to vote against the crossroads
and in favour of preserving the Square.
September 2006
The
Sloane Square Improvement Group was formed under the chairmanship of
Cllr Tim Coleridge to enable Save Sloane Square to develop an
alternative plan for the Square and to channel its views to Council
officers.
October 2006
The
Council agreed to release £20,000 of Council funds to allow
Save Sloane Square to develop a renovation plan for the Square. Atkins,
the urban designers and architects, were appointed to draw up the plan.
Save
Sloane Square has the support of the Belgravia Residents Association
(www.belgraviaresidents.org.uk), the Pimlico Traders Association and
Chelsea residents’ associations, including the Physic Garden
Association and the Milner Street Area Residents’ Association.
sss working group
Save Sloane Square
Working Group
The SSS working group is composed of eleven people. All except one live
within walking distance of Sloane Square.
Two are former councillors of
RBKC and three run leading residents’ associations.
Robin
Berkeley OBE
Elspeth Chowdharay-Best
Sir Philip Goodhart
The Lord Grantley
Jill Hoyle
Hazel S. Smith
Arnold Stevenson
Dr James Thompson
Dr Margaret Thompson
James Wright
Our Patrons
Our Patrons
Save Sloane Square is supported by a Who’s Who of
distinguished patrons from all walks of life. A brief biography follows
on each one.
Patrons’
Details
Colin Amery
- is the director of the World Monuments Fund in Britain. He is a
former architectural correspondent of the Financial Times and is a
trustee of the Museum of London. He has written several books,
including Four London Architects, Rape of Britain, Wren’s
London and The Lost World of Pompeii. He works in the City of
Westminster.
Clive Aslet
- is the former editor of Country Life, of which he remains Editor at
Large. He writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph
and is the author of Landmarks of Britain. He lives in the City of
Westminster.
Dr Branko Bokun
- is the author of 13 books, including Capitalism, Communism and the
Third Way and the best sellers The Spy in the Vatican and Humour
Therapy. He lives in RBK&C and is currently writing his memoirs.
Lady (Moya) Denman
- lives in RBK&C and is co-chairman of the Astell Street et al
Residents’ Association. She stood as a Lib Dem candidate for
the RBK&C Council in 2006. Her late husband, Sir Roy Denman
CMG, was the European Community’s Ambassador in Washington
from 1982-89.
The Earl of Drogheda
- is a professional photographer and head of Derry Moore Photography.
His works have been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery. He
lives in RBK&C.
Rupert Everett
- the film star, has appeared in Another Country, The Comfort of
Strangers, The Madness of King George, My Best Friend’s
Wedding, Shakespeare in Love, Inspector Gadget, The Next Best Thing and
Separate Lies. He has recently written his autobiography, Red Carpets
and Other Banana Skins. He is a former resident of RBK&C.
Lord Ezra MBE
- is a Lib Dem member of the House of Lords. He was chairman of the
National Coal Board. He has spoken in Parliament against the
RBK&C Council’s crossroads scheme. He lives in the
City of Westminster and is a former chairman of the Belgravia
Residents’ Association.
Professor Stanley Feldman FRCA
- held the Chair of Anaesthesia at the Charing Cross and Westminster
Medical Schools. He has written two key works, Scientific Foundations
of Anaesthesia and Mechanism of Action of Drugs in Anaesthesia. He has
made frequent appearances on radio and television. He lives in
RBK&C.
Bryan Ferry
- founder of the band ‘Roxy Music’ in 1972, is a
highly innovative composer, singer and visual artist. He continues to
tour with the reformed group, and performed in June 2006 at a charity
event in aid of the Countryside Alliance. He lives in the City of
Westminster.
Sir Adrian Fitzgerald Bt
- is an Honorary Alderman of RBK&C, having served on the
Council from 1974-2002. Over time he was chairman of the Highways and
Traffic Committee, chairman of the Education Committee and Conservative
Chief Whip. He is President of the Anglo-Polish Society. He lives in
RBK&C.
Princess George Galitzine
- lives in the City of Westminster. As Jean Dawnay, she was
Dior’s first English model and the highest paid model in the
country, and the youngest WAAF in World War II. She has recently been
responsible for the creation of the Galitzine Library in her late
husband’s family home in St Petersburg.
Sir Philip Goodhart
-was Conservative MP for Beckenham from 1957-92 and a minister at the
Northern Ireland Office and the Ministry of Defence. He lives in
RBK&C.
Lord Grantley
- is a retired banker. He previously worked for the Conservative
Research Department and (in 1979) in Mrs Margaret Thatcher’s
private office. He was a Councillor for RBK&C from 1982-86, and
was subsequently the sole representative of UKIP in Parliament. He
lives in RBK&C.
Mary Kenny
- is an author, journalist and broadcaster and a former resident of
RBK&C. She has written regularly for the Daily Telegraph,
Times, Guardian, Spectator and the religious press. Her book Germany
Calling (a biography of ‘Lord Haw-Haw’) is being
turned into a film, and her play Allegiance was premiered at the
Edinburgh Festival in August 2006.
Roy Kerridge
- is an author and journalist. He has written regularly for the New
Statesman, Spectator, Encounter and Christian Post and has contributed
cartoons to the Westminster Review. His latest book is Roy
Kerridge’s Britain.
Sue Lawley OBE
- is one of Britain’s best-known broadcasters and
journalists. She became a household name in the 1970s, initially as a
presenter on Nationwide. She has presented Desert Island Discs for the
past 17 years and chaired the BBC’s Reith Lectures for the
past four. She is on the boards of the English Tourism Council and the
English National Opera. She lives in RBK&C.
Sir Dai Llewellyn Bt
- is an impresario. He used to be co-owner of El Cheapo clothes shop,
and Club Director of Wedgies, both in the King’s Road. He
lives in the City of Westminster.
Paul Longmore RIBA
- is an architect. He lives in the City of Westminster.
Hon Lady (Judy) McAlpine
- is a director of Sir William McAlpine Ltd and of Flying Scotsman
Enterprises. Her husband, Sir William McAlpine Bt, is a director of Sir
Robert McAlpine Ltd and President of Fairbridge, and the founder
chairman of the Railway Heritage Trust. She lives in the City of
Westminster.
Bishop Michael Marshall
- has been Rector of Holy Trinity Sloane Square and Assistant Bishop of
London since 1997. He was Suffragan Bishop of Woolwich from 1975-84 and
then the founding episcopal director of the Anglican Institute at St
Louis, Missouri. He is an accomplished concert pianist. His
church, described by Sir John Betjeman as “the cathedral of
the Arts and Crafts movement”, is one of London’s
finest. He lives in RBK&C.
Viscount Montgomery of Alamein CMG CBE
- is a former Councillor for RBK&C. During a distinguished
business career he served as chairman of various Anglo-Latin American
organisations, and received decorations from Germany, Belgium, Spain
and six countries in Latin America. He was a member of the House of
Lords from 1976-99 and was re-elected in 2005. He lives in
RBK&C.
Lady Neill
- lives in RBK&C. Her husband, Lord Neill of Blagden QC, was
chairman of the Bar Council, Warden of All Souls’ College,
Oxford, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, a director of Times
Newspapers and chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
Sir Michael Ridley KCVO
- was in charge of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1982-2000
and was a General Commissioner for Income Tax and Hon Treasurer of the
Chartered Surveyors’ Company. From 2001-06 he served as one
of two independent members of the new Standards Committee of the
RBK&C Council. He lives in the City of Westminster.
Dr John Martin Robinson
- is partner of Historic Buildings Consultants, Vice-Chairman of the
Georgian Group and Heraldic Adviser to the National Trust. Previously
he worked for the GLC Historic Buildings Division and for English
Heritage, as architectural editor of the Survey of London and Inspector
of Historic Buildings for the City of Westminster. He has written 20
books, including the official history of Buckingham Palace, and writes
regularly for Country Life.
Lord St John of Fawsley PC FRS (Norman St John-Stevas)
- was Conservative MP for Chelmsford from 1964-87. He served in Mrs
Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet from 1979-81 as Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster, Leader of the House of Commons and Minister for the
Arts. He was Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge from 1991-96 and
Chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission from 1985-99.
The Dowager Marchioness of Salisbury
- is a celebrated garden designer, and has been described by
Greenfingers as “one of England’s most admired
gardening ladies”. She dedicated 30 years to the restoration
and improvement of the famous gardens at Hatfield House. Her late
husband was MP for W. Bournemouth and her eldest son was Lord Privy
Seal and Leader of the House of Lords in John Major’s cabinet
from 1994-97. She lives in RBK&C.
Anne Scott-James (Lady Lancaster)
- is a former editor of Harper’s Bazaar and has written many
books on gardens. Some of those she wrote with her late husband, Sir
Osbert Lancaster, have been republished as gardening classics. She has
recently appeared on television in connection with her old friend Sir
John Betjeman. She lives in RBK&C.
Dame Antoinette Sibley DBE
- was one of the leading ballerinas of her generation. Her partnership
with Anthony Dowell at the Royal Ballet was one of the most famous
partnerships in the history of ballet. She is currently the President
of the Royal Academy of Dance. She lives in the City of Westminster.
Nicola Smith MBE
- is a leading international bridge player, a six times winner of the
European Women’s Teams, and was world champion in 1981, 1985
and 1994. For many years she ran the London School of Bridge. She lives
and teaches in RBK&C.
Pierre Spengler
- is an acclaimed film producer and has been active in the British film
industry since 1973. His credits include Richard Lester’s
Musketeer trilogy, the Superman trilogy, The Prince and the Pauper,
Santa Claus and Underground which won the Golden Palme at the Cannes
Film Festival. He is a former resident of RBK&C.
Lord Strabolgi
- has been a Labour member of the House of Lords since 1953. He was
Deputy Chief Whip from 1974-79. He was a Deputy Speaker of the House
and Deputy Chairman of Committees from 1986-2002, having been elected
to continue in this capacity in 1999 when the other hereditary peers
were excluded. He lives in the City of Westminster.
Professor David Watkin Hon FRIBA
- is Professor of Architectural History at Cambridge University. He has
been a Fellow of Peterhouse College, Cambridge since 1970. He is the
author of Morality and Architecture, English Architecture, A History of
Western Architecture and a book on Sir John Soane.
The Marchioness of Worcester
- is a well known environmental campaigner. She is an associate
director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture and a
patron of Transport 2000, the Gaia Foundation and the Soil Association.
She lives in RBK&C.
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Original
Website design by: Andy
Berry. from 2005 - October 2006 Vic Gerhardi
from November
2006 Hazel Smith, Jill Hoyle & Vic Gerhardi.
