Dear Supporter

Thank you for signing the SOS Save Our South Bank petition and sharing your concerns and objections to the 72 Upper Ground re-development.

We need your help again – this is crunch time!

As you know the scheme – which is 225% the size of the existing ITV Studios, will blight views along the river and deprive neighbouring residents of daylight - was agreed by Lambeth Council planning committee back in March.

The scale of the application means it must be sent to Sadiq Khan, London Mayor and the GLA for approval before the scheme can go ahead.

Lambeth Council have now sent the application to the GLA, and Sadiq Khan has less than 14 days to either approve the application, reject the application or “call it in” for more detailed scrutiny. There is every chance this application might “sneak under the radar” in the next couple of weeks if we don’t speak up now!  

So here's the first thing we need your help with:

You have signed the petition which has amassed 2,408 signatures. Thank you for that. We really need to get it above 2,500 signatures in the next week. We’re nearly there and you could help us get there or an even much higher number of signatures!  

We are planning to go to City Hall and present the petition to Sadiq Khan to ask him to do the right thing for the South Bank and London.

Can you please share and shout about this petition and help us push it above 2,500 signatures? https://www.change.org/p/sos-save-our-south-bank

And now the second thing we need your help with:

Your opposition to this scheme has brought it to the attention of the Secretary of State Greg Clarke MP (and his predecessor Michael Gove MP). He has the power to put a stop to this and “call it in” for a public enquiry, where the scheme will be properly scrutinised and local people’s objections can be heard and not railroaded through.

The Secretary of State will be considering in the next couple of weeks whether he should “call this in” and take the 72 Upper Ground application to a full public enquiry. He needs to know how much opposition there is, both locally and further afield, which will make all the difference in whether he chooses to step in on this one.

Please can you take 5 minutes to write a short email saying how concerned you are about the 72 Upper Ground development to PCU@levellingup.gov.uk

Your email could be as simple as saying you’re worried about the impacts of the 72 Upper Ground development on your neighbourhood, and for London and you think it should be “called in” for a public enquiry so these can be properly considered. If everyone who reads this sends a quick email, his inbox will be full.

72 Upper Ground has attracted opposition locally and nationally.  Florence Eshalomi MP asserts “This will cause unjustified harm to the area and those who live here” and has stood with Lambeth councillors Sarina Da Silva and Ibrahim Dogus against the plans. 

• The Times: Richard Morrison said “This monstrosity must not be allowed to sully the South Bank” 
• The Guardian: Simon Jenkins called it an “aggressive eyesore” and nicknamed it ‘The Slab’.
• The Observer: Rowan Moore dubbed it a “brute of a building” and pointed out to his readers because it is so oversized “It’s about squeezing as much profitable volume as possible out of the site”. 

We're at the eleventh hour now and we need a final push. If you can find 5 minutes in the next week to email the Secretary of State and push the petition to your social media networks, we hope we can achieve something much better for this important and valuable part of Lambeth, London and the UK.

Thank you so much for your support on this campaign. 

On behalf of the Save Our South Bank Action Group