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| Skateboarders' campaign forces Southbank Centre planning delay | Skateboarders' campaign forces Southbank Centre planning delay |
| (3 months later) | |
| The Southbank Centre in London has been forced by a group of skateboarders and BMX riders to delay its £120m redevelopment plan involving the construction of retail units on the site. | The Southbank Centre in London has been forced by a group of skateboarders and BMX riders to delay its £120m redevelopment plan involving the construction of retail units on the site. |
| The arts centre said it would push back its planning application several months until about the end of the year following a vociferous campaign to stop the complex's concrete undercrofts, a mecca for skaters, from being turned into retail units to help finance the redevelopment. | The arts centre said it would push back its planning application several months until about the end of the year following a vociferous campaign to stop the complex's concrete undercrofts, a mecca for skaters, from being turned into retail units to help finance the redevelopment. |
| The skaters collected about 50,000 signatures in protest and launched an application to have the area designated as a protected village green. | The skaters collected about 50,000 signatures in protest and launched an application to have the area designated as a protected village green. |
| It is understood the Southbank Centre is hoping to reach a negotiated settlement with the skaters, perhaps conceding some spaces. | It is understood the Southbank Centre is hoping to reach a negotiated settlement with the skaters, perhaps conceding some spaces. |
| It is the latest blow for the UK's biggest arts building scheme (after the Tate Modern extension) and comes a day after it emerged that the director of the nearby National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner, had told planners the scheme threatened to do "irreparable harm" to the setting of the theatre. | It is the latest blow for the UK's biggest arts building scheme (after the Tate Modern extension) and comes a day after it emerged that the director of the nearby National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner, had told planners the scheme threatened to do "irreparable harm" to the setting of the theatre. |
| "We see this as a big victory," said Henry Edwards-Wood, the skaters' campaign spokesman. "There are skateboarders all over the world watching this. It has been very empowering – we were the underdogs and we got ourselves organised. But it is not the end of the story." | "We see this as a big victory," said Henry Edwards-Wood, the skaters' campaign spokesman. "There are skateboarders all over the world watching this. It has been very empowering – we were the underdogs and we got ourselves organised. But it is not the end of the story." |
| In a statement, the Southbank Centre said: "The Festival Wing project has huge potential to reach out and change the lives of thousands of local children and young people … but we also want our skateboarders and BMXers to continue to think of this as their home. It is for this reason we have asked Lambeth council to allow us more time to review whether our scheme is achieving the very best balance of opportunities for current and future generations, and they have agreed to this." | In a statement, the Southbank Centre said: "The Festival Wing project has huge potential to reach out and change the lives of thousands of local children and young people … but we also want our skateboarders and BMXers to continue to think of this as their home. It is for this reason we have asked Lambeth council to allow us more time to review whether our scheme is achieving the very best balance of opportunities for current and future generations, and they have agreed to this." |
| Jude Kelly, the centre's artistic director, had previously championed the idea of building a new skatepark nearby but this was opposed by skaters who say they value the improvised nature of the space under the arts centre's brutalist architecture. | Jude Kelly, the centre's artistic director, had previously championed the idea of building a new skatepark nearby but this was opposed by skaters who say they value the improvised nature of the space under the arts centre's brutalist architecture. |
| A spokesperson for the arts centre, which has only raised £20m of the total budget so far, said the group wanted to "find the best way of balancing everyone's needs in demanding financial times so we can achieve this ambitious project". | A spokesperson for the arts centre, which has only raised £20m of the total budget so far, said the group wanted to "find the best way of balancing everyone's needs in demanding financial times so we can achieve this ambitious project". |
| The majority of those objecting to the overall development, who have addressed their concerns to Lambeth, have raised the issue of the undercroft following a slick campaign by the skaters involving lawyers who applied to the council to get the area protected as a community space under laws designed to protect village greens. | The majority of those objecting to the overall development, who have addressed their concerns to Lambeth, have raised the issue of the undercroft following a slick campaign by the skaters involving lawyers who applied to the council to get the area protected as a community space under laws designed to protect village greens. |
| "It is a great thing they are listening to the skateboarders," said Neil Danns, a former British skateboard champion who first skated at the South Bank in the 1980s. "The truth is it is a really great tourist attraction in itself. It is one of the iconic places for skateboarding in the UK and famous all over the world. People make a pilgrimage to the Southbank Centre." | "It is a great thing they are listening to the skateboarders," said Neil Danns, a former British skateboard champion who first skated at the South Bank in the 1980s. "The truth is it is a really great tourist attraction in itself. It is one of the iconic places for skateboarding in the UK and famous all over the world. People make a pilgrimage to the Southbank Centre." |
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