Harrisons Wharf – The Estate Dubbed ‘Pig Ugly’ by the Minister for Planning on Newsnight
an ‘overbearing and unbroken slab of dismal brickwork that is an insult to the community it borders’.
he visited Purfleet a short while ago.
The site was described as follows in a 2004 CABE report ‘Moving into the Mediocre’
A lack of imagination, no design brief and the dominance of car parking are all to blame for the bad design of Harrisons Wharf. The scheme, which consists of 103 flats overlooking the River Thames in Purfleet, was always going to be a difficult project for developers Bellway Homes.
When plans were first drawn up the site was operating as an aggregates yard, was surrounded by other industrial units and faced onto a semi-derelict riverside.
But a lack of flair in the design has resulted in riverside development that does not have direct pedestrian access to the actual river.
A design brief was not produced for this site due to limited resources, this resulted in an absence of clear guidance from the local authority and limited amount of early communication with the developer. Remedial action has now had to be taken to improve the development’s connection with the surrounding area.
Posted on November 28, 2012, in urban planning. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
Of course, it looks like every single development that has taken place in my area over the last 5-10 years. So, can we have them all torn down please?