C O N T E X T 1 2 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 5 Orkney landscape:‘Some folk have almost given up, and moved into town where there are no restrictions.’ ‘THREE FOLK have come to me to complain. All three had to get their houses redesigned to meet the planners’ criteria, costing them between an additional £8,000 to £12,000 for the basic kit. ‘They’ve been left with a house they do not want, having spent five figures more than they wanted – they were basically just disappointed. Some folk have almost given up, and moved into town where there are no restrictions.’ Kenny Slater of the Orkney branch of the National Farmers’ Union Scotland, quoted in The Orcadian, complaining about the Supplementary Guidance for the Design of New Houses in the Orkney Countryside. Some campaigners against the guidance object to it because, as The Orcadian explains, ‘the house style favoured in the document would not fit in with the modern houses built in the countryside over the past couple of decades’. ‘Scarborough Castle is a regular target of anti-social behaviour and the latest damage to the castle is extremely disappointing. Deliberate acts of vandalism are illegal and we take this very seriously. ‘People often climb the 300-foot cliff walls to gain access during the night. This is very dangerous as the walls are 900 years old and are unstable. People risk a fatal fall while climbing them. Removing the fence and warning signs is also very irresponsible.Whoever did this placed themselves and the public at serious risk of death.’ Peter Bleach, English Heritage’s site manager for Scarborough Castle ‘[AN] ENORMOUS problem is the influence of the surveyors who value homes. They’re unaccountable philistines: it’s an open secret they down-value modern homes. This might bring down house prices but, from an aesthetic point of view, it leads to boring and conventional housing design. ‘We need to ensure house-builders and architects find an aesthetic that reflects our era, its values and interests. Think how impoverished our cities would be if our forebears hadn’t left their mark on them. For the benefit of future generations, we must do the same. They must look back and think: “I’ve got this wonderful noughties house”. That’s part of being a civilisation.’ Dickon Robinson, chairman of the RIBA’s Living Architecture and Building Futures ‘BTwas seeking permission for 108 cabinets, many of them in sensitive locations. It would not compromise on the number, or on the design. It would not use sites that already had unused BT equipment and it would not consider putting the equipment underground or any other method.’ The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea explaining why it had refused 96 of BT’s 108 applications for street cabinets, prompting the telecoms giant to halt its programme of super-fast broadband in part of west London. ‘SUFFICE IT to say, at this stage, that notwithstanding the points you made before, during and after your meeting with the Exchequer Secretary, I am satisfied with the rationale for the measure which removes the anomaly that alterations to listed buildings are zero rated, while repair and maintenance to listed buildings (and all building work to non-listed buildings) are standard rated.’ The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s disappointing reply to the Cut theVAT Coalition’s open letter, co-signed by the IHBC and other organisations. ‘A COMPLETE teardown of such a home would set the stage for numerous future demolitions that will alter the character of our beloved San Francisco neighbourhoods.’ One of the many protesters against a proposal by EvanWilliams, co-founder of Twitter, to demolish an arts-and-crafts house and replace it with a zero-net-energy home, quoted in the Guardian. ‘IT IS THE only residence by the world-famous architect that is based on the circular spiral plan of the Guggenheim Museum in NewYork, whose construction followed it by six years.When the house was first published in 1953, it was stated that no other Wright house since Fallingwater was as praiseworthy and remarkable. Since then its reputation has only increased and several architectural historians and architecture critics consider it to be among the 20 most significant Wright buildings.’ Architectural historian Neil Levine on the DavidWright House in Phoenix, Arizona, which is at risk of demolition by developers
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