southbank undercroft - Long Live Southbank

Transcription

SOUTHBANK UNDERCROFT
Cultural & Heritage Assessment Report
SEPTEMBER 2014
QUOTES
“The skate park is the epicentre of UK skateboarding and is part of the cultural fabric of London. It helps to make London
the great city it is”
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
“The Open Spaces Society considers that the Undercroft is of immense value as a public open space, in the heart of London”
Kate Ashbrook, General Secretary, Open Spaces Society
“Retaining the Undercroft signals that, as a culture, we are still able to respect those relationships, even when they are
different to our own”
Dr David Webb, Lecturer in Town Planning, Newcastle University
“Preserve the integrity of Southbank, a sanctuary for skateboarders, and an important part of London history”
Tony Hawk, World Champion Skateboarder
“Skateboarding use brings a unique visual and cultural interest to this part of the South Bank”
Catherine Croft, Director, Twentieth Century Society
“The Undercroft – that symbol of edginess and counter-culture that the Southbank Centre is lucky enough to have
embedded at its very core”
Dr Matthew Barac, Research Leader for Architecture, London South Bank University
“The Undercroft has brought together people from various backgrounds, created a vibrant public space and added real
value to the lives of many young people”
Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2008)
“The issue of the Undercoft below the Queen Elizabeth Hall has proven to be a salient reminder of the need to understand
not just the design of modern spaces but their historic and evolving use”
Sara Crofts, Deputy Director, Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
“It’s fun and friendly for tourists to come across and maybe for the average person to mingle with skateboarders on
common ground”
Mark Gonzales, Skateboarding Pioneer
“This is a culturally and historically important area of the South Bank”
Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall
“For those people, it is not only a source of identity but also distinctiveness, social interaction, and coherence”
Simon Hickman, Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas, English Heritage
"The Undercroft is a free space for people to express themselves on a site of real significance to a global youth culture. It is
part of what makes our capital city brilliant"
Catherine Harrington, Director, The National Community Land Trust Network
“This site has built up organically from the skateboarders themselves, generations of skateboarders, going back decades”
Ben Bradshaw, MP for Exeter
“The skate area already attracts marginalised young people; it already allows them to form diverse communities around a
shared common interest”
Dr Oliver Mould, Lecturer in Human Geography, University of London
“Because of their potency and endurance it is hard to question the validity of the skaters on the South Bank”
Sharon Ament, Director, Museum of London
“In the case of the Undercroft, it is quite plain that future generations will have an interest in youth and street cultures”
Dr William Gallois, Cultural Historian, Exeter University
“Not only is the Undercroft iconic, it is a fantastic urban example of public recreational space and how these spaces can
help bring people together”
Helen Griffiths, Chief Executive, Fields in Trust
CONTENTS
AUTHORS
Paul Richards
Bonnie Kitching
Steffan Blayney
Contributor
Creative and Educational Director, UpRise
BSc MArch DipArch RIBA AABC, Architect
BA (Hons) MSt (Oxon), Researcher, Long Live Southbank
Louis Woodhead, Long Live Southbank
1.0
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2.0
INTRODUCTION
3.0
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
4.0
STATUTORY LEGISLATION & GUIDANCE
5.0
EXISTING DESIGNATIONS & POLICY SIGNIFICANCE
6.0
THE UNDERCROFT: ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
7.0
THE UNDERCROFT: ACTIVITY
2.1
2.2
2.3
3.1
3.2
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.3
7.1
7.2
Description of the Existing Site
The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room
Description of the Proposals for the Festival Wing Site
The Site in Context
Origins of Skateboarding
Statement of Significance – Evidential Value
Statement of Significance – Historic Value
Statement of Significance – Aesthetic Value
Statement of Significance – Community Value
7.3
7.4
Recreational and Cultural Uses
Cardboard City
Attitudes of the Owners
Proposed and Unbuilt Developments
8.0
THE UNDERCROFT: LONG LIVE SOUTHBANK
9.0
STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.3
Long Live Southbank
Statement of Need
Restoring the Original Undercroft
A Way Forward
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1:
APPENDIX 2:
APPENDIX 3:
LISTING DESCRIPTION
QUOTES FROM UNDERCROFT USERS
QUOTES FROM MEMBERS OF PUBLIC
Southbank Undercroft 1970s. Image © Brian Gittings
Southbank Undercroft
1.0
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Southbank Undercroft Cultural & Heritage Assesment Report is an in depth look at the
importance of Southbank Undercroft; an exemplary manifestation of something that occupies the
space where Cultural Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage merge, and then extends its
branches far deeper into both areas, giving a contemporary understanding of how we view and
interpret culture in an ever-changing world.
It illustrates the evolution and adaptability of a community and physical expression which is
inextricably linked to the physical environment in which it resides; a ‘found space’ on the ground
level of the Queen Elizabeth Hall brutalist building constructed on the South Bank of the Thames
between Waterloo Bridge and Hungerford Bridge in 1968.
Southbank Undercroft is distinctively different from all other creative practices in the Southbank
Centre complex of buildings which are, in one way or another, formalised, programmed, structured
with routine, granted permission, and reliant upon commission, finance and audience. The very
organic nature by which the culture and community came into existence, and continued to evolve
and grow, despite changes in the management and physicality of the buildings it is situated in, sets
a precedent and makes it a solitary and unique case without counterpart.
The intention of this report is to provide a deeper insight into the historical, cultural and emotional
significance which resonate both within and beyond the specific site. It also looks at ensuring a
fully-formed understanding of what honest and integral preservation means, in order to create the
basis and framework by which the culture is allowed to continue to evolve by its own direction, free
from external influence, alteration and direction. The campaign group, emanating from and
initiated by the Undercroft community, unites skateboarders, locals and supporters from around
the world who are dedicated in protecting the Southbank Undercroft in its current form.
As the historical resident community, existing for over 40 years, users of the Undercroft are keen to
actively engage as a community group and have a voice and be involved with the key decisions
about the spaces immediate and long-term future. For the past 17 months thousands of members
of the community, led by skateboarders, have actively engaged in the campaign to protect the
space and over 150,000 people have signed up to a statement of preservation. Statements of
support for preservation of the tangible physical and architectural space as well as the organic
cultural intangible heritage have come from a large number of significant contributors from across
the areas of architecture, planning, academia, politics, culture and the arts.
There is a compelling argument for the sympathetic restoration of the complete Undercroft as per
the original design. Particularly when considering it also realises the original architects’ intended
vision and plan. This sets a president for an arts centre which can work in synergy with the creative
and cultural energy that makes the space what it is, and provides a leading example of what can be
achieved by considered community collaboration.
Cultural and Heritage Assessment Report
© Long Live Southbank
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2.0 INTRODUCTION
This Heritage Assessment has been prepared in order to support the preservation, in its current
form, of Southbank Undercroft (hereafter, ‘the Undercroft’). The Undercroft is situated in the
supporting structures beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which form part of the Southbank Centre
complex, on the South Bank Estate in the London Borough of Lambeth, between Waterloo Bridge
and Hungerford Bridge.
In the first instance, research and physical analysis has been undertaken of the Undercroft space as
the supporting structure of the overall building to establish the significance of the space in terms of
evidential, historical, aesthetic and communal quality, this baseline information and assessment is
used to prepare a series of design parameters which fully consider the heritage significance of the
site. This report has been written to information and policies detailed in The National Planning
Policy Framework (NPPF) and other relevant guidelines.
The aim of the report is to give an overview of the history of the site and its uses, to show how they
have developed over time and to give a statement of significance to indicate why the building is
important in heritage terms. The report gives an overview of the significance in terms of cultural
value, artistic value, recreational value, community value, social value, health and well-being.
2.1
Description of the Existing Site
Southbank Centre comprises the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall (located above the
Undercroft) and the Purcell Room, and the Hayward Gallery. Beyond the Southbank Centre itself,
the South Bank area is regarded as a cultural quarter and comprising the independently managed
National Theatre, British Film Institute (National Film Theatre 1951-2007) and the BFI IMAX cinema.
Graphical representations of Southbank Centre site. Images from public domain
2.1.1
Ownership and Management
In 1985 when the abolition of the Greater London Council (GLC) was announced, the Arts Council
took over responsibility for the South Bank Centre and the then Deputy Secretary-General, Richard
Pulford began work setting up the South Bank Board. 1 year later the South Bank Board took over
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control of the concert halls from the GLC, as a constituent part of the Arts Council. The South Bank
Board took over the running of the Hayward Gallery, National Touring Exhibitions and the Arts
Council Collection from the Arts Council in April 1987, becoming an independent arts organisation
and one of the "big five" flagship arts companies alongside the Royal National Theatre, Royal Opera
House, Royal Shakespeare Company and English National Opera.
View of South Bank area. Image from public domain
2.2
The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room
The Queen Elizabeth Hall has over 900 seats and the Purcell Room in the same building has 360
seats. The concert hall is an excellent example of brutalist architecture with its powerful forms and
austere materials. The designers’ intention was to demonstrate the separate elements of the
building, in order to avoid competing with the scale and presence of the Royal Festival Hall of 2500
capacity. The building tests form and demonstrates the capabilities of concrete, which was the
forerunning technology at the time.
2.2.1 The Undercroft
The Undercroft is one of three architectural elements, the other two being the Foyer and the
Auditorium. Built by Higgs and Hill, the construction is an excellent example of a twentieth century
post war public building. It used minimal decoration and was designed to allow circulation at
multiple levels around the building. The focus was primarily on the internal spaces, intimate scale
and subtle use of materials with a terrace overlooking Queen’s Walk. There is limited fenestration,
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except for a deeply inset sweep along the river frontage of the foyer building. The original
arrangements provide circulation above and below the foyer (which is now restricted in access,
although parts of roof terrace have been opened periodically in 2011 and 2014), right around the
sides and rear of the two auditoriums and also a bridge link to The Hayward Gallery.
Shuttering
The Undercroft topography consists of flat spaces at different height levels with angled banks and
steps, and features distinctive octagonal ‘mushroom’ support columns throughout the space. Made
of raw concrete, the pillars, walls and roofs were created using the technique of shuttering. The
shuttering process used wooden planks to create temporary containment structures which were
then filled with setting concrete to secure the forms in place. Once the concrete had set and the
temporary structures removed, the finished result create forms and features which retain the
markings and texture of the wood it was held within.
The majority of the pillars which were part of the original walkway which extended from the Queen
Elizabeth Hall to Hungerford Bridge, on the riverside frontage of the Royal Festival Hall, are now
enclosed within retail spaces and no longer visible as part of the intended building design.
2.2.2 The Foyer
The V shaped foyer is situated at the first floor level and is supported on octagonal reinforced
concrete columns, with the Undercroft below. The arms of the V shape link to the auditorium by
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cast concrete tubes. The provision of only two entrances causes congestion and slow exit for
audiences, this problem is compounded by all the foyer facilities located on a single level. There is a
descent required to the auditorium and steps are required up the Purcell Room. The foyer is
irregular in shape to accommodate the change in angle between the lines of Waterloo Bridge and
the north east of the Royal Festival Hall.
QEH and Undercroft 1970s. © Davie Wilson QEH and Undercroft 2000s. © N Chadwick
A refurbishment of the foyer was undertaken in 2006, which enhanced original features of the bar
and glazed central void area where the use of concrete, glass and marble is demonstrated to good
effect.
The main entrance to the foyer is from walkway level near the north end of the terrace of the Royal
Festival Hall. In later years, colour has been introduced into this space with poster boxes, a name
board, roof and wall panels, painted external stairs and external light fittings. The entrance
originally would have been minimal in the form of a horizontal slit in a concrete structure with six
pairs of aluminium doors.
A smaller entrance is provided at ground level, intended for visitors by car (it was possible for traffic
to approach before construction of the Museum of the Moving Image in the 1980s) or coming from
the car park under The Hayward. This entrance also appears to have led to the Undercroft but
access is now blocked off. An internal stair leads to the foyer level from this lower entrance, past
the original box office area. There are large amounts of underutilised space on the walkways and
ground floor circulation. The provision of only an external staircase to the roof terrace is restrictive.
The Hayward Gallery roof terrace and bridge have recently been reopened, with the creation of an
external gallery, roof garden and café in partnership with the Eden Project in Cornwall. This is the
most interesting pedestrian circulation space and is reached by the external concrete staircase at
the west corner on Queen’s Walk near to Festival Pier, which also leads to the lower level and the
route to Festival Square.
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Original design plan featuring elevated walkway and undercroft as viewed from Westminster
Image of the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery featuring original public walkways
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Main Entrance to Queen Elizabeth Hall. © Morley von Sternberg
There is a crude disabled ramp, of block and brick that has been added to the walkway between the
Queen Elizabeth Hall entrance and The Hayward Gallery.
2.2.3 The Auditorium
The Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium is a separate building from the foyer, the stage is parallel to
Waterloo Bridge and the seating cantilevered towards the foyer, supported by a huge column with
the emergency stairs at the rear. The North West façade by Waterloo Bridge is suffering from
pollution and rain water, however, its form is a very good example of the massive concrete
structures of the 1960s British Brutalist architecture. There is a raised area facing Waterloo Bridge
which may have been intended for outdoor performances.
A concrete air conditioning duct in located along the auditorium roof level towards the Thames.
There is a walkway below that is on the roof of a plant room. Ventilation is provided from a plant
room on the roof of the Purcell Room through a massive concrete duct leading to the Queen
Elizabeth Hall roof.
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2.3
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall project was led by London County Council’s chief architect, Robert Matthew,
with construction starting in 1948. After taking 18 months to complete, the building was opened in
1951. It is a Grade I listed building, the first post-war building to become protected (in 1981).
Exterior Image of the Royal Festival Hall
2.4
Proposals for the Festival Wing Site
On 6 March 2013 Southbank Centre announced the Festival Wing scheme and plans in a press
release titled ‘Southbank Centre Unveils Plans To Transform Festival Wing And Create World-Class
Cultural Centre In London.’
The original Festival Wing Plan was a £120m proposal, developed internally since 2011, if not
earlier, and presented to the public in March 2013, to double the size of Southbank Centre. Much
of the existing arts centre was to undergo extensive refurbishment, including the Queen Elizabeth
Hall, Purcell Room, Hayward Gallery and the outdoor terraces. The proposals, by architects Feilden
Clegg Bradley Studios, also included 3 major new builds. A glazed foyer space was planned between
the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room. On top of this was planned a ‘floating’ glass box,
designed as rehearsal space for orchestras and to play host to corporate events. A three story liner
building, designed to run parallel to Waterloo Bridge was also planned for both commercial, artistic
and educational uses. The plan also included the infilling of the Southbank Undercroft, the historic
home of skateboarding and street arts in the UK, and the replacement of this with coffee shops and
restaurants.
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3.0
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
3.1
The Site in Context1
The Undercroft is situated within the South Bank Estate, at the centre of the capital and at the
heart of arguably the nation’s most important cultural destination. This overview history is
designed to place the Undercroft’s significance in its proper historical context.
Early History: Lambeth Marsh
The area now known as the South Bank was for several centuries little more than undeveloped,
rural marshland. At the northern tip of the ancient parish of Lambeth, the legacy of ‘Lambeth
Marshe’, first recorded in medieval taxation records of the fourteenth century, can still be seen
today in the names of ‘Upper’ and ‘Lower Marsh’ streets, at the back of Waterloo Station. Until the
eighteenth century, the south side of the Thames, in contrast to the expanding city across the
water and technically a part of Sussex, remained mostly undeveloped countryside, with London
Bridge the only permanent river-crossing until 1750.
In the sixteenth century, Lambeth Marsh, free from the restrictive laws and taxes of Westminster
and the City, became a popular entertainment destination for Londoners, with a number of
theatres – including Shakespeare’s Globe at Bankside –bear-baiting arenas appearing along the
river. Samuel Pepys’ diaries recall seventeenth-century Lambeth as a favourite late-night drinking
spot. In 1718 a house called Belvidere was opened to the public by Charles Bascom as part of
several public pleasure gardens which were opened along the South Bank in the eighteenth
century. In 1785 water works were established on the southern part of the garden.
Industrial South Bank
By the mid-eighteenth century, much of the marsh had been drained, and transport links with the
north bank were improved by new bridges from Westminster and Blackfriars, with the first
Waterloo Bridge completed in 1817. The onset of the industrial revolution saw the South Bank
become the location of some of London’s more unsightly or malodorous industries – at a safe
distance from the City. Vinegar distilleries, tallow factories and Lambeth Waterworks all appeared
along the river, before the iconic Shot Tower and Lambeth Lead Works and the Lion Brewery were
erected in 1826 and 1836-7 respectively. The arrival of the railway at Waterloo Station in 1848,
linked by Hungerford Bridge to the new Charing Cross Station in 1864, saw the South Bank
becoming increasingly integrated with Central London.
1
Partly adapted from S. Blayney, ‘The History of the Southbank Site’, in E. Parnavelas (ed.) Long Live
Southbank (London: Long Live Southbank, forthcoming 2014)
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The twentieth century saw the completion of County Hall (opened in 1922 and now a Grade-II*
listed building) built to house the London County Council, facing the Houses of Parliament at the
south end of Westminster Bridge. Up until the Second World War, however, the South Bank would
remain predominantly an industrial wilderness, all but cut off from the social and cultural life of its
northern counterpart.
The South Bank, Hungerford Bridge and Charing Cross 1921.
Image ref: EPW006152
Plan of the Lion Brewery
Ref: British History Online
The area was heavily affected by German bombing during the Blitz, and when J.H. Forshaw and
Patrick Abercrombie came to drawing up the County of London Plan for the post-war
reconstruction of London in 1943, they described an area that was ‘depressing,’ ‘semi-derelict,’ and
‘lacking any sense of that dignity and order appropriate to its location at the centre of London.’
1951: The Festival of Britain
In 1948 it was decided that the South Bank would play host to the flagship exhibition of the Festival
of Britain, being planned to celebrate both the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition and the
beginning of a new post-war era. The wharves and warehouses that had defined the industrial
character of the site were cleared in 1949, along with the Lion Brewery and a number of Georgian
residential buildings, in order to make room for the Exhibition and the Royal Festival Hall building.
The outlook of the Festival was self-consciously modern, with the South Bank Exhibition housed in a
number of mostly temporary halls and pavilions showcasing the latest in British design. Among the
most memorable structures on display were the huge ‘Dome of Discovery’ pavilion - the largest
aluminium structure erected to that date and largest dome that had ever been built – and the 300ft
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‘Skylon’ sculpture, a futuristic ‘cigar-shaped’ steel spire, suspended in an upright position by a
network of cables and appearing to hover above the ground.
Shot Tower, Lion Brewery, Hungerford Bridge 1948. © A London Inheritance
Undoubtedly the centrepiece of the Exhibition, and its lasting legacy on the South Bank, was the
brand new Royal Festival Hall, built between 1948 and 1951. The bombing of the Queen’s Hall in
1941 had deprived London of its principal concert hall, and the context of the Festival was seen by
the LCC as an opportunity to provide a permanent replacement. Designed by Robert Matthew and
Leslie Martin, the Festival Hall (now a Grade-I listed building) was the first major public building in
Britain to be built in the modernist style.
Image of the Festival of Britain
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Despite the popularity of the Festival, the new Conservative government elected in October 1951
decided against extending the life of the temporary exhibits on the South Bank. The entire site was
cleared, with many of the most striking exhibits – including the Dome of Discovery and Skylon –
demolished and sold for scrap. Among the survivors were the Telecinema (reopened as the
National Film Theatre in 1952 before moving to its current site under Waterloo Bridge) and the
Festival’s Riverside Restaurant, as well as the Festival Hall.
Aerial Photograph of the Festival of Britain
Plan of the Festival of Britain
The 1960s and 1970s
With demolition work completed by 1952, the Festival site remained empty for a number of years.
In 1961, after years of protracted negotiations with the LCC, the Shell oil company began the
construction of a new office complex, facing the river from Belvedere Road. The new Shell Centre
comprised a collection buildings either side of Hungerford Bridge and was dominated by a large
tower block, at the time of its completion in 1963 the tallest storied building in Britain and the
largest office building, by floor space, in the whole of Europe.
By the time the Shell Centre was erected, plans were already underway for a major transformation
of the South Bank site. In the rush to complete the Festival Hall in time for the Festival, plans for a
second smaller concert hall originally included in the architects’ brief had been abandoned due to
constraints of space and time in the build-up to the Festival. In 1955, the LCC decided that they
would indeed add a second concert hall, as well as an art gallery, on the Festival site. The first
drawings, by lead architect Norman Engleback, were submitted in 1957, but it was not until 1961
that the plans, which now also included an additional smaller recital room, were completed. The
nineteenth-century Shot Tower was finally demolished to make way for the new buildings, while
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work also began on extending and renovating the Festival Hall. In 1963, construction finally began
on what would eventually be named the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery.
The new buildings were designed in an uncompromisingly Brutalist style, displaying exposed
concrete panels, with few windows and minimal decoration. Reflecting the contemporary
preference for the separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, the new buildings were built on
multiple levels, with the halls and gallery raised above the ground and linked – to each other and to
a newly-refurbished Festival Hall – by elevated walkways. The stark angular designs were originally
opposed by Hubert Bennett, replacing Leslie Martin as the LCC’s chief architect in 1956, who
wanted to see the new buildings conform to the smooth lines of the Festival Hall. However, the
threat of mass-resignation by Engleback and his team, many of whom would go on to join the
radical Archigram collective, meant that the new buildings would remain – in their own way like the
Festival structures that had preceded them – a bold and principled statement of the latest in
architectural modernism.
The new buildings ahead of their 1967 opening. © London Metropolitan Archives
The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room opened in March 1967, with the Hayward opening in
the summer of the following year. In 1976, the ensemble was complemented by the new National
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Theatre on other side of Waterloo Bridge, completing the impressive collection of mid-twentiethcentury architecture on the South Bank. Jubilee Gardens opened on the former Dome of Discovery
site in 1977.
The 1980s and 1990s
In 1983 the Greater London Council introduces the 'open foyer' policy. The foyers of the Royal
Festival Hall were then opened to the public all throughout the day, seven days a week. The policy
included the development and provision of free activities including exhibitions, lunchtime concerts
and evening performances. Previously, the upper levels of the hall remained closed to the public
until a few hours before concert performances.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a number of large-scale development proposals for the South Bank fall by
the wayside (see below). It was not until the turn of the millennium that any major changes took
place. 1999 saw the arrival of the London IMAX, boasting the largest cinema screen in Europe, on
the site of the former ‘Bullring’ roundabout at the end of Waterloo Bridge.
The London Eye was erected in 1999, on the river next to Jubilee Gardens, and opened to the public
in March 2000, and has since become the most popular paid tourist attraction in Britain, with over
3.5 million visitors annually.
In May 2000, the Tate Modern gallery opened a little further along the river in the former Bankside
Power Station, adding – along with the recently reconstructed Globe Theatre (1997) – to the
cultural significance of the South Bank to the capital and to the nation as a whole.
The new Millennium Bridge was permanently opened in 2002 (after a false start in 2000),
connecting the South Bank to the City of London.
In the summer of 2005, the Festival Hall closed for a major programme of refurbishment, reopening
two years later along with a new office building for the Southbank Centre on the ‘Festival Terrace’
between the Hall and the railway bridge, as well as new shops and restaurants at the front of the
hall facing onto the river. A multi-million pound redevelopment of Jubilee Gardens was completed
in May 2012.
3.2
Origins of Skateboarding
Skateboarding originated in California in the late 1940s and early 1950s, created as a way for
surfers to keep occupied during times when the waves were flat. Surfers on the West Coast often
found themselves waiting for days or weeks for suitable waves, leading to the idea of recreating the
act of surfing on land. Initial skateboards were fabricated from materials and parts which were
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already available, such as wooden shapes cut from tables and doors with the wheels of roller-skates
attached underneath. When emptied of water, swimming pools designed with curved surfaces
were the initial surfaces found closest to replicate the shape and form of a barrelling wave. This
soon followed with the search to find similar surfaces in architecture, street objects and in the
urban landscape.
Some surf manufactures in the USA began to manufacture purpose-built boards in the 1960s, but
these often had hard clay wheels. It was not until 1972, with the invention of polyurethane wheels,
allowing for greater durability and manoeuvrability, that skateboarding began to enjoy widespread
popularity on both sides of the Atlantic.
3.2.1 Skateboarding in London and the UK
Skateboarding was practiced by a select group of people during the early 1970s, but it was the
summer of 1976 which saw the beginning of the first major craze in the UK. The South Bank was
one of a number of venues in London where large numbers of young people would congregate to
skateboard, with Greenwich Park and Kensington Gardens Broadwalk being examples of other
popular sites. Very quickly, however, the South Bank, and the Undercroft in particular, became the
primary London skateboarding spot, and the symbolic home of skateboarding in the UK as a whole.
While a number of local authorities put measures in place to ban or deter skateboarding (including
at Kensington Gardens), the Greater London Council reported that it had made available six areas in
public parks and open spaces as ‘designated for casual skateboarding’, the most popular of which
was at the Undercroft on the South Bank. ‘The latter has been inundated with skateboarders at fine
weekends,’ reported the Council, ‘with numbers ranging up to 1,000. The area under the Queen
Elizabeth Hall has been barriered off and skateboard use is now only permitted in this area.’ 2
Waterloo Railway Station to South Bank route 1970s
2
GLC, ‘Skateboarding’, London Topics 24 (February 1978), pp. 4, 6
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3.2.2 Skateboarding on London’s South Bank
Since Skateboarding culture grew rapidly in the 1970s, it has been a fixture on the South Bank of
the Thames. Many skateboarders in London see this area as its ‘spiritual home’. Whilst Southbank is
considered the most important spot in this area, a number of others are also worthy of mention
and highlight the cultural connection between skating and the area.
Increasingly from the 1980s, other areas along the South Bank became regular skate spots,
including ‘Mellow Banks’ beneath Hungerford Bridge, and the concourses surrounding the Shell
Centre, although the Undercroft remained the focal point of the area. The areas of Waterloo and
the South Bank have been skated for over 40 years and the route from Waterloo Railway Station to
the South Bank is a well-used route, with hundreds of skateboarders now using it every week.
Southbank Undercrofts
Unlike skateparks which are designed and built with skate tricks in mind, street spots are buildings,
architecture and objects which are interpreted by skateboarders to exercise their craft.
Original Undercroft beneath Royal Festival Hall
The unused Undercoft spaces built in 1968 were first populated by skaters in 1973 when they found
the topography and layout to be ideal for practicing and developing tricks. All the Undercoft flat
and gradient spaces beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Royal Festival Hall were utilised, as well
as the surrounding slopes, banks, stairs and walls.
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South Bank Undercroft freestyle jam circa 1990
The Southbank Undercroft spaces have been skated for over 40 years making it the oldest
continually skated space in the world. Since skateboard events started at the Undercroft in 1976,
including the UK Slalom Championships, there have been hundreds of ‘Jams’ and ‘Demos’ where
professional skateboarders and BMX riders from around the world have skated at Southbank
Undercroft as part of their world tour. These include teams from renowned skate companies such
as; Plan B, Chocolate, Cliché, Girl, Emerica, Zero. Blueprint, Nike, HUF, Vans, Thrasher, REAL, and
BMX companies such as Curb Dogs and BSD.
Slalom skateboarding at Southbank Undercroft 1970s
2014. © Simone Sarchi
These free events are part of skateboarding culture to show skills and inspire and encourage the
next generations of skaters. They are also an opportunity for young skaters and everyday skaters to
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skate together alongside professionals - something not seen in any other sport activity. Skaters see
themselves in terms of generations with approximately 10 years covering each generation. The 5 th
generation are the young people skating at the Undercroft today with the toddlers being the 6th.
The following transcriptions exploring the theme of Southbank Undercroft generations is taken
from the 2005 film Rollin’ Through The Decades and features skaters from the 80s and 90s;
Chris Linford: In the 70s it was just a place to skate but in the 80s we became the South
Bank Guys.
Floyd Reid: I remember guys saying to me god this place called South Bank, get down there.
It was just like there’s big banks, small banks and it was free to skate, no pads, no security,
no nothing and I was one of the new kids just getting in to that, knocked around by the
older guys.
Dan Brown: The thing about South bank it was like the meeting point from all over England
for our people just to catch up on what’s going on with Skateboarding.
Yogi Practor: Everyone kind of had their local spots but South Bank kind of brought it all
together and it brought together this whole mix of skaters. You know.
Bod Boyle: I mean South Bank has always has its crew.
Chris Linford: I think people like Jeremy Henderson and people like that would call me
second generation, as they started a few years earlier, they established South Bank for what
it was.
Dobie: You'd see Henderson, Sinclair and all that lot and after that the next generation
would come along.
Dan Adams: The crews kind of mutated every few years. People come in, the young kids
come they get older, there has always been that crew, if you could take a photograph every
30 days of that corner spot, by the big dish there, you'd get the most amazing time frame
motion of 30 years, people in London skateboarding.
Bod Boyle: Whoever built South Bank, it’s almost like they had a crystal ball for what each
generation of skateboarders would want to ride. It seemed like every generation of
skateboarders, I call a generation of skate boarders ten years. You know every ten years its
evolved with skateboarding, maybe it’s helped skateboarding evolve, I don't know.
Mike McCart: Certainly the architects of 1967 created a perfect skateboard area, its dry, it’s
lit and it’s a good challenge for people to learn their tricks.
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Southbank Centre
The Southbank Centre is renowned in skateboarding as having numerous locations around the site
which have been skated in many different ways over the decades, as skateboarding abilities and
possibilities evolved.
Terraces with Lucien Clarke. Image © Henry Kingsford
Stairs. Image © Sam Ashley
At present Southbank Centre security guards stop skateboarders from using any other part of the
architecture which feature as part of the complex of buildings other than the Undercroft area.
However, there have been numerous successful tricks which are well known in the skate word.
Many of these have featured on the front cover of magazines.
©Andrew Horsley
Winstan Whitter. © Andy Simmons
Neil Smith. © Sam Ashley
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Shell Centre
Shell Centre comprises of a collection of buildings constructed in 1961 which occupy part of the
area cleared for the 1951 Festival of Britain.
The naming of the Shell Centre buildings perpetuated the split of the Festival site into distinct
‘Upstream’ and ‘Downstream’ areas, separated by the railway viaduct approach to Hungerford
Bridge. The public realm of the Upstream Building has been steadily degraded over the years, with
the generous space between the columns of the entrance from York Road enclosed to enlarge the
foyers.
The open square in the middle of the complex, with its abundance of flat spaces and stair sets, was
used extensively by skateboarders throughout the 1980s until the 2000s when anti-skating
measures and textured paving were put in place to deter rough sleepers and skateboarders.
© Jenna Selby
Shell Centre square 2004. © Old School Paul
© Winstan Whitter
Skate City (Southwark)
Skate City was a three acre site opened in 1977 as the first large commercial skateboard park in
London. Built in six weeks at a cost of £100,000, it was situated on derelict ground on the South
Bank, between Tooley Street, London Bridge and HMS Belfast.
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Skate City by HMS Belfast. © REXSCANPIX
The park consisted of a freestyle area, a 50 metre slalom run, a half pipe and several bowls. During
its time it was the UK's premier skatepark and held the Nationwide Championships.
Hungerford Bridge
Built in the late 1800s, Hungerford Bridge combines a railway bridge and footbridges which have
gone through a number of design and structural changes. The support structure on the South Bank
was a skate spot named Mellow Banks (more commonly referred to as ‘Bird Shit Banks’), and was
used by skaters until 2004, when Southbank Centre removed the banked edges.
Hungerford Bridge Mellow Banks. Illustration © Andy Smoke
Hungerford Bridge 2014
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Hungerford Bridge was used more of a skate route from Shell Centre to Southbank as the space was
restricted by noise from the overhead train lines and railway maintenance work. Skating ceased
once Southbank Centre had removed the banked edges and steps to stop skateboarding in the
area. Skateboarder Michael Stride recalled of Hungerford Bridge; ‘We often skated over the
footbridge from Embankment en route to the Undercroft, but never once did we stop. The
Hungerford Bridge, 'Bird Shit' banks area was only ever a small 'spot', not a destination in itself.
Various spots around Waterloo were used in various ways and you can see the anti-skate street
furniture blocks in many places.’
Hungerford Bridge is more famously known now for the ‘Skateboard Graveyard’ on its downstream
foundation platform closest to the South Bank. The bridge is part of the route from the Undercroft
space to the UK’s oldest skate shop, Slam City Skates, in Covent Garden and some skaters started
throwing their broken boards on the flat surface of the structure, which is only accessible by river,
since around 2007.
Hungerford Bridge Skateboard Graveyard 2013. © Olaf Olgiati
Whites Grounds
Whites Grounds is a plaza style skatepark situated under a railway arch close to London Bridge,
which was initiated and financed by Southwark Council, and opened in April 2007. The skatepark
was created in response to high levels of demand for skateboarding facilities in the area. However,
the design failed to resonate with many skateboarders and the gated and fenced enclosure and
frequent closures and restrictive opening times led to low levels of usage. A three phase proposal
to regenerate the arches into a new youth facility were scheduled for the summer of 2009, but
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never completed. Whites Grounds is still often closed and unlike other skateparks, never generated
a local or resident community of skaters and is doesn’t feature on the skateboarder map of London.
House of Vans
The House of Vans in London is an indoor skatepark opened in August 2014 which is located in the
tunnels below Waterloo railway station and adjacent to the Leak Street graffiti tunnel. The space
was designed and built by Marc Churchill and 1Skateparks and the 30,000 square foot site
combines music, cinema and artwork areas along with skateboard areas which feature a skater
built and designed concrete bowl, mini ramp and street course. It is anticipated that the addition of
the skatepark will bring another surge of skateboarders to the SE1 area and London’s Southbank,
and complement and continue the tradition of skateboarding in the area.
3.2.3 Skate-stoppers and Anti-skating Devises and Architecture
Often referred to as ‘hostile architecture’, anti-skateboarding devices and architecture first came to
surface in the 1990s in urban design as a method of public-space management. Often created at
the design concept stage, and deployed by private corporations and local authorities, the aim is to
use design features and studs and stoppers to reshape individual and group behavior and
discourage skateboarders from using a particular public or semi-public space.
Lorraine Gamman, professor of design at Central St Martins, commented that ‘Spikes are part of an
outdated fortress aesthetic not welcome in communities, where there is recognition that urban
design needs to be inclusive.’3 After several decades of anti-skating designs and devices, there is a
growing movement towards developing more socially-inclusive and economical building designs
and structures using durable materials which can accommodate skateboarding.
Anti-skateboarding devices and architecture 2013. Images © Marc Vallée
3
The Guardian, Anti-homeless spikes are part of a wider phenomenon of 'hostile architecture’ (13 June 2014)
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jun/13/anti-homeless-spikes-hostile-architecture
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4.0
STATUTORY LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE
4.1
National Planning Policy Framework
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published on March 27th 2012, is the overarching
planning policy document for England. Within Section 12: conservation and enhancing the historic
environment are the government’s policies for the protection of heritage. The policies advise a
holistic approach to planning and development, where all significant elements which make up the
historic environment are termed ‘heritage assets’. A heritage asset is: ‘A building, monument, site,
place, area or landscape identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in
planning decisions, because of its heritage interest.‘
These consist of designated assets (such as listed buildings or conservation areas) non-designated
assets (such as locally listed buildings) or any other features which are considered to be of heritage
value. The policies within the document emphasise the need for assessing the significance of
heritage assets and their setting in order to fully understand the historic environment and inform
suitable design proposals for change to significant buildings.
4.2
The London Plan
The London Plan is the overall strategic plan for London, and it sets out a fully integrated economic,
environmental, transport and social framework for the development of the capital to 2031. It forms
part of the development plan for Greater London. London boroughs’ local plans need to be in
general conformity with the London Plan, and its policies guide decisions on planning applications
by councils and the Mayor.
The current London Plan was published in 2011 and amended by the Revised Early Minor
Alterations in October 2013.
On 15 January 2014, the Mayor published Draft Further Alterations to the London Plan (FALP) for a
twelve-week period of public consultation.
In the Foreword to the London Plan, the Mayor sets out his vision for London as the best big city in
the world.
London must also be among the best cities in the world to live, whatever your age or
background…The local and distinctive have to be treasured. Our neighbourhoods must be
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places where people feel safe and are proud to belong…Fundamentally, we must pay
attention to quality as well as quantity, and protect the things that make London London.4
Policy 7.8 relates to heritage assets and states that ‘Development should identify, value, conserve,
restore, re-use and incorporate heritage assets, where appropriate […] Development affecting
heritage assets and their settings should conserve their significance, by being sympathetic to their
form, scale, materials and architectural detail.’5
4.3
Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG)
As part of the London Plan 2011 Implementation Framework, the Mayor’s ‘Shaping
Neighbourhoods: Character and Context’ 6 sets out recommendations for planning and
development. The foreword by the Mayor states:
It explains the fundamental importance of getting an understanding of a place before
taking decisions on its development – how it has come to be the way it is; the things about it
that people who live, work, visit or just travel through value or want to see changed; the
economic, social and other forces driving change […] its about an approach to encouraging
development that changes what needs changing and makes a contribution to London’s
overall success – but which also protects the things that are essential to an area’s individual
character and perhaps makes the best of previously hidden strengths […] It emphasises the
importance of engaging with communities and others with an interest or something to
contribute from the earliest stages. Following this structure approach should help ensure
quicker and better-informed planning decisions and the kind of high quality buildings and
urban realm that will be valued by local residents and users alike.
Chapter 3 of the Policy Context (2014) states:
3.11 People create places. How places have evolved, their function and the activities they
support (both past and present) are pivotal to any understanding of the character of a
place. This involves having an understanding of the activity, use and movement within and
through a place and its connections and linkages to its surroundings.
4
Greater London Authority, The London Plan: Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London [RTF Version]
(2011), p. 6
5 Ibid., p. 224
6 Greater London Authority, Supplementary Planning Guidance: Shaping Neighbourhoods: Character and
Context [https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/planning/publications/shaping-neighbourhoods-characterand-context]
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4.4
Lambeth Local Plan
The current Local Plan is made up of the Core Strategy (2011) and the borough’s saved Unitary
Development Plan (UDP) policies, and is designed to co-operate with the policies set out in the
London Plan.
Since April 2012, Lambeth Council has been developing a new Local Plan. On 28 March 2014, the
Lambeth Local Plan Proposed Submission was submitted for independent examination. It is
anticipated that the examination will take approximately six months. The council aims to adopt the
Lambeth Local Plan by early 2015 and it sets out the spatial strategy for the borough until 2030.
It is a strategic objective of the Local Plan to ‘Create and sustain distinctive local places through
excellent design of buildings and the public realm, valuing heritage, identity, cultural assets, the
River Thames and the natural environment’ as well as to ‘Maintain and develop Lambeth’s strength
in arts and culture and the role of the South Bank as one of London’s leading international cultural
and tourist destinations.’7
4.5
Lambeth Local Development Framework - Core Strategy
Strategic Policy S1 of Lambeth’s LDF Core Strategy8 refers to Delivering the Vision and Objectives
and requires ‘Encouraging and supporting sustainable development that enhances the local
distinctiveness of neighbourhoods’, ‘Safeguarding and improving essential physical, green and social
infrastructure’, ‘Safeguarding and improving community premises in order to meet identified
demand for community meeting spaces, including provision for faith groups, and seeking the
development of new facilities where there are identified gaps in provision’ and ‘Helping to promote
and maintain mixed, balanced and diverse communities within neighbourhood.’
4.1 Measures to achieve local distinctiveness and local regeneration objectives are set out in
Section 5 – Places and Neighbourhoods.
4.3 […] Social infrastructure includes facilities for the delivery of essential services including
[…] health and social care; […] children’s play; primary, secondary, further and higher
education; youth services; culture and sport […] It also includes community meeting spaces
and facilities to meet the needs of faith groups and community groups. Green
infrastructure includes open space and nature conservation and other green areas.
7
8
London Borough of Lambeth, Lambeth Local Plan: Proposed Submission (2013), p. 34
Lambeth LDF Core Strategy – Section 4 - Strategic Policies, p. 39-56
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Strategic Policy S5 of Lambeth’s LDF Core Strategy refers to Open Space and requires the
‘Protecting and maintaining existing open spaces and their function’ and ‘Improving the quality of,
and access to, existing open space, including the range of facilities available and its bio-diversity and
nature conservation value and heritage value, through various means including the implementation
of the Lambeth Open Spaces Strategy. Where appropriate in major developments, financial
contributions will be sought towards improvements in the quality of, and access to, open space in
the borough.’ stating:
4.29 Existing open space includes Metropolitan Open Land, Common Land, historic parks
and gardens, district and local parks, nature conservation areas, play areas and adventure
playgrounds, outdoor sports facilities, allotments, cemeteries and burial space, amenity
land within housing estates, communal squares and gardens, front and back gardens and
the River Thames Foreshore and Thames Path in accordance with London Plan policy.
Strategic Policy S9 of Lambeth’s LDF Core Strategy refers to the Quality of the Built Environment
and covers the Council’s overarching general policies relating to the Townscape and Built
Environment stating:
(a) The Council will improve and maintain the quality of the built environment and its
liveability, in order to sustain stable communities {…} particularly where this contributes to
local distinctiveness, enhances the existing built environment and heritage, reflects the
cultural diversity of the borough and creates new high quality areas of public realm. (b)
Safeguarding and promoting improvements to the borough’s heritage assets including
appropriate uses and improvements to listed buildings, maintaining a local list of heritage
assets, carrying out conservation area character appraisals and management plans, and
making appropriate provision for assets of archaeological value.
4.42 National planning policy sets out the requirements for the protection and
enhancement of listed buildings, archaeological heritage and the character and appearance
of conservation areas.
Saved Policy 33 Building Scale and Design states that ‘all development should be of a high quality
design and contribute positively to its surrounding area’. The policy specifies that for development
affecting conservation areas or listed buildings (or their setting), protecting or enhancing their
character and appearance takes precedence.
4.6
Waterloo Opportunity Area Planning Framework
The Waterloo OAPF reiterates a previous iteration of the GLA’s Cultural Strategy (from 2004) to
achieve a world class cultural quarter and ensure that the residents of Lambeth enjoy the benefits
of the culture-led regeneration of the area.
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4.7
Heritage Guidance
This report will follow the guidance for conservation and heritage assets set out by English Heritage
in the following documents.
Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance for the Sustainable Management of the Historic
Environment (2008)
Conversation Principles defines significance as ‘the sum of the cultural and natural heritage of a
place’. A comprehensive framework for the sustainable management of the historic environment is
provided under six guiding principles:
Principle 1: The historic environment is a shared resource
Principle 2: Everyone should be able to participate in sustaining the historic environment
Principle 3: Understanding the significance of places is vital
Principle 4: Significant places should be managed to sustain their values
Principle 5: Decisions about change must be reasonable, transparent and consistent
Principle 6: Documenting and learning from decisions is essential9
Conservation is defined under Principle 4.2 as ‘the process of managing change to a significant
place in its setting in ways that will best sustain its heritage values, while recognising opportunities
to reveal or reinforce those values for present and future generations.’10
Heritage values are arranged in four groups, which may be attached to places. These are:
Evidential value: the potential value of a place to yield evidence about past human activity.
Historical value: the ways in which past people, events and aspects of life can be connected
through a place to the present – it tends to be illustrative or associative.
Aesthetic value: the ways in which people draw sensory and intellectual stimulation from a
place.
Communal value: the meanings of a place for the people who relate to it, or for whom it
figures in their collective experience or memory.11
9
English Heritage, Policies and Guidance for the Sustainable Management of the Historic Environment (2008),
p. 19-24
10 Ibid., p. 22
11 Ibid., p. 27-32
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The Setting of Heritage Assets: English Heritage Guidance (2011)
The significance of a heritage asset not only derives from its physical presence but also from its
setting and the surroundings in which it is experienced. The setting of heritage assets provides
guidance on managing change within the setting of a heritage asset.
In a letter submitted to Lambeth Council in 2013, English Heritage stated ‘It also appears that there
is insufficient understanding of the communal value of the undercroft area […] we feel further
analysis of the communal value of the undercroft is necessary to ascertain the impact of recent
cultural heritage.’
4.8
National and Local Legislation and Guidance
Section 66 of The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 requires that
decision makers shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving a listed building (Royal
Festival Hall, Grade 1) or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which
it possesses, when considering whether to grant planning permission.
Section 66 of the Act requires that decision makers shall have special regard to the desirability of
preserving a listed building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest
which it possesses, when considering whether to grant planning permission.
Section 72 of the Act requires that, in the exercise of their planning functions, local planning
authorities shall pay special attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or
appearance of conservation areas.
Paragraph 135 of the National Planning Policy Framework deals with non-designated heritage
assets and advises that the effect of an application on the significance of a non-designated heritage
asset should be taken into account in determining the application. In weighing applications that
affect directly or indirectly non-designated heritage assets, a balanced judgment is required having
regard to the scale of any harm or loss and the significance of the heritage asset, always bearing in
mind that these are not listed buildings.
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5.0
EXISTING DESIGNATIONS & POLICY SIGNIFICANCE
5.1
Statutory List
The Queen Elizabeth Hall, of which the Undercroft is an integral part, is not included in the
Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. However, the Southbank
Centre complex, comprising the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery, has been
nominated for listing on several occasions since 1991, with the strong support of the Twentieth
Century Society and English Heritage.
The 1988 Royal Festival Hall listing certification NGR: TQ3079780223 states:
Building has significant group value with other public buildings along the twins, and
specifically with South Bank 'cultural' buildings to its north, with which it is linked by the
1960s terrace system. Additions of 1963-4 were conceptually linked with the Hayward
Gallery of Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Whilst not individually listed, the Royal Festival Hall Grade-I listing description (see appendix one)
and the identified conceptual and physical link to its ancillary Queen Elizabeth Hall buildings – of
which the Purcell Room, Undercroft and Hayward Gallery are inextricably linked – provides
evidence that as a component, the Undercroft, should be considered as a group listing in any
reference and in context of any development proposals.
The Southbank Centre complex is neighboured by the Grade-I listed Royal Festival Hall (1951) and
Grade-II* listed National Theatre (1976). Also adjacent to the site is the Grade-II* listed Waterloo
Bridge (1945), while the Grade-II* County Hall (1922) sits just to the southwest, along the
riverfront.
The Undercroft therefore is situated in the immediate setting of a number of listed buildings and
heritage assets. According to Section 66 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas)
Act 1990:
In considering whether to grant planning permission for development which affects a listed
building or its setting, the local planning authority or, as the case may be, the Secretary of
State shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or
any features of special architectural or historic interests which it possesses. 12
Most recently, in 2012, a bid for listing was turned down by architecture minister, John Penrose,
going against the advice of English Heritage.13 At the same time, the complex was given a Certificate
12
13
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, p.41
Certificate of Immunity Summary http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1410372
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of Immunity from Listing, preventing any new attempts to list the buildings for a period of five
years. This was granted further to an application by the Southbank Centre to ensure that it would
be able to pursue development plans without interference.
In a recent letter to Lambeth Council’s planning department concerning the proposed Southbank
Centre development, English Heritage described the ensemble of Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth
Hall, Purcell Room, Hayward Gallery and National Theatre as ‘Britain’s finest collection of post-war
public buildings, as impressive and consistent as the Royal Hospital at Greenwich is an English
Baroque composition.’ 14
5.2
Local List
The Southbank Centre complex is included by the London Borough of Lambeth on its Local List
(‘buildings of Local Architectural or Historic Interest’). It was listed on 22 March 2010, under the
general criteria A, B and C as follows:
A - Architecture
The architectural style, decoration and detailing, materials, craftsmanship and plan form
may give it special interest if these features are of particular note - above the ordinary in
their design and execution, and reasonably intact. This criterion can include the best works
of architects who were active locally. In some cases altered buildings may still be worthy of
inclusion, especially if by an architect of importance.
B - History
Buildings and structures that reflect the diverse aspects of the social, economic, and
physical development of Lambeth may be of interest. If the building type is reasonably
common – houses, pubs, churches - only the best examples will be added to the list.
C - Close historical association
Connections with people or events that are acknowledged as of being of borough wide /
national importance may make some buildings worthy of inclusion. Building materials of
clear local interest […] may be considered in this category.15
As a locally-listed site, the complex, including the Undercroft is a non-designated heritage asset for
the purposes of paragraph 135 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). As such, the
14
Merlin Fulcher, ‘English Heritage slams FCBS’s latest Southbank revamp plans’, Architect’s Journal (29 Jan
2014) [http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/english-heritage-slams-fcbss-latest-southbankrevamp-plans/8658165.article]
15 London Borough of Lambeth, ‘Locally Listed Buildings – Guide’ [http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/planning-andbuilding-control/building-conservation/locally-listed-buildings-guide]
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heritage value of the buildings should be given special consideration by the local planning
authority:
The effect of an application on the significance of a non-designated heritage asset should be
taken into account in determining the application. In weighing applications that affect
directly or indirectly non designated heritage assets, a balanced judgement will be required
having regard to the scale of any harm or loss and the significance of the heritage asset.16
5.3
South Bank Conservation Area
The Undercroft is within the South Bank Conversation Area. The Conversation Area was first
designated by the London Borough of Lambeth in 1982, before being extended in 1993. It is
adjacent to both the Lambeth Palace and Waterloo Conservation Areas. In addition, the Lower
Marsh, Roupell Street, Mitre Road & Ufford Street Conservation Areas are all close by. From across
the river, the Southbank Centre buildings of which the Undercroft is a part can be viewed from a
number of the heavily concentrated conservation areas of Westminster and the City.
Section 72 of the Planning Act requires that, ‘with respect to any buildings or other land in a
conversation area […] special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing
the character or appearance of that area.’17 In addition, paragraphs 137, 138 and 144 of the NPPF
make provisions for the consideration of Conservation Areas in planning:
Local planning authorities should look for opportunities for new development within
Conservation Areas […] and within the setting of heritage assets to enhance or better reveal
their significance. Proposals that preserve those elements of the setting that make a
positive contribution to or better reveal the significance of the asset should be treated
favourably.
[…] Loss of a building (or other element) which makes a positive contribution to the
significance of the Conservation Area […] should be treated either as substantial harm […]
or less than substantial harm […] as appropriate, taking into account the relative
significance of the element affected and its contribution to the significance of the
Conservation Area […] as a whole.
The Conservation Area Statement (2007), which was prepared by the London Borough of Lambeth
after widespread public consultation, makes specific reference to the Undercroft and its uses:
16
Department for Communities and Local Government, National Planning Policy Framework (Mar 2012), p.
31
17 Planning Act 1990, p. 43
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The undercroft of the Queen Elizabeth Hall complex is regularly used by skateboarders and
BMX bikers who attract crowds of onlookers and generate graffiti.
[…] The area that makes up the South Bank Conversation Area is a popular leisure and
culture destination for Londoners and tourists alike offering a wide range of daytime and
night-time activities […] Outdoor activities also bring the public realm to life. These include
[…] the skaters and BMX bikes beneath the Hayward Gallery [sic].18
It is clear, therefore, that the Undercroft and the activities carried out therein are important factors
in the ‘overall character and appearance’ of the area as described by the Planning Act, making a
‘positive contribution’ and crucial to the ‘significance’ of the Conservation Area within the terms of
the NPPF.
5.4
Archaeological Priority Zone
The Undercroft falls within the North Lambeth and Lambeth Palace Archaeological Priority Zone, as
designated by the London Borough of Lambeth. Paragraph 128 of the NPPF states that:
Where a site on which development is proposed includes or has the potential to include
heritage assets with archaeological interest, local planning authorities should require
developers to submit an appropriate desk-based assessment and, where necessary, a field
evaluation.
Despite Long Live Southbank contacting Lambeth to ask that the appropriate archaeological
assessment be carried out, at no time was any provided by Southbank Centre as part of their
‘Festival Wing’ planning application.
5.5
World Monuments Fund
The Southbank Centre complex was included, as part of ‘British Brutalism’, on the 2012 World
Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites by the World Monuments Fund (WMF).
Founded in 1965, with its global headquarters in New York, WMF is a private, international, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites
around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grant-making, education, and training. Every two
years, WMF publishes a World Monuments Watch List to draw international attention to cultural
heritage sites around the world threatened by neglect, vandalism, armed conflict, commercial
development, natural disasters, and climate change. The sites are nominated by international and
18
London Borough of Lambeth, ‘South Bank Conversation Area: Conservation Area Statement’ (2007), p. 13,
20
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local preservation groups and professionals, including local authorities. Sites of all types, including
secular and religious architecture, archaeological sites, landscapes and townscapes, and dating
from all time periods, from ancient to contemporary, are eligible. An independent panel of
international experts reviews and selects the sites that make up the list.
The WMF 2012 report titled ‘World Monuments Fund Announces 2012 Watch, Encompassing 67
Threatened Cultural-Heritage Sites Across The Globe And 7 Key Sites Across The UK’ states:
London’s Southbank Centre, Coventry Cathedral and Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire
were today named amongst 67 threatened cultural heritage sites from around the globe.
The UK features heavily in the 2012 World Monuments Watch list of sites in need of
assistance with seven prominent locations up and down the country.
Upon its completion in 1976, London’s South Bank Centre was deemed a visionary
combination of performance spaces and an art gallery, but it continues to be denied
heritage status.
Despite recommendations by English Heritage for national listing, none of the three has
achieved protective status. With two scheduled for demolition, there is an urgent need to
raise awareness, appreciation, and local pride in the significance of brutalist architecture in
general.
The 2012 entry for ‘British Brutalism’ specifically cited the Southbank Centre complex, along with
Preston Bus Station and Birmingham Central Library. The WMF provided the following information:
The term “brutalism” is derived from the French “betón brut,” meaning “raw concrete,” and
refers to a style of late modernist architecture that emerged during the second half of the
twentieth century. The inclusion of three British buildings on the Watch underscores the risk
to modern architecture around the world, especially to the underappreciated legacy of
brutalism. Characterized by bold geometries, the exposure of structural materials, and
functional spatial design, brutalist architecture was an expression of social progressivism
and became a favored style for public architecture of the time. Often monumental in scale,
these structures symbolize an era when government had both the resources and the
political will to contribute major civic buildings to the public realm.
When it opened in 1976 [sic], London’s South Bank Centre was deemed a visionary
combination of performance spaces and an art gallery, but lack of heritage status puts the
architectural complex at risk. The Preston Bus Station is a daring concrete structure housing
an integrated car parking, bus, and taxi facility. Upon its completion in 1969, it was the
world’s largest bus station. Birmingham Central Library is a monumental hub in the civic
center of the city and the largest non-national library in Europe. Both the station and the
library are threatened by demolition due to re-development schemes.
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These three buildings, dramatically sited, are uncompromising in their stark use of concrete
and powerfully sculptural forms. They brought a sense of the monumental to the British
urban landscape at the time of their construction and remain architectural icons. Over the
past decade the Twentieth Century Society has been a constant advocate for these three
buildings, but none has achieved protective national status. With two scheduled for the
wrecking ball, there is an urgent need to raise awareness, appreciation, and local pride in
the significance of brutalist architecture in general and in the value of these particular sites.
It is hoped that inclusion on the Watch will prompt a dialogue about protection and
alternatives for adaptive reuse.19
After a campaign to save the building, Preston Bus Station was awarded Grade-II listed status in
September 2013. Birmingham Central Library was closed in June 2013 and is scheduled to be
demolished in 2014.
5.6
Asset of Community Value
A Department for Communities and Local Government policy statement on ACVs states:
"The fact that the site is listed may affect planning decisions – it is open to the local
planning authority to decide that listing as an asset of community value is a material
consideration if an application for change of use is submitted, considering all the
circumstances of the case."
On 12 July 2013, the Undercroft was listed by the London Borough of Lambeth as an Asset of
Community Value (ACV) within the meaning of section 88 of the Localism Act 2011.
The listing was challenged by Southbank Centre on 5 September 2014 citing;
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
The recreational use of the Undercroft is an ancillary use;
The use of the Undercroft does not benefit the “local community”;
The current use of the Undercroft cannot in reality continue; and
The proposals to relocate the facilities at the Undercroft.
On 28 February 2014, Lambeth Council ruled in favour of upholding the listing. In the ‘Review of
Listing as an Asset of Community Value: The Undercroft, beneath Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank,
19
World Monuments Fund, ‘British Brutalism’ (2012) [http://www.wmf.org/project/british-brutalism]
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London, SE1 8XX’ 20 summary, Corporate Property Manager and Reviewing Officer, Sophie Linton
MA MRICS, concluded;
‘whilst arts and cultural activities do take place in the Undercroft and other parts of the
estate, both indoors and outdoors, the skateboarding park could be considered, in the
officer’s opinion, as a separate entity, as it is not wholly dependent on the Southbank
Centre. […] As I understand it, the Undercroft was not specifically designed or built as a
skateboarding park with a pre-determined use, but the use grew organically (albeit with
further modifications to enhance it) and I believe that the significance of the Undercroft as a
meeting point for skateboarders is because it has this ‘home grown’ quality by a reasonably
defined group of urban users. […] if the SBC were to close its doors tomorrow, the
skateboarders would in all likelihood continue to use the Undercroft. [...] it seems wholly
reasonable to me, on the balance of probabilities, combined with common sense and local
knowledge generally, that some of the skateboarders and observers must come from the
London Borough of Lambeth and so to that end, their social interests are supported by the
actual current use of the Undercroft.’
It was subsequently stated by Southbank Centre Chief Executive, Alan Bishop, that another appeal
would be launched.21 The First Tier Tribunal, part of the HM Courts and Tribunals, is set for
September 2014.
On 10 October 2013, Long Live Southbank was invited to attend a meeting of the London
Assembly’s Planning Committee to highlight the Undercroft matter, and discuss the importance of
the Localism Act’s Assets of Community Value scheme. Assembly Member and Committee Chair,
Nicky Gavron, concluded; “You’ve had a lot of support around the table from members. In fact,
you’ve had total support from members.”22 Following the meeting, the committee agreed to Long
Live Southbank’s invitation to visit the Undercroft.
The committee conducted a site visit upon invitation by Southbank Centre on 18 November 2013.
Campaign organisation Long Live Southbank was not invited to or notified of the visit, and a result,
not in attendance.23 The Planning Committee has yet to take up the written invitations of 11
20
London Borough of Lambeth, Review of Listing as an Asset of Community Value
[http://www.llsb.com/press-release-lambeth-council-upholds-southbank-undercroft-as-asset-of-communityvalue/]
21 Adam Branson, ‘Council upholds Southbank ACV status’, Regeneration & Renewal (3 March 2014)
[http://www.regen.net/news/1283015/Council-upholds-Southbank-ACV-status/]
22 Greater London Authority, Agenda Reports Pack p. 57
[http://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/g5041/Public%20reports%20pack%20Thursday%2028Nov-2013%2010.00%20Planning%20Committee.pdf?T=10]
23 Greater London Authority, Agenda Reports Pack p. 64-68
[http://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/g5041/Public%20reports%20pack%20Thursday%2028Nov-2013%2010.00%20Planning%20Committee.pdf?T=10]
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October 2013 and 17 March 2014 by Long Live Southbank inviting members to visit the Undercroft
and its community.
5.7
Town or Village Green
On 8 May 2013, Long Live Southbank applied to register the Undercroft as a Town or Village Green
under the Commons Act 2006.
On 20 September 2013 Lambeth Council declared the application invalid, on the grounds that four
‘trigger events’ had taken place, within the terms of new legislation introduced by the Growth and
Infrastructure Act 2013, with no corresponding ‘terminating events.’
This decision was appealed by Long Live Southbank, with a judicial review hearing taking place at
the Royal Courts of Justice on 6 and 7 March 2014. On what was to be the final day of the hearing,
Ms Justice Lang determined that the drafting of the 2013 legislation was not clear enough to make
a decision. The hearing was subsequently adjourned so that Ms Justice Lang could invite the
Secretary of State to explain the legislation to the High Court. The hearing will now recommence on
22 September 2014.
5.8
Central Activities Zone
The Undercroft falls within the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) as defined by the London Plan. The CAZ
is recognised as the cultural and economic heart of the capital and area of national significance. The
London Plan states the area has:
‘a unique character and feel across its hugely varied quarters and neighbourhoods, which
the Mayor is committed to protecting and enhancing.’24
5.9
South Bank Strategic Cultural Zone
In addition, the Undercroft falls with the South Bank Strategic Cultural Area as defined by the
London Plan:
With their rich heritage and unique offers, the strategic cultural areas are identified as
London’s major clusters of visitor attractions.25
24
Greater London Authority, The London Plan: Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London [RTF
Version] (2011), p. 53
25 Ibid, p. 122
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It is a strategic aim of the London Plan to ‘promote, enhance and protect the special characteristics
of visitor attractions including those identified in Strategic Cultural Areas.’26
5.10
Cultural Metropolis 2014
Cultural Metropolis is the Mayor of London’s cultural strategy for the city. It was first published in
2010, and an updated version was released in 2014.
In a section on ‘Informal Culture’, the 2014 version makes specific reference to the cultural and
heritage value of the Undercroft and its significance for London, as well as the threat posed by
development:
London derives its unique character from a delicate balance of culture, heritage and
development. This is a city where skateboarders can be found weaving in and out of
brutalist architecture […] This informal culture – difficult to quantify, or even define – is
often temporary, youth led, and at the margins rather than the mainstream. The value of
informal culture and how it can acquire its own heritage value, or even become
mainstream, is under-recognised. As a result informal culture can struggle to co-exist with
new development.
London’s buzz and its reputation as a vibrant, youth friendly and exciting city are crucial
factors in attracting businesses and their employees, as well as students and tourists. Edgy
spaces with a sense of the spontaneous – that are led not by formal organisations but by
people themselves – help make a city exciting and ‘alive’.
[…] Over time, such informal activity can acquire a heritage of its own.
In the London Plan, the Mayor recognises that ‘The local and distinctive have to be
treasured… Fundamentally, we must pay attention to quality as well as quantity, and
protect the things that make London London.’ He understands the importance of informal
culture and the capital’s newer cultural ‘heritage’ and will make sure the capital maintains
its unique blend of the new and the old, the informal and the formal. Working with partners
such as English Heritage, the Mayor will continue to make sure cultural and planning
strategies work in tandem. He will also champion the economic and social value of less
formal cultural activities in order to promote London as the most exciting city in the world.27
26
Ibid. p. 121
Mayor of London, Cultural Metropolis: The Mayor’s Culture Strategy – Achievements and next steps (2014),
p. 94
27
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6.0 THE UNDERCROFT: ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The following is intended to provide a summary of significance for the Undercroft, Southbank. The
assessment of significance follows guidance from the Heritage Lottery Fund on Conservation
Management Planning (2008) and English Heritage’s Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance
(2008). The assessment is based on the values set out in Conservation Principles, which are defined
as follows;
-
Evidential Value: This derives from the potential of a place to yield evidence about past
human activity.
-
Historical Value: This derives from the ways in which past people, events and aspects of life
can be connected through a place to the present. It tends to be illustrative (visual) or
associative.
-
Aesthetic Value: This derives from the ways in which people draw sensory and intellectual
stimulation from a place.
-
Communal Value: This derives from the meanings of a place for the people who relate to it,
or for whom it figures in their collective experience or memory. Communal values are
closely bound up with historical (particularly associative) and aesthetic values, but tend to
have additional and specific aspects. It can be commemorative, symbolic or spiritual.
The significance of the Southbank Undercroft is assessed using a number of significance ratings. The
ratings take into account historic fabric survival, survival of historic plan form, quality of reproduced
elements, continuation of historic function and architectural quality and survival. The significance
ratings are described below;
-
High: A theme, feature, building or space which is important at national or international
level, with cultural value and important contribution towards the character and appearance
of the building. Large scale alteration or removal of features of this level is likely to be
strongly resisted.
-
Medium: Themes, features, buildings or spaces which are important at regional level or
sometimes higher, with some cultural importance and some contribution towards the
character and appearance of the building. Efforts should be made to retain features of this
level, though a greater degree of flexibility in terms of alteration would be possible than for
those items of high significance.
-
Low: Themes, features, buildings or spaces which are usually of local value only but
possibly of regional significance for group or other value. Minor cultural importance and
contribution to the character or appearance of the building. A greater degree of
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consideration is needed for alteration or removal for items of high or medium significance,
though a low value does not necessarily mean a feature is expendable. Plan form and
architectural features should be respected where possible.
6.1
-
Neutral: These themes, spaces, buildings or features have little or no cultural value but do
not detract from the character of or appearance of the building. Alteration is likely to be
possible.
-
Intrusive: Themes, features, buildings or spaces which detract from the values of the
building and its character and appearance. Efforts should be made to remove or enhance
these features.
Statement of Significance - Evidential Value
The Southbank Centre was built in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain. The Undercroft of the
Southbank Centre has been subject to moderate scale modification over the last 63 years resulting
in some damage and concealment of original features and built fabric. A large area of the
Undercroft has been boarded out in more recent years, historic fabric survival beyond these
boarded screens is likely but difficult to ascertain at present without a fully accessible survey. There
are photographs, videos and personal accounts that provide documented evidence of the previous
changes making interpretation of the exposed fabric easier.
Image of Exterior of The Royal Festival Hall and former
Shot Tower retained for the Festival of Britain
As a result of the potential for the recovery of historic material behind boarded out areas, a
medium evidential value is attributed.
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6.2
Statement of Significance - Historic Value
Southbank Centre is part of the ambitious 1948 plans announced by the Labour Government to
hold the Festival of Britain. It was declared to be a ‘Tonic to the Nation’ following the Second World
War. Southbank Centre was a new concert hall to be built amongst the temporary domes and
pavilions of the Festival, to be a permanent centre for the musical life of London. The site between
Waterloo Bridge and Hungerford Railway Bridge on the south bank of the Thames were cleared of
derelict warehouses and factories to make way for the beginnings of arguably the most significant
masterplanned complex of C20th public buildings. Enhancing historical significance, Southbank
Centre remains an excellent example of post war design demonstrating advancing concrete
technologies of the time and was the first major concert hall to be built in London following the
destruction of the Queen’s Hall by an incendiary bomb in 1941.
Southbank Centre comprises of:
-
Royal Festival Hall - London County Council's contribution to the Festival of Britain opened
in 1951 by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The architects are Sir Robert Matthew and
Dr Leslie Martin.
-
Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room - two more concert halls adjacent both opened
by Her Majesty the Queen in 1967, the former locates the Undercroft and stands on the
former site of a Shot Tower, built as part of lead works in 1826 and retained for the Festival
of Britain.
-
Hayward Gallery - opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 1968.
The central location of Southbank Centre on the banks of the Thames has given the complex a
highly visible presence in London.
As a result of the Undercroft being an integral built element of the Southbank Centre a high
historic value is attributed.
6.3
Statement of Significance - Aesthetic Value
The Undercroft space is formed by large structural octagonal reinforced concrete columns,
supporting the foyer floor concrete structure overhead. The sides of the Undercroft were originally
open to the east, north and south.
The Undercroft space has been partially boarded out over recent years, which has been
progressively reducing and restricting the space available to community user groups. It is believed
that if the boards were removed, the entire space would retain its original form of octagonal
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reinforced concrete columns. It is unclear of the existing condition of this concealed fabric,
however, there are records that demonstrate that Undercroft space has suffered from damage by
the Southbank Centre who have undertaken detrimental works to the fabric in efforts to try and
restrict the use of the space by skateboarders and other community members (examples include
dumping of aggregates and slabs broken up within areas).
Image of the Exterior of the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the 1970s. © Davie Wilson
The original decorative scheme was minimal barefaced concrete which has been covered with
graffiti over most surfaces over the last thirty years. It is known that the use of plastic paints, in the
long term, will inevitably have maintenance and built fabric issues. However, there is a recognised
value within the graffiti itself as an artwork, which is becoming a more common place thought form
with some council’s even protecting certain works. Although the graffiti was not intended within
the Undercroft within the original design, there is a recognised potential value with the works. The
value of the graffiti within the Undercroft would require separate analysis and research into the
individual works that have been undertaken before making judgement. There is a photographic
archive of the graffiti which can be found at The Graffiti Archaeology Project.
The space is not thought conventionally attractive with its brutalist form and aesthetic, however,
the structure is unique and honest in design and demonstrates the advancing technologies of the
time. The aesthetic value of the Undercroft has been negatively impacted by damage undertaken
and the boarding out of areas to restrict use.
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Image of Southbank Undercroft. © Sam Ashley
It is fortunate that these actions are both reversible and repairable. An intrusive aesthetic value
is therefore attributed.
6.4
Statement of Significance - Community Value
The presence of the Undercroft at a key and prominent location of the Thames holds a significant
communal value to visitors and neighbouring buildings. Dennis Crompton, one of the original
architects involved in the design of the Hayward Gallery, said in 2013;
“I remember my excitement when, in 1960, I was invited to join the team of architects at the
LCC, who were working on the design of the proposed new concert hall and art gallery on
the South Bank. The following year, when the project had its public launch, one member of
the group expressed our ambition that there should be other facilities on the South Bank, so
that it becomes alive ... rather than just a cultural centre.‟
The Undercroft has been popular with skateboarders since the early 1970s and it is widely
acknowledged to be London’s most popular skateboarding area. The area is used by skateboarders,
BMXers, graffiti artists, taggers, filmmakers, photographers, videographers, musicians, buskers and
performance artists amongst others. The Undercroft is an informal space in public use, where
accessible, and is part of a vibrant streetscape sharing the environment with residents, community,
national and international visitors to the iconic location.
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Indirectly, the diversity of community user groups who use the space have organically created a
distinctive feature at Southbank Centre for activity, social and arts scene. It is a community space
that is enjoyed by the user groups which has now become a fixture in the cultural landscape of the
River Thames and an attraction enjoyed by spectators.
40 years of cultural significance by community use of a space have articulated a world class skating
arena in the Undercroft, a space designed within the most important post war master planned
complex of twentieth century public buildings. The sense of place and ownership by local skaters is
unprecedented on a national scale. The place currently provides support, community engagement,
camaraderie, cohesion, learning, and identity of place, culture, sport and the arts.
Image of some of the community who inhabit the Undercroft 2013. Image © LLSB
The existing fabric has been cherished and loved by the users but little money has been spent on it
by the owners and it has been left it in a deteriorating condition as a result. Records of the owners
causing damage to the fabric have been reported and documented in an attempt to prevent the
skaters utilising the space. The existing fabric would benefit from a condition survey of the
accessible and inaccessible areas to understand the extent of repair works required to the existing
fabric.
Southbank Centre released a scheme to redevelop the site as part of a £177 million proposed
Festival Wing development, with plans to insert retail units and cafes with the Undercroft space. It
is noted that Time Out, in August 2008, reported that the Prime Minister released a statement in
support of the existing Undercroft uses. In January 2014, The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson,
indicated support for the redevelopment of Southbank Centre but only if the skatepark is retained
in situ within the Undercroft.
The international recognition of the Undercroft for skateboarders and the diversity of community
user groups that are attracted to the space create a highly significant sense of place and one that
has a high communal value.
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7.0
THE UNDERCROFT: ACTIVITY
7.1
Recreational and Cultural Uses
7.1.1
Southbank Undercrofts
When the 1960s complex was first built, the Undercroft had no clear purpose. It has been
convincingly argued that the architects deliberately left the space undefined, in order to facilitate
the organic development of unexpected uses by visitors. 28 It was a principle of Archigram (the
collective which many of the original LCC architects would go on to join), as later expressed by
founder member Peter Cook, that architecture should ‘take advantage of the potential of different
and scattered elements congealing together in a random way.’29 Over the years, the ideas of the
architects, concerning the site’s potential for improvised activities in an urban landscape, have
been realised by skateboarders, and later on BMX riders, graffiti artists, free runners, and many
others.
The first skateboarders to use the Undercroft arrived as early as 1973. The topography of natural
ramps and undulating banks and the close proximity to the River Thames instantly drew people
with an interest in surfing and skateboarding. The smooth pavements, ramps and banks left by the
LCC architects providing the perfect venue for skateboarding.
There are three main kinds of skateboarding connected to Southbank skate area as described by
Winstan Whitter; ‘Street skaters carve the banks, use the stairs and stuff. Slalom skaters weave
around cones and other obstacles and freestyle skaters are like BMX freestylers. They stay on the
flatland and do tricks.’
Since the 1970s the Undercroft was referred to by skateboarders as ‘South Bank’ and later
‘Southbank’. Increasing international coverage of Southbank through skate videos and magazines,
and later via the internet, saw the spot firmly established in the imagination of skateboarders
across the world. Already established as a compulsory stop on most pro teams international tours,
the Undercroft now also became a site of pilgrimage for all kinds of skaters from around the world.
By the mid-1980s, other urban creative activities were also taking place, with the spot becoming
central to the emerging sport of BMX, as well as to the hip hop subcultures of breakdancing and
28
Ellie Herring, ‘The Southbank: An Invitation to Participate’, Occupation: Negotiations with Constructed
Space: Proceedings of the Conference Held at the University of Brighton (2009)
[http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/research/office-for-spatial-research/news-and-events/occupation/conferencepapers]
29 Peter Cook, Archigram (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999), p.25
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graffiti. More recently, the Undercroft likewise became a key site for the new urban activities of
parkour and free-running.30
While the nineteen-sixties arts buildings at the South Bank were not always popular with the public
– Daily Mail readers voted the Queen Elizabeth Hall ‘Britain’s Ugliest Building’ when it opened in
1967 – and the concrete walkways and undercrofts often seen as confusing or uninviting, many saw
this new spontaneous use as a positive development for the area. As early as 1977, press reports
were describing the South Bank as a ‘haven for young skateboarders,’ while many commentated
that the new use had culturally enlivened a previously unused or unwelcoming area:
That godforsaken waste-land is good for little else. Is there anywhere, outside a Soviet industrial
centre, such a collection of gloomy and soulless buildings as stands between the London
Weekend centre and the Hungerford Bridge? Skateboarding would seem to be one of the few
rational purposes for those vistas of concrete and paving with curious hidden recesses and – for
the skateboarder – challenging ramps […] as I walk to the concert, huddled against the wind, I
hear the rattle of the boards, some small evidence of human life. 31
While the popularity of skateboarding nationwide was declining by the 1980s, the Undercroft
remained continually in use, and was arguably central to keeping the activity alive in the UK. The
already-established status of the South Bank as the home of skateboarding meant that, as numbers
dwindled, it became the one place where the remaining skaters could be sure there would be other
people skating. A 1988 newspaper report on the return of skateboarding’s popularity described the
Undercroft as ‘the free-skater’s Mecca’, ‘the home of London street-skating and the one venue
constantly in use for more than a decade.’32
The reputation of the Undercroft as an internationally significant site for urban arts and culture,
and skateboarding in particular, has continued to grow into the twenty-first century. The
Undercroft has been used as a location for countless skateboarding and BMX films and magazine
shoots over the years, and more recently has been featured in the American video game Thrasher:
Skate and Destroy (1999) as well as in the hugely successful Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (2002) and
the latest release; Tony Hawk's Shred Session (2014). The space is regularly used for skateboarding
and BMX demonstrations, attracting professionals from around the world, as well as numerous
tourists and spectators.33 As the designations listed in this report above, and the statements of
30
‘Building in leaps and bounds’, The Times (6 January 2004); ‘One giant leap for mankind’, The Independent
(25 August 2004)
31 ‘Wanted… Those heels on wheels’, Daily Mirror (4 June 1977); Geoffrey Wheatcroft, ‘Busk Off’, The
Spectator (24 February 1979); See also: Gilian Linscott, ‘A walk on the Jubilee wild side’, The Guardian (13
June 1977); Alan Hamilton, ‘Britain takes to a new sport and its jargon’, The Times (17 October 1977)
32 ‘Skate City grows up’, The Observer (20 November 1988)
33 LLSB, ‘You can’t move history: Four decades of Southbank demos’ [http://www.llsb.com/you-cant-movehistory-four-decades-of-southbank-demos/]
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support collected below, demonstrate, the Undercroft is today widely recognised as an important
centre of urban culture in London, particularly for young people, and an important asset for the
local community.
Skater Emmanuel Mayele jumps Southbank Undercroft famous ‘7’ stair set 2014. © Sam Ashley
The Undercroft was never built with skateboarding in mind, but spontaneously appropriated by
users. The formation of communities and cultures at the Undercroft has been inextricably linked to
the space itself. Over time, users have continually stressed the importance of this aspect in terms of
the Undercroft’s cultural significance and heritage:
‘Surfers are getting to grips with a natural force, the sea – we have to get to grips with
another natural force, the land – paving or roads – we don’t want special parks for it…
Skateboarding is the first adrenalin sport that gets to the city – parts that people own but
no one possesses – like the South Bank. Architects would have it called a car park – it was a
place where tramps went and drank meths, but now it’s our place.’
- Steve Kane, interviewed in Skateboard! (Jan 1978)
‘With new skate structures appearing almost every week, mourning the loss of a dimly lit,
mellow banked concrete precinct may seem pretty funny to some, but for many the
atmosphere they skate is just as important as how or what they skate. The South Bank is
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skate heritage: it oozes roots – everyone has a South Bank story, it’s part of every Pro’s
European tour, all have fond memories of sessions past.’
- ‘South Bank – What’s going on?’, R.A.D (July 1988)
The press release issued by Southbank Centre on 6 March 2013 stated ‘New undercroft venues under-used space from the undercrofts will be reclaimed for artistic and cultural uses; including a
new venue for gigs, dance, cabaret, music and spoken word events and a space for young people .’
This contradicted the research commissioned by Southbank Centre which was carried out by
Central Saint Martin’s {CSM} under the name ‘We Are Southbank Undercroft’ 34 during April 2013,
which showed that the Undercroft spaces were in fact, active and vibrant spaces already full of
artistic and cultural uses and populated by large numbers of young people.
The CSM research concluded35;
Depending largely on season and weather, we estimate that anywhere between 250 and 1,200
active individual participants make use of the existing undercroft space in a typical week
(excluding spectators and passers-though). The primary active continue to be skating
(including skateboarding and some rollerskating), BMX and Graffiti and Street Art.
Other users such as social groups of young people, parents/guardians with children,
photographers, musicians, dancers, other artists and many spectators, also form an important
part of the space and use it in different ways.
Approximate frequency and time spent at the site collected from onsite observations, counts
and the conversations we had with people who currently use the Undercroft:
65-70% Skate
5-10% BMX
5-10% Graffit/Street Art
15-20% Other uses combined – including photography, modelling, dance,
parkour, scooting, parents with children playing, others spectating.
Skaters are main regulars to the spot, male and aged between 11-45 but commonly more
teens than any other age. The groups of friends who visit the site socially with skaters but
skate less include more females.
Those who use the space for BMX are less frequent and less in number but are also mostly
regular, and some long term London-based users of the space.
34
35
We Are Southbank Undercroft http://www.southbankundercroft.com/
Provided by CSM
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The graffiti writers and street artists are commonly visitors from other parts of the UK and
internationally, who have heard about the Undercroft space and want to make their mark
there. While they are prolific - each 2-3 weeks, every wall in the Undercroft is re-painted.
During the Festival Wing campaign, Southbank Centre and CSM incorrectly promoted that the
Undercroft was exclusively male. In actuality, skateboarding is the fastest growing physical activity
among young women and girls and the Undercroft reflects this in its community and users, and is a
great example of somewhere that is both a safe and welcoming environment and upholds equality
as standard practice. 36
Images © Jenna Selby Southbank Undercroft 2013.
Skater Lucy Adams
In reference to the Southbank Centre’s intention to ‘replace’ Southbank with a purpose-built space
under Hungerford Bridge, the Undercroft community has vigorously stressed the irreplaceability of
the Undercroft and the importance of the space’s heritage to its resident communities and visitors.
7.2
Cardboard City
In addition to the recreational and cultural uses of the Undercroft, it is also an important site in the
history of homelessness in London. There has been an identifiable homeless community at the
South Bank since at least the late-1970s. From the mid-1980s, the ‘cardboard city’ at the South
Bank, referring to the makeshift shelters erected by rough sleepers from cardboard boxes and
other materials in the Undercroft and at Waterloo’s Bullring roundabout, was one of the most
visible and culturally significant representations of the plight of the homeless in the UK.
36
‘Why They Should Save Southbank, The UK’s Most Iconic Skate Spot’ by Jenna Selby (6 December 2013)
http://cooler.mpora.com/features/why-they-should-save-southbank-the-uks-most-iconic-skate-spot-byjenna-selby.html
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The visibility of the homeless community at the South Bank, its central London location, and its
proximity to ‘high’ art and culture, meant that ‘cardboard city’ was often a focus of national
political debates on the issue of homelessness – a growing problem in the 1980s. ‘Cardboard city’
was often used as shorthand for the wider issue in political debate. The challenge of Liberal leader
David Steel to Margaret Thatcher in 1987 to ‘take the time to go and look at the cardboard city on
the south bank’ was a common refrain in Parliament in late-1980s and 1990s. In Kate Hoey’s debut
House of Commons speech as MP for Vauxhall on 27 June 1989, she likewise set out to ‘remind the
House that every night in my constituency, and within a mile of this Chamber, between 1,000 and
2,000 men and women sleep out in cardboard city on the south bank.’ 37
The cover of the Undercroft provided a spot for homeless people to shelter at night. Jeremy Swain,
Chief Executive of Thames Reach, a London-based charity working with the homeless, recalls that in
the 1980s ‘under the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s South Bank around 120 homeless men and
women slept rough and there were many more scattered around Waterloo station.’ 38
Skateboarders of the time recall co-operation with the homeless community: ‘We had a little
system between us, which was, not to skate through the back area from the Big Banks to the four
stairs after 10pm, which was fair enough because they lived there!’39
When the South Bank Centre took over from the GLC in the mid-1980s, installing private security,
many of the homeless community who had used the Undercroft moved to the nearby ‘Bullring’
Roundabout at the end of Waterloo Bridge, where between 200 and 500 people could be found
sleeping rough each night. The Bullring was temporarily closed for repairs in 1991, and its homeless
occupants evicted, although many soon returned. In 1994, planning permission was granted to the
BFI to build the IMAX on that site. In 1998, Lambeth Council won a court order to evict the
remaining homeless people from the Bullring so that construction could be completed.
7.3
Attitude of the owners to uses of the Undercroft
The GLC was initially accommodating of skateboarders at the South Bank, specially designating the
Undercroft as a space for skateboarding in 1977. 40 However, there were some tensions caused by
noise from skateboards disrupting concerts and the activity was occasionally prohibited during
certain events.41 The possibility of prohibiting skateboarding was discussed in 1978 although this
37
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1989/jun/27/football-spectators-bill-lords#1989-0627T18:38:00Z
38 http://jeremyswain.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/sentimentalising-peggy.html
39 Winstan Whitter, notes on the history of the Undercroft for LLSB (unpublished)
40 GLC, ‘Skateboarding’, London Topics 24 (February 1978)
41 Open Spaces and Recreation Committee: Report by the Chief Officer of the Parks Department:
Skateboarding (14 July 1977) [GLC/DG/PRE/136]
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was never carried out, probably in part due to a natural decline in the numbers using it after the
passing of the initial skateboarding craze. 42
Stone scattering at Undercroft to deter skating. Image © Winstan Whitter
When the South Bank Board took over from the GLC in 1986, private security was installed and
skateboarding discouraged. Southbank regulars from the period have described tactics such as
‘throwing stones, pouring water all over the place and having security guards there to kick us out’.43
Skateboarders were often refused entry to the Southbank Centre buildings and the South Bank
Centre attempted to impose a 7pm curfew on skateboarding in the Undercroft. 44
Multimedia street artist D*Face who skated the Undercroft during the 1980s stated; ‘Skateboarding
then was a different thing to now. And it was then that you weren’t allowed to skate here at all.
You’d get chased off. But it’s one of the few dry spots in London to skate so we’d always come here.
It wasn’t the same place in the 80’s. It was a desolate place. And now it’s a much more vibrant
interesting place and skateboarding has done that. […] It was ‘88 at the time it was like they were
going to bulldoze the Southbank, they were going to get rid of the banks. And didn’t seem surprising
because the security had already been trying to chase us off, they’d prized up the paving slabs there,
you know they’d tried to stop skaters from skating that area, so when the said they were going to
bulldoze it, it seemed very real and very likely they were going to do that. The smell of death jam
was organized, just done by word of mouth […] it was packed from front to back with people who
42
Memorandum to the Director of South Bank Concert Halls from the Clerk of the Recreation and
Community Services Policy Committee (15 May 1978) [GLC/DG/AR/15/1]
43 Winstan Whitter, in Long Live Southbank, Long Live Southbank (forthcoming, 2014), p. 133
44 ‘South Bank – What’s Going on?’, R.A.D. (July 1988)
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were there to show support for what this place was to skateboarders and still is today. Again the
security went against us and they were trying to break up the paving slabs and all they did is just
made more objects to skate and made it into a better event than it would have been if they’d just
left us alone. I think the show of force and the strength of numbers of that event got them to think
actually there’s something more to it and for whatever reason the plans were halted and it became
a skateable spot.’45
UK skater Nick Zorlac amongst Southbank Undercroft destruction. Image © David Steel
While there was initially some co-operation between the users of the Undercroft and the
Southbank Centre, with tacit agreement that skaters would not use areas at certain times, in the
1990s, the relationship became more antagonistic. In 1991, the Southbank Centre installed –
without any prior consultation – large metal bars in front of the Undercroft’s banks to deter skaters
and BMX riders. In the summer of 1992, these were removed by users of the Undercroft.
Subsequent attempts to replace them were met with a similar reaction. In 1993, Southbank Centre
began to switch the lights off in the Undercroft. While claiming that there was a technical fault
which was being looked into, this situation continued for several years. 46
45
46
D*Face, Long Live Southbank Paint Attack (2013)
Winstan Whitter, in Long Live Southbank, Long Live Southbank (forthcoming, 2014), p. 173
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During interviews for his film Rollin’ Through The Decades, Winstan Whitter captured recollections
from skaters who frequented the spaces between the 1970s and 2000s. Southbank Centre
commercial director, Mike McCart, was also interviewed and recalled that the ‘GLC was abolished
in 1986 and the taken over by South Bank Board, which was then a subcommittee, if you like of the
arts council’. Skater, Davross’, own recollection was that ‘Immediately the south bank management
decided that they didn’t love us anymore, well they never did, but because of the GLC they had a
problem getting rid of us because it was declared an official skate spot, but then the GLC went bye
bye. Next thing you know we’ve got holes being drilled din the floor, gravel all over the place’. Chris
Linford added ‘They started angle grinding all of south bank, putting railings up so you couldn’t
skate some of the banks. They were sprinkling stones everywhere. Chopping the run out that we
used to use at the end of the slalom run.’ followed with Nancy Sands stating ‘Then I think they
turned the lights off for a while in the evening.’
Flooring destroyed by drilling to deter skating. © Winstan Whitter
Damaged flooring. Image © Jay Podesta
Image © Jay Podesta
These additional comments on the atmosphere of the 1990s, based on the structural changes and
barriers placed in the Undercoft by the owners, are taken from Rollin’ Through The Decades;
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Ben Wheeler: That kind of threw everyone off a bit. No one knew really where to go. Things started
splitting up a bit then.
Matt Stuart: That was like the ultimate disappointment really.
Nancy Sands: It totally killed it and I think everyone was at a loss, people still went down in the hope
that they were going to take them [barriers] down, I thought they were going to give it to us.
Davross: You could feel the atmosphere, you know you come down here some days, you got a major
vibe and atmosphere and other days and it’s death you know. Nobody wants to be here, that’s how
it got. It just wasn’t fun to skate here anymore.
Nancy Sands: And I think that’s when I stopped going, because I couldn’t jump the barriers.
Paul Shire: That sort of cut of a whole load of people who could skate, cos that’s where they skated
every day of their lives, and then suddenly all they’ve got is a flat ground spot.
Matt Stuart: It changed the dynamic because you couldn’t skate the whole of South Bank you
couldn’t do a circuit.
Simon Evans: Nothing really worked, like; skating would just evolve over it.
Yogi Proctor: It would always just push the skating. People started ollying over bars and it’s like you
can’t really stop that stuff.
Tony Luckhurst: It gave us a new challenge.
Matt Stuart: You know, skating over the bars probably pushed skating to another level, made it
more difficult made it more of a challenge. Ben Jobe was the barmeister.
James Read: Ben Jobe came down here and ollied the bars with no shoes on, you know what I
mean, things like that.
Ewan Bowman: It was almost like magical, like he was Gandalf the wizard or something, seriously
that was like the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in skateboarding, one love Ben Jobe.
Through the late 1980s and 1990s, as the South Bank Centre attempted to push through major
redevelopment schemes, there was little consultation with the users of the Undercroft, with
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Southbank Centre officials openly stating that skateboarders, as well as the homeless people who
slept in the Undercroft, would have to be moved on. 47
Australian skater Andrew Brophy and Southbank Undercroft rubble. © Dom Marley
In the 2000s, the South Bank Centre began to develop a more harmonious relationship with the
Undercroft communities and the skateboarders. Efforts to deter skateboarders were relaxed, and
permission was given for street artists and graffiti writers to lawfully use the Undercroft.
In 2004, in collaboration with the art collective Side Effects of Urethane, the Southbank Centre
placed five movable objects as ‘skateable sculptures’ in the Undercroft, under the title ‘Moving
Units’. The then chief executive of Southbank Centre, Michael Lynch, stated he was ‘delighted to be
47
‘Site development: Farrell Scheme’ (1988) [ACGB/75/80]; ‘Repelling boarders’, The Guardian (20 March
1989)
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developing relationships with skateboarders who visit the Southbank Centre every day,’ and that,
‘We are trying to give access to what seems to be almost an ancestral ground for skateboarders.’48
The commercial director, Mike McCart, added ‘A lot of people enjoy watching the skateboarders
and the tricks they perform. They have found a very good use for a space we had not been able to
find a use for, and we are very happy for them to use that location.’49
Floor plan of the Undercroft and proposed ‘Moving Objects’ during the Festival Hall refurbishment
In 2005, however, a large area of the Undercroft (approximately two thirds of its original size) was
closed off to temporarily house Southbank Centre employees displaced by the refurbishment of the
Festival Hall. This was done without consultation of Undercroft users, who were only notified after
the event. Promises to reopen ‘as much of the undercroft space as possible’ on the re-opening of
the Festival Hall in 2007 were never acted upon. 50
48
‘Skateboarding sculptures welcomed’, BBC News (7 August 2004); ‘Southbank embraces skate culture’, The
Guardian (5 August 2004)
49 ‘Official: Skateboarders welcome on South Bank’, Evening Standard (9 August 2004)
50 ‘Southbank Centre newsletter for skateboarders’ (2005)
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During a 2005 interview with Winstan Whitter, Mike McCart stated; ‘We are now involved in phase
one of our refurbishment and redevelopment, and this really revolves around the refurbishment of
the royal festival hall and this is a huge building that has a square footage the same size as centre
point and we are closing the building for 18 months and we have to move a lot of different items out
of the building and we are utilising some, not all of the undercroft. We are keeping for example
available for skating, the well under the undercroft. The other section and work has already started.
We are sectioning part of that off for storage.’
Reduced-sized Undercroft with ‘Moving Units’ sculptures 2005. Image © Sam Ashley
He continued; ‘We know it’s the Mecca of skating in the world. Where do you go for skating its
South Bank, I think it’s something that has dawned on this organisation. The question is instead of
being something that they should feel hostile about we need to look at it as an asset, I think skating
is part of the history of South Bank and we need to look at that to address it retrospectively when
we are telling future generations about the South Bank and the role it plays in London.’
Despite this, Southbank Centre continued to enjoy a reasonably good relationship with the
Undercroft communities, stating that ‘they regard skateboarders as an important part of the
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creative community’ and were keen to develop ‘a closer relationship between skaters and the many
creative opportunities within the centre.’
Chief executive Michael Lynch was quoted in 2007 saying explicitly that the skateboarders ‘will not
be moved on and their graffitied undercrofts will stay.’51 It was publicly reiterated in 2008, in
response to skaters’ concerns that the Undercroft might be under threat, that ‘Southbank Centre
has no immediate plans to redevelop this part of its site.’52
Illustration of the reduced-sized Undercroft by David Steele 2013. © Long Live Southbank
In 2011 Julia Sawyer and John Gray of Southbank Centre hosted a meeting with Undercroft users.
Local skater, Henry Edwards-Wood reported:
‘This Wednesday (23rd February 2011) saw what will hopefully be the first of many
Southbank user meetings at the Royal Festival Hall. The meeting was organised by the
Southbank Centre and its aim was to open communications between themselves and the
skateboarding community who use the Undercroft area.
Before the meeting I was fearful that we would be told that Southbank was going to be shut
down or we were to be relocated to some crappy skate park somewhere else, a fear shared
by my fellow SB locals and London skateboarders alike. However the other meeting
attendees and I were pleasantly surprised. It seems as though Southbank is here to stay for
51
‘The rest of Southbank Centre joins the Royal Festival Hall in celebratory mood this weekend’, The Times (9
June 2007)
52 ‘Southbank Centre Statement on Skateboarding’ (7 February 2008)
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the foreseeable future, and what’s more the SB authorities have said they will work closely
with the skaters to improve the space.
Other topics that were discussed were better lighting, replacing the original railings and
adding barriers to separate the public, more bins, the temporary beach that will be opposite
the Undercroft in the summer and CCTV that will be installed. They also said that they
would provide us with squeegees and other equipment for us to dry the floor when it is wet
down there, which is a result.
These meetings will now be held quarterly and there is talk of setting up a page on the
Southbank Center website to allow for the skateboarding public to be kept up to date with
the goings on in the Undercroft. Some changes will be almost instant, some will be more
long term, but the bottom line is that Southbank isn’t going anywhere!
Overall this is a massive result and a good start to what will hopefully become a strong
alliance with the Southbank Centre authorities.’53
Finnish skater Tuukka Korhonen on sculpture 2000s. Image © Richard Hart
No further meetings or follow-ups with Undercroft users were organised by Southbank Centre.
On 6 March 2013, the Southbank Centre announced its designs for the new ‘Festival Wing’
redevelopment scheme, which involved the infilling of the Undercroft with retail units. The Festival
Wing plan and the subsequent announcement were made without consultation or engagement
with the Undercroft community and users.
53
Henry Edwards-Wood, ‘Does Skateboarding Have a Future at Southbank’, Crossfire (26 February 2011)
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UK skater Nick Jensen, barrier as obstacle 2006
Image © Sam Ashley
Skater Jim Slater and crew 1970s. Image ©
US skater Robbie Brockel jumps barrier 2014
Image © Ben Stewart
Skater Jim Slater and crew 2013. Image ©
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7.4
Proposed and unbuilt developments affecting the Undercroft
In addition to the changes that have taken place on and around the South Bank Estate over the
years, there have also been an unusually large number of large-scale development schemes which
have been proposed but – for a variety of reasons – never executed. Some plans have focused
directly on the Undercroft; others, focusing on the site as a whole, have included the Undercroft
within their scope.
In 1974, the GLC Arts and Recreation Department established a working party to look into ways to
make artistic or commercial use of the Undercroft. 54 The various proposals put forward ranged
from a children’s theatre or play area to a public house, while a 3D cinema, aquarium, exhibition
centre and Japanese garden were also considered. 55 By 1976 however – perhaps as the result of the
huge influx of skateboarders – these plans had been quietly abandoned. With the initial
skateboarding craze cooling in 1978, the GLC once again began to consider the possibility new
commercial uses, although no plans were ever formally drawn up. 56
On 23 February 1983, the GLC announcement that the architect Cedric Price had been hired to
bring about a ‘South Bank Renaissance’.57 In January of the following year Price produced an initial
report for the GLC. However, by the summer, the prospect of abolition meant that the plans were
dropped. It is unclear what impact Price’s plans would have had on the Undercroft from the few
details that were released at the time, although a GLC official was quoted as saying that ‘there was
no question of altering any of the existing buildings.’ 58
In October 1985, the newly founded South Bank Board announced plans for their own major
overhaul of the area, with Terry Farrell appointed as consultant architect. Between 1985 and 1993,
Farrell proposed three separate schemes for redevelopment, none of which came to fruition. All
plans focused on the sixties complex of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward, and
significantly all would have put an end to the uses of the Undercroft.
The first scheme, developed from 1985-1986 involved demolishing the concrete walkways to create
a ground level development, which would be topped by a vast glass roof, although planning
permission was never submitted.
54
‘Queen Elizabeth Hall – Undercroft’ (August 1974); ‘Note of a meeting held to at the Royal Festival Hal to
discuss proposals for improving the undercroft at the Queen Elizabeth Hall’ (7 August 1974)
[GLC/DG/AR/7/26]
55 ‘Note of a meeting to discuss the future of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Undercroft at The County Hall’ (24
April 1975) [GLC/DG/AR/7/26]
56 ‘Memorandum to the Director of South Bank Concert Halls from the Clerk of the Recreation and
Community Services Policy Committee’ (15 May 1978) [GLC/DG/AR/15/1]
57 GLC Press Release: ‘South Bank Renaissance’ (23 Feb. 1983) [GLC/DG/PRB/35/040/113]
58 ‘Brighter South Bank planned by GLC’, The Times (26 Feb. 1983)
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The second plan, announced in 1989, would have seen the Hayward, Purcell Room and Queen
Elizabeth Hall, including Undercroft, ‘wrapped’ within a whole new building, to be filled with new
shops and restaurants. These proposals met with resistance from the skateboarding community in
the Undercroft, which received some coverage in the national press. 59 The plans attracted
resistance from community groups concerned about over-commercialisation, and the lack of
attention paid to children and local residents. Lambeth Council expressed similar concerns.
The third plan, in 1991, called for the entire demolition of the sixties complex, to be replaced by
new buildings on the other side of Hungerford Bridge, although the collapse of the property market
with recession in the early nineties eventually put paid to the redevelopment.
In 1994, a new plan, this time with Richard Rogers as lead architect was put forward. The
centrepiece of his design was a giant glass canopy enveloping the sixties complex and Undercroft to
create a ‘South Bank Crystal Palace’.60 However, in 1998, when the South Bank Centre failed in their
attempt to secure National Lottery funding from Arts Council England, the Rogers plans also fell
through.61
Richard Rogers’ plan for the Southbank Centre. Image © Flickr User CC dalbera
59
Martin Pawley, ‘Repelling boarders’, The Guardian (20 March 1989)
‘Rogers gets his chance to bring arts in from the cold’, The Guardian (9 Sep. 1994); Simon Tait, ‘South Bank
in Crystal’, Illustrated London News (5 Dec. 1994)
61 ‘South bank “glass wave” scrapped’, The Guardian (11 Mar. 1998)
60
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In December 1998, new plans were announced by Southbank Centre for the sixties arts complex to
be demolished and replaced.62 The Twentieth Century Society led opposition to the proposals. 63
Eventually, a brief was drafted for a new masterplan which included the option of retaining the
buildings.64
Original raised walkway between Belvedere Road and Royal Festival Hall
In May 1999, Southbank Centre appointed Rick Mather as the new masterplanner. Rick Mather
Architects were ‘unanimously chosen from over 70 international practice's submissions to
masterplan the 12 hectares (30 acre)’ and the masterplan intended to deliver ‘a framework for the
improvement and extension of existing cultural facilities and public realm at this important central
London site.’65 While he announced his intentions to keep the sixties buildings, he stated his
intention to remove the complex’s walkways and fill its undercrofts.66 Though he initially
announced grand plans, including the tilting of Jubilee Gardens to make room for three stories of
new commercial buildings and two new 10-storey office blocks towering over the neighbouring arts
buildings at either end of the site, the Southbank Centre has since opted for a gradualist approach
to site development. The latest Festival Wing plans are claimed by the Southbank Centre to be the
latest stage of the implementation of the Mather plan.
62
‘UK South Bank overhaul’, BBC News (8 Dec. 1998) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/231168.stm]
‘Smith urged to intervene in South Bank demolition plans’, Architects’ Journal (17 Dec. 1998)
64 ‘Latest South Bank brief could save the Hayward’, Architects’ Journal (11 Feb. 1999)
65 Rick Mather Architects
66 ‘Master builder’, The Guardian (18 Feb 2000)
63
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Festival Wing
On 14 February 2013 Southbank Centre announced plans it stated would ‘Transform Festival Wing the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery complex’, having appointed Feilden
Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS) as lead architect in October 2012. It stated ‘The Festival Wing project
is the next stage of the masterplan’ and that ‘The design brief was to ‘refurbish and renew the
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery, as well as explore a more ambitious
project, which aims to reclaim unused and underused space to transform the whole of this
complex.’ 67
The Rick Mather masterplan stated it ‘provides a framework for the improvement and extension of
existing cultural facilities and public realm at this important central London site, including the Royal
Festival Hall, the Hayward Gallery, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room, and the British Film
Institute (comprising the National Film Theatre, the Museum of the Moving Image and the BFI
library).’
The draft designs, including the first images of the proposed new Festival Wing, were presented at
a public exhibition on 7 March 2013 in the Royal Festival Hall.
Festival Wing design illustration 2013. Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios
In was stated the project would ‘include the refurbishment and renewal of the existing 1960s
buildings and the creation of major new arts spaces including a new glass pavilion, a new central
foyer and a new liner building. The proposals will enable Southbank Centre to realise its vision to
deliver a larger and more ambitious arts, educational and cultural programme across the site for all
its visitors to enjoy.’ 68
67
68
Southbank Centre press release (14 Feb. 2013)
Southbank Centre press release (6 Mar. 2013)
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Southbank Centre stated the ‘Glass Pavilion will be a new world-class venue ‘floating’ on top of the
Central Foyer. This flexible, flat floor space, with first-class acoustics, is designed to hold a full
orchestra of 150 and choir of up to 250 plus small audience. The scale will attract the greatest
orchestras and performers across the art forms to rehearse and perform in this new space. It will
also be able to host national and international corporate events.’
The Festival Wing Plan was widely criticised by a large number of bodies including both English
Heritage and Twentieth Century Society. English Heritage repeatedly criticised the overbearing
dominance of the new developments both over Southbank Centre’s original buildings and also over
the National Theatre. Twentieth Century Society objected for similar reasons, criticising the scale of
the development and the lack of deference shown to the existing brutalist buildings.
On 14 September 2013 at the ‘Festival Wing Open Space Forum’, Artistic Director, Jude Kelly, stated
that Southbank Centre had considered the complete demolition of the Queen Elizabeth Hall and
adjoining buildings as one of the Festival Wing development options.
The Festival Wing scheme caused controversy and generated opposition over 2 main issues;
1. Lack of public consolation
2. Volume of commercial space
Public Consultation
Southbank Centre’s press release of February 2013 stated ‘public consultation will commence in
March 2013.’ Meetings weren’t held with Underctoft users until the 2 April and 26 April and led by
a group of individuals from Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts London.
The introduction of a ‘We Are Southbank Undercroft’ information structure, adjacent to the
Undercroft, proved confusing to both Undercroft users and the public alike, who initially perceived
it to be the official voice of the Undercroft community. The Central Saint Martins ‘We Are
Southbank Undercroft’ team actually consisted of no members of the Undercroft community, past
or present. This led in part to the skateboard community galvanising their own group, which in turn
led to the establishing of Long Live Southbank as the definitive and official voice of Southbank
Undercroft resident community and past and present users.
On 13 May 2013 the Undercroft user group attended a meeting at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
where a selection of designs were presented which featured options retaining elements of the
Undercroft for skateboarding. Similar designs featured on the We Are Southbank Undercroft
website. Undercroft users questioned Southbank Centre as to why they were being shown these
designs when the planning application, featuring no skateboard area in the Undercroft area, had
already been submitted on 10 May. At the meeting, the architect from FCBS stated he had not been
informed about the skaters concerns nor that there was an issue with the Undercoft space.
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Proposal for Undercroft space
The public consultation process was deemed confusing and misleading by user groups and local
residents and a number of Southbank Centre data analysis and statistics were called into question.
Many thought the meetings to be merely a formality and that their views were not being taken into
account. The lack of public consultation caused the Festival Wing application to be withheld twice.
Volume of Commercial Space
Public meetings with local residents in June 2013 highlighted concerns of increased commercial
retail units as part of The Festival Wing scheme with unanimous opposition at Waterloo Community
Development Group and Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre meetings.
In this case the Application Site lies within the South Bank Conservation Area which has an
allocated Land Use designation as a cultural use. The supporting Planning Statement, prepared by
Gerald Eve, on behalf of SBC, provides a detailed justification for the proposed level of commercial
space to be provided within the development in the context of UDP Policy 30(b) which states:
‘Protection of Theatres and Arts and Culture Facilities - Planning permission will not be given for a
change of use of buildings built as theatres to a non-theatre use. Commercial developments
associated with arts and cultural uses will be permitted where they are ancillary and
complementary to the arts or cultural use, and where there is a clear and lasting benefit to the arts
or cultural use. In addition, the Council will support unrelated commercial development at the
Southbank Centre only if it can be shown to meet all of the following criteria:
(i) That it is essential to the development and/or the retention of arts and cultural facilities;
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(ii) That its development would not undermine the primary character and function of the
South Bank Centre as an arts and cultural quarter; and
(iii) That the proceeds of any such development are applied exclusively to support and
enhance the South Bank Arts and Cultural Centre.’
Southbank Centre’s application documents make clear, ‘the statutory provision is satisfied if the
development preserves or enhances the conservation areas, and there will be cases where
proposals will do both. Character relates to physical characteristics but also to more general
qualities such as uses or activity within an area. Appearance relates to the visible physical qualities
of the area. The meaning of ‘preservation’ in this context is the ‘avoidance of harm.’’
During pre-application discussions between Southbank Centre and Lambeth officers it had been
said that an appropriate parentage of commercial space that could be justified to be included as
part of the redevelopment would be around 20% of the total floor space. The Planning Statement
indicates the total floor space of 33,930 m2, 26,900 m2 will be for arts and cultural uses therefore
providing the intention to deliver 20% of other commercial uses as part of the scheme.
Festival Wing and Hungerford Bridge plan layout
Whilst this level of commercial space might be considered to be acceptable for this development, it
is unclear whether a wider assessment had been undertaken to understand the implications of
maximising the level of commercial space within the development on the achievement of other
improvements to the arts and culture offer in the remaining part of the Southbank Centre complex.
In stark contrast, 5.8% was agreed for total commercial use in 2002 in the re-submitted plans for
the Royal Festival Hall refurbishment. Public opinion was decidedly against creeping
commercialisation and an increase of commercial and retail space which seen a continual growth
since 2008.
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8.0 THE UNDERCROFT: LONG LIVE SOUTHBANK
8.1
Long Live Southbank
Origins
Adopting a name that had already been in use by Underroft locals, Long Live Southbank (LLSB) is a
not-for-profit organisation set up by the Undercroft community and users, the purpose of which is
to protect the Southbank Undercroft and its resident community and unique culture, and to ensure
it remains in its present location, free from external influence and alteration. The community
created a preservation campaign, galvanising a diverse and passionate group, consisting of skaters,
other Undercroft users, as well as people from the wider creative community and people who
enjoy observing the Undercroft activities.
LLSB believes Southbank Undercroft’s cultural and historical status, which organically-evolved in
this found space, to be irreplaceable, and that its unique architecture and the vitality of the thriving
Undercroft community, which are inextricably linked, should be saved for future generations.
Long Live Southbank has a system of membership whereby people who support the campaign have
the opportunity to join officially. Each person signs up to the statement;
I wish to become a member of Long Live Southbank, the purpose of which is to protect
the skate area at the Undercroft, South Bank.
Background
The organisatiuon and campaign was set up in response to Southbank Centre’s announcement in
early March 2013 that it intended to redevelop the site with its £120 million ‘Festival Wing’ scheme,
a plan which featured the replacing of the iconic Southbank Undercroft skate spot with commercial
retail units.
The organisations first principles were to preserve the community and culture in its current and
traditional location, and oppose the proposed relocation to a space at an alternative site under
Hungerford Bridge. Southbank Centre initially allocated £100,000 from its £120 million scheme as a
budget to redevelop the empty Hungerford Bridge site into a programmable space which would
feature a design with skateable elements. Long Live Southbank’s campaign explained why the
culture and community could not simply be picked up and moved and that the Festival Wing
scheme would mean the end of a historical space with 40 years of evolution and progression, and
that any new site would have to start its community and culture from scratch. It also explained the
symbiotic relationship between the Undercroft space and its users and why that inextricable link
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meant that a ‘migration’ would not be something that would happen, regardless of what was
proposed for an alternate site.
Southbank Undercroft is known as ‘the birthplace of British skateboarding and internationally
renowned both within the skateboarding scene and beyond. It is also known as the ‘oldest
continuously skated spot in the world.’ People visit the site from across the globe as a form of
pilgrimage to what is regarded as a skateboarding ‘mecca.’
The campaign created straplines which explained and reinforced its first principles including;
You Can’t Move History
Preservation NOT Relocation
Construction WITHOUT Destruction
Membership
Long Live Southbank membership currently stands at over 150,000 people.
Legal
Long Live Southbank are represented by legal firm King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin.
Council
Long Live Southbank are provided advice by UpRise, an equality campaign managed by arts
collective, BrazenBunch.
Achievements
During its 17 month existence, the Long Live Southbank campaign has amassed a number of
significant achievements. These include;
-
Securing the Undercroft’s listing as an Asset of Community Value by Lambeth Council.
-
Over 150,000 members who have signed up to the preservation statement.
-
Collected the largest number of planning permission objections in UK history;
14,000 delivered to Lambeth Town Hall on 4th July 2013
27,286 delivered to Lambeth Town Hall on 2nd January 2014
6,644 delivered to Lambeth Town Hall following 2nd January 2014
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-
Forced the withdrawal of both the Festival Wing planning applications.
-
Kept a campaign table presence outside the Undercroft every day for over 17 months,
almost without exception.
-
Reached out to the UK and global skate scene with the most notable companies,
individuals and organisations supporting Long Live Southbank campaign.
-
Mobilised hundreds of young people on event days. On January 2nd around 100 young
people skated the planning permission objection forms on a 3 mile journey from
Southbank Undercroft to Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton.
-
Ran a successful online social media campaign without any PR or marketing company.
-
Managed to engage, and gain support from, a wide spectrum of the public, despite no
real mainstream media support, and negative campaigning from Southbank Centre.
-
Secured the support of the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who released a statement
in favour of the campaign, recognising the Undercroft as ‘part of the cultural fabric of
London’ and stating that ‘redevelopment should not be at the detriment of the skate
park, which should be retained in its current position.’
-
Case study for numerous student dissertations, final projects and course work.
Additionally, Long Live Southbank have been awarded ‘engagement campaign of the year’ at the
annual Change Opinion Awards and was the choice of ‘Great comms campaigns I wish I'd done’ by
the head of communications of Friends of the Earth at a seminar organised by CharityComms.
Skater Thomas TG jumps objection form boxes
2014. Images © Sam Ashley
Southbank Undercroft objection delivery day
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First objection delivery at Lambeth Town Hall
July 3013. Image © Long Live Southbank
Second objection delivery at Lambeth Town Hall
January 2014. Image © Sam Ashley
Educational Engagement
Long Live Southbank has engaged with over 200 students from schools, colleges and universities
from around the UK. The campaign has been contacted by numerous schools, supplementary
schools, colleges, universities and education-focused community groups, with whom LLSB has
collaborated with or provided assistance to.
Examples include;
- Dammy Fasoranti - Masters Student of Sociology University of Manchester - travelled
all the way to London to speak to local skaters
- Theo McInnes - PhD Student from Leeds writing on unconventional occupation of
public space and how it is reclaimed and remade in contemporary cities
- Sara Kazuro - Architecture student from Central St Martins who received a First
School engagement at D*Face visual art 2013. © Long Live Southbank
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School students. © Jamie Rothwell
Geography undergraduates 2014. © LLSB
Supporters
In addition to the international skateboarding scene, people from across the arts and beyond, and
from countries around the word, have committed their support to preservation signing up to the
following statement:
For the past 40 years skateboarders, BMXers and graffiti artists have inhabited the space
under the Queen Elizabeth Hall, an organically appropriated environment which is the
oldest of its kind in the world. For the duration of its existence it has been prolific in giving
rise to some of the UK’s most respected leaders in the creative industries.
The Southbank Centre’s plan to redevelop facilities by transforming the Undercroft into
retail space neglects to recognise the space as an integral part of the riverside’s cultural
history and identity. The displacement of the resident community to a contrived, purpose
built skate park under the Hungerford Bridge would destroy a crucial hub of learning,
diversity and inter-generational interaction, denying this thriving, natural, collaborative
space to future street culture pioneers.
We urge you to reconsider the plans for the Festival Wing so that any redevelopments
include the iconic Undercroft skate area in its present and traditional capacity as a
celebrated part of London’s cultural offering.
Though not used to lead the campaign, Long Live Southbank has received active support from
politicians, academics and people from all walks of life and life experiences, as well as high profile
people from sports, the arts, entertainment, music, theatre and film.
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8.2
Statement of Need
Southbank skate spot is a found space that by nature of its design was found to be the perfect
architecture and topography for the art of skateboarding. It has influenced generations of skaters
as part of a continual narrative and has achieved legendary status on the international
skateboarding scene. Though the size of the space has been reduced in the past decade, for over 30
years the entire spaces of the original Undercroft was explored and use to develop more and more
complex tricks and physical possibilities by the resident skateboarders.
The essence of Southbank is that if you can visualise it, you can realise it.
There are many tales of tricks achieved by skaters from across the world spanning decades which
have become folklore and part of a common practice of oral history. Many of the physical effects of
achievements are etched into the Undercroft stonework. Southbank is one of the world’s most
famous skate spots.
Lines carved in stone. Image © Sam Ashley
40 years of skateboard tricks. © Sam Ashley
There is a tradition of elders mentoring younger generations in terms of Southbank Undercroft
history, skateboarding general ethos and values, and engaging with wider society in general. The
space is self-managed and self-regulated with new visitors, and those establishing themselves as
new locals, provided an insight into etiquette and best practices for sharing the space respectfully
with others.
The space is a training ground for creative expression with many people citing Southbank
Undercroft a the environment which helped hone and develop their skills and talents including;
Professional skaters, BMX riders, visual artists, photographers, filmmakers, graphic designers,
animators, clothes designers, musicians and creative writers. These include people who are wellrespected high profile people within these fields.
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The inextricable connection between the people and the physical space cannot be replicated,
replaced, reproduced. There is a profound relationship with has developed over the decades. The
intangible heritage this generates creates an ongoing legacy which continues to inspire each wave
of new skaters. Equally in reverse, past generations of skaters continue to be inspired at the
challenging new possibilities which are conceptualised and realised at the Undercroft.
The ambience and the atmosphere of Southbank Undercroft is vibrant and energised with an
effervescent and ethereal quality that is the manifestation of years of passion and love for the
space, by the thousands upon thousands of people who feel so emotively connected to it.
The relationship extends beyond the traditional spaces of the Undercroft and to the wider local
environment, including the other areas of the immediate brutalist architecture and other objects
and structures along the South Bank as well as the Hungerford Bridge graveyard, which are all
connected to the historical storyline. Another integral part of this interconnected cultural narrative
is the riverside fence and kerb, used for over 40 years as a communal place to congregate.
Riverside fence. Image © Jamie Rothwell
© Alec McLeish
© Finn Andres
The existence of this endurance of expression resonates with the hundreds of thousands of people
who come to observe this symbiotic creative event. Some of whom catch merely a glimpse, some
who stay and watch for long periods, and the many who are repeat visitors. There are many
examples of 3 and even 4 generations of families who come specifically to the South Bank to watch
the skaters. Millions of ordinary people are exposed to an exciting and energetic art form and
culture. It also one of the few examples of somewhere the public are able to watch people honing
their craft through relentless practice, and where ‘failure’ is not seen as something negative, but as
part of an endurance and commitment to the advancement of attaining that elusive skateboard tick
- both by attempting signature tricks achieved by others, and by creating never-before-done ticks of
a skaters own creation.
In order for this culture to continue and to evolve, it requires the opportunity to continue its own
life, and breathing space to explore new interpretation and possibilities. In order to achieve true
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preservation, this would mean no outside or external influence, interruption, regulations or
restrictions. This is to allow the organic evolution of the space and the community to continue by
self-determination, as has been for over 40 years.
The space would need to remain free and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year as it used around
the clock, all year round. It is a place of pilgrimage and, almost daily, Southbank is visited by
skateboarders from all areas of the UK and internationally. Throughout summer in particular,
skaters arrive from all over the world to skate at Southbank. As a place of learning, the local
community expand knowledge from a mutual exchange of skateboarding style, culture and life
experiences, and grow as people because of new interactions and understandings. This stems from
a huge variety of things: the 40 years of history, the huge number of famous tricks that have been
landed there, the aesthetics, the architecture, the graffiti, the street art, the riverside location, the
collective creativity of the locals, the acoustics of the place, the locals who don’t skate, the
influence of the homeless on the scene, the history of persecution of skating at Southbank, the fact
it has its own existence and free from the regulated establishment which surrounds it.
The Undercroft community and users would welcome a new paradigm for the future of the space
and its community and culture, one that see a productive synergy and relationship with the
managers and custodians of the Southbank Centre site, one that creates a new and positive chapter
in the history of the space.
8.3
Restoring the original Undercroft
When first built 1967, the unique Undercroft architectural design was much larger in size than it is
today, filling the entirety of the space beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall. It contained unique
architectural features which gave the area a distinct look and feel.
Original Undercroft space west section facing north
© Richie Hopson
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In the summer of 2005, during the refurbishment of the Festival Hall, however, the accessible area
was decreased – with no prior warning, consultation or planning permission – by approximately
two thirds.
The Southbank Centre issued a statement explaining the move:
The undercroft area has been temporarily reduced in area for skateboarding to
accommodate some staff displaced following the closure of the Festival Hall.
[…]
It is intended to release as much of the undercroft space as possible in the Spring of 2007
when the Festival Hall is due to be re-opened. But some parts of the undercroft may still be
required in the medium term.69
However, to this day, and despite opening new offices alongside the refurbished Festival Hall,
Southbank Centre have refused to release any of the ‘temporarily’ closed area. In 2008, the
Southbank Centre stated that it had ‘no immediate plans to redevelop this part of its site’.
Recently, it has become clear that the Southbank Centre has abandoned the prospect of ever
reopening the space for its original uses, but has instead earmarked it as a potential site for further
commercial and artistic uses.
Original Undercroft space east section facing north east to east
69
‘South Bank Centre Newsletter for Skateboarders’ (2005)
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In the summer of 2012, Southbank Centre released a press release stating that ‘disused space under
the Queen Elizabeth Hall’ had been transformed into the ‘Festival Village’, a new arts and exhibition
space which also included a new bar and café. 70
From 2012 to 2014 the space renamed and Festival Village has seen limited use and is often closed
for long periods of time. Sporadic usage has included; a bar, exhibition space, meeting room,
children’s play area.
In the ‘Festival Wing’ planning application, which intended the infilling of the currently open
Undercroft space with retail units, Southbank Centre identifies the additional Undercroft spaces
beneath the Festival Wing. Southbank Centre stated its intention to reopen further Undercroft
spaces ‘that are either inaccessible or unusable…This will provide a range of new cultural and retail
spaces, including spaces dedicated to children and young people, and the potential for a Heritage
and Archive centre focussed on the heritage of the Southbank centre.’
According to Policy 7.8 of the London Plan, ‘Developments should…restore, re-use and incorporate
heritage assets.’ Given the long history of the Undercroft as a site for skateboarding and other
urban creative arts – stretching back to the 1970s – and its relatively recent reduction in size, it is
clear that the heritage value of the site covers not only the currently open space, but extends to the
wider area closed off in 2005. Particularly in light of Southbank Centre’s recent plans to re-open
and re-connect the former Undercroft spaces (albeit for different uses), there is therefore a strong
case to be made for its holistic restoration as an important heritage site with distinctive
architectural features.
Original Undercroft 1987. Images © Tim Brown
70
Southbank Centre press release: ‘Disused space under the Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank Centre
transformed into new ‘Festival Village’ arts hub’ (August 2012)
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If the Undercrofts are to be re-opened and re-connected, then under Policy 7.8 of the London Plan,
there is an argument for their restoration back to the original skate spaces as first discovered in
1973, and first publically documented in 1976. The architectural and cultural restoration would
reinstate an internationally recognised landmark in its entirety, and reignite the full potential of the
found space.
1976. © Brian Gittings
8.4
Main Undercroft area 1990s. ©
A way forward
It is recognised by Long Live Southbank, along with many other significant and pertinent individuals
and organisations, that the Undercroft is an important component within the overall masterplanning of the site, but in order for the Southbank Centre to receive support with any planning
application, radical redesign is required. Any proposal directing the Undercroft should be
developed from scratch by formulating a brief which would meet the needs of all community
groups. A transparent process is required that would involve in depth consultations throughout all
significant work stages with all key stakeholders of the space. This would initiate a way forward
involving all community groups who would work together to develop proposals to ensure that any
new design regarding the space will meet the needs of the individual community groups.
In the first instance, any plan affecting the Undercroft spaces should feature preliminary
discussions with the Undercroft community representatives. Any decisions should be by agreement
of the Undercroft community and the landowners, Southbank Centre and the Arts Council.
The landowners, Southbank Centre and the Arts Council, or any subsequent landowner or change
of managerial structure must ensure they fully understand the needs of the Undercroft community
and the resonance the community and its practices have on the local community and visitors to the
site.
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Preservation of the community and its culture and expressions and practices must be in situ and
incorporate the traditional and historical spaces.
Preservation must be with complete honesty and integrity and free from external influence and
without alteration or corruption from third parties or those outside of the established community.
The landowners, Southbank Centre and the Arts Council, should ensure a permanent and secure
future for the physical space and structures, and the resident community and their traditional and
evolving practices.
The preservation of Southbank Undercroft must be in the form of a legal guarantee securing the
space’s future, free from regulation, so the culture and artforms can continue to emerge and evolve
organically, safe in the knowledge that the community and users will no longer have to fight for its
survival.
The Undercroft community and users wish to form a new relationship with Southbank Centre, one
that is built on mutual trust and respect.
The Undercroft community and users also wish both parties to exchange a deeper understanding to
the respective contributions both make to London’s cultural landscape, and the UK’s artistic
identity on a global stage.
This would signify the opportunity to create a new symbiotic chapter in the Southbank Centre
history, where all those who have a connection to the site, can benefit from working with each
other’s commonalities and differences, to create an eclectic creative tapestry.
On a practical level, in return for the number of visitors the skate spot directly brings to the area,
the Undercroft community would expect to receive appropriate lighting and maintenance that is
afforded to other areas of the site.
The beginning pages of this report explored the history of the site and how many significant
buildings and aspects of the area have been removed or lost, many decisions which were later
considered to be regrettable.
The endurance of Southbank Undercroft and its community is a testament to foresight and
exemplifies why something so unique can, and should, be preserved.
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9.0 STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT
A number of high profile organisations and individuals have spoken out in favour of the
Undercroft’s preservation. This section collects together statements of support for preservation
from a number of respected authorities and experts in the fields of heritage, preservation,
architecture, policy, town planning, social cohesion, community wellbeing, culture and the arts.
English Heritage
English Heritage is the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment. It has
supported the statutory listing of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, of which the Undercroft is a part, as
well as the adjacent Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery.
“The skate area in the undercroft of the Queen Elizabeth Hall is strongly valued by those
that use and engage with it, who consider the space to be part of their cultural and social
identity. For those people, it is not only a source of identity but also distinctiveness, social
interaction, and coherence. In addition to this evident communal value, the undercroft has
some historic value as a place used for skating in the early days of a sport which has gone
on to be a significant influence on fashion and culture.
“In terms of the historic value, the undercroft has a three-sided concrete bank which
mimicks the form of a wave and may very well be the reason the undercroft was first
colonised by skaters. Although skating is now restricted to the Queen Elizabeth Hall's
undercroft area, it once took place across a much wider area of the South Bank.”
-
Simon Hickman, Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas, English Heritage
Twentieth Century Society
The Twentieth Century Society (C20) exists to safeguard the heritage of architecture and design in
Britain from 1914 onwards. Its main activities are campaigning for the preservation of buildings and
educating the public on their significance.
C20 has repeatedly called for the listing of the 1960s Southbank Centre complex. C20 has
consistently opposed the Festival Wing scheme and supported the campaign by Long Live
Southbank to preserve the Undercroft. In October 2013, C20 released designs for an alternative
Southbank Centre redevelopment scheme that would preserve the Undercroft. 71
71
http://www.c20society.org.uk/news/press-release-c20-society-unveils-alternative-south-bank-centrescheme/
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“Along with English Heritage, The Twentieth Century Society has repeatedly called for the
listing of this ensemble, constructed by the LCC’s / GLC’s Architect’s Department between
1963 and ‘68. The Southbank Centre sits in the Southbank Conservation Area, between the
National Theatre (Grade II * listed) and Royal Festival Hall (Grade I listed). The complex
showcases some of the best and most important architecture from this period in the
country.
“We feel that the skateboarding use brings a unique visual and cultural interest to this part
of the South Bank that draws in a large audience to the site in its own right. This allows a
diverse audience to appreciate the sculptural form of the concrete mushroom columns of
this undercroft space.”
-
Catherine Croft, Director, Twentieth Century Society
Open Spaces Society
The Open Spaces Society (OSS) was founded in 1865 as the Commons Preservation Society. It is
Britain’s oldest national conservation body. Over the last century OSS has worked to preserve
commons for the enjoyment of the public. It has also been active in protecting the historical and
vital rights-of-way network through England and Wales. OSS has been a strong supporter of Long
Live Southbank, and intervened at a judicial review hearing in March 2014 to support the attempt
to register the Undercroft as a village green.
“The Open Spaces Society considers that the Undercroft is of immense value as a public
open space, in the heart of London, where people may enjoy a variety of activities. It is a
skateboarding centre, social hub, and much more. Such spaces cannot just be re-created
elsewhere, they take decades to develop and are crucial to the Southbank community as
well as to visitors from near and far.”
-
Kate Ashbrook, General Secretary, Open Space Society
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) was founded by William Morris in 1877
to counteract the highly destructive 'restoration' of medieval buildings being practiced by many
Victorian architects. Today it is the largest, oldest and most technically expert national pressure
group fighting to save old buildings from decay, demolition and damage.
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“The SPAB has followed the recent debate concerning the proposals for the redevelopment
of the Southbank Centre with some interest. Although we generally concentrate on
responding to listed building consent applications relating to pre-1720 buildings, we chose
to support our colleagues at the Twentieth Century Society by objecting to the planning
application for alterations and extensions to the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and
Hayward Gallery essentially because we were concerned by the lack of overall
understanding of the heritage significance of the site.
We highlighted what we perceived to be a fundamental flaw in the vision for the
redevelopment project. Projects such as the emerging scheme for the neighbouring
National Theatre by Howarth Tomkins and the acclaimed refurbishment of the Royal
Festival Hall, completed by Allies and Morrison in 2007, demonstrate that a conservationled approach to the redevelopment of modern buildings can deliver much needed change
without damaging the special qualities and interest of the original architecture. The issue of
the Undercoft below the Queen Elizabeth Hall has proven to be a salient reminder of the
need to understand not just the design of modern spaces but their historic and evolving use
as well as their connection with the local community. The key to success is making sure that
the significance of the existing place is fully understood to begin with, and then ensuring
that there is consensus as to the elements that should be protected and those areas that
may be capable of beneficial change. This process is vital to each and every redevelopment
project whether the building is of great age or is a more recent work of architecture, such as
the Southbank Centre.
Interestingly, the high profile media debate that has arisen over the current proposals
demonstrates just how difficult the challenge of identifying, articulating and safeguarding
the value and significance of modern cultural institutions can be. Ironically, if the
Southbank Centre had taken a more positive stance towards the question of listing the
building then the insights revealed as part of the assessment exercise might have been used
to develop a scheme acceptable to all the many user groups.”
-
Sara Crofts, Deputy Director and Head of Casework, SPAB
Fields in Trust
Fields In Trust (FIT), founded as the National Playing Fields Association in 1925, works throughout
the UK to safeguard and improve outdoor recreational spaces for sport and play for future
generations.
“Outdoor recreational spaces are a vital resource that help to create stronger and healthier
communities. The mental and physical health benefits provided by such spaces are well
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documented along with the opportunities they provide for young people to develop
essential skills.
Not only is the Undercroft iconic, it is a fantastic urban example of public recreational space
and how these spaces can help bring people together.”
-
Helen Griffiths, Chief Executive, Fields in Trust
The National Community Land Trust Network
The National CLT Network is the national body for Community Land Trusts in England and Wales.
“The National Community Land Trust exists to represent and celebrate people who are
fighting out of love to nurture a place or way of life that they care about. The skating
community at the Southbank Centre are a fantastic example of this. The Undercroft is a free
space for people to express themselves on a site of real significance to a global youth
culture. It is part of what makes our capital city brilliant.”
-
Catherine Harrington, Director, National CLT Network
Museum of London
“At the Museum of London we are redefining our approach to content - from what we
collect to the stories that we tell of London. The tradition of skateboarding in London runs
through our content themes of Creative Capital and Iconic London. Despite our collections
exceeding 3 million artefacts, there is little trace within our record of London of
skateboarding culture.
The depth of feeling and the sense of identity that has coalesced around the issue of the
Southbank Undercroft leaves me considering how we can rectify that. Certainly when I
review our collections we can see the past record of many people and groups who through
their actions, beliefs and sense of identity have been intrinsic to the life of London. Because
of their potency and endurance it is hard to question the validity of the skaters on the
Southbank, almost as much as it’s hard to question that of buskers or street artists.”
-
Sharon Ament, Director, Museum of London
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Greater London Authority
In October 2013, Long Live Southbank was invited to attend a meeting of the London Assembly’s
Planning Committee to highlight the plight of the Undercroft and discuss the importance of the
Localism Act’s Assets of Community Value scheme. After a positive and constructive discussion,
Assembly Member and Committee Chair, Nicky Gavron, told Long Live Southbank representatives,
“You’ve had a lot of support around the table from members. In fact, you’ve had total support from
members.”
Written support has also been given by London Assembly Members; Caroline Pidgeon MBE, Darren
Johnson, Jennette Arnold OBE and Jenny Jones.
Mayor of London
In January 2014, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, spoke out in favour of preserving the
Undercroft. The Mayor told a preliminary planning meeting at City Hall:
“I wholeheartedly support the principle of enhancing the world-class cultural facilities at the
Southbank Centre and am encouraged by many of the aspects of their plans. However,
redevelopment should not be at the detriment of the skate park, which should be retained in
its current position.
“The skate park is the epicentre of UK skateboarding and is part of the cultural fabric of
London. This much-loved community space has been used by thousands of young people
over the years. It attracts tourists from across the world and undoubtedly adds to the
vibrancy of the area – it helps to make London the great city it is.”
Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2008)
In 2008, in response to a petition started by campaigners to protect the Undercroft and delivered
to Downing Street, the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown issued a statement in which he
recognised “the importance of the Undercroft in bringing together skateboarders from across the
UK and the value that the skateboarding community has brought to many young people and the
South Bank area itself.” The statement continued:
“Any activity that engages and develops young people can have a very positive impact on
society and the skateboarding community that has grown up around the Undercroft has
brought together people from various backgrounds, created a vibrant public space and
added real value to the lives of many young people.”
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Kate Hoey MP
Kate Hoey has been the MP for Vauxhall, the constituency in which the Undercroft is situated, since
1989. In June 2013, she delivered a petition to the House of Commons opposing the Southbank
Centre’s Festival Wing plans and seeking to protect the current uses of the Undercroft:
“I have great pleasure in delivering to Parliament and presenting a petition of 40,000
signatures in support of retaining the skateboarding area in the Southbank Centre in my
constituency […]This is a culturally and historically important area of the South Bank. The
Southbank Centre has some very new plans, which everybody wants to see happening,
except that it has not engaged with and involved the skateboarders, and it wants them to
move to an area which would not be one that they had built up themselves. The Centre
wants to have its restaurants where the skateboarders are, but many people feel that the
restaurants could be where it wants to take the skateboarders. Whatever the situation is,
my petition is very clear: some 40,000 people, and many more, want to retain
skateboarding in the South Bank.”
Ben Bradshaw MP
Benjamin Bradshaw has been the MP for Exeter since 1997. He was the Secretary of State for
Culture, Media and Sport from 2009 to 2010:
“I know that they’ve offered an alternative site but in a way that misses the point because
this site has built up organically from the skateboarders themselves, generations of
skateboarders, going back decades.
I can think of countless examples in other areas of culture and art where something that
somebody tries to give you or impose on you doesn’t actually end up being that successful
or very creative or very new or very exciting. Whereas something that has grown up from
the grass roots, from the bottom, organically ends up being of real cultural value.”
Dr Oliver Mould
Dr Oliver Mould is a lecturer in human geography at Royal Holloway, University of London. He has
researched and written widely on city space and urban subcultures.
“The South Bank's proposed Festival Wing plan in its current incarnation represents a
broader development process occurring across many of the world's cities. Using 'culture' as
a byword for consumerist and economic development, the South Bank is essentially
valorising one kind of culture over another; namely a consumerist, economic version over an
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‘alternative’ and subcultural version. The Southbank Centre in London is no doubt one of the
country’s most famous and important cultural ‘centres’, but the expansion into the Festival
Wing (and associated eradication of the Undercroft skate spot) is actually narrowing the
current culture of the area. It is doing so by encouraging consumption and spending on a
specific type of culture, one that makes money for the investors. Anything that doesn’t form
part of that narrative, such as the Undercroft, is being displaced. As such, the cultural
offerings that the Festival Wing plan foretells seems to narrow the provision of culture,
rather than the ‘culture for all’ that their tagline suggests. If the South Bank Centre really is
committed to broadening the cultural offerings, then the preservation of the Undercroft,
and the (sub)cultural community it represents, is paramount. The skate area already
attracts marginalised young people; it already allows them to form diverse communities
around a shared common interest; it already promotes social interaction, healthy living, and
cultural engagement. The desire for saleable retail space is simply not reason enough to
destroy a place-based community that already performs the benefits the plans are
attempting to promote.”
Dr William Gallois
Dr William Gallois is a cultural historian and Senior Lecture in Modern Middle East History at Exeter
University’s Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies. He has supported the preservation of the
Undercroft, and written to English Heritage to oppose its current Certificate of Immunity from
Listing.
“The simple test which English Heritage ought to apply in such cases is one in which we
imagine that we find ourselves one or two hundred years in the future and speculate as to
whether our descendants will regret the manner in which we erased significant aspects of
our own built culture. In the case of the Undercroft, it is quite plain that future generations
will have an interest in youth and street cultures of the late twentieth century and the
twenty-first century, most especially where existing urban spaces are re-used and
transformed, as has been the case here. The experiences of living in the city which sites such
as the Undercroft describe will be important to later generations of historians and citizens,
who seek to understand how we lived our lives.”
Dr David Webb
Dr David Webb is a lecturer in Town Planning, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at
Newcastle University.
“Sometimes we are faced with making decisions about buildings and urban spaces that
require us to step back and re-appraise our established ways of doing things. Planning is
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used to thinking about the way places look, the function they perform and whether
proposals for change will contribute to wider objectives. It seeks to make a balanced
decision about what is in the public interest. The proposal to redevelop the Undercroft
challenges this mindset.
The Undercroft’s importance is not about its contribution to leisure provision or to the
global image of London as an economic centre. It raises important questions about our
willingness to understand the different ways in which people relate to the city, and points of
principle about people’s right to use it. Retaining the Undercroft signals that, as a culture,
we are still able to respect those relationships, even when they are different to our own.
Redeveloping it would be a worrying signal of our dependence on short-term economic
thinking.”
Dr Matthew Barac
Dr Matthew Barac is Research Leader for Architecture at London South Bank University. He is a
chartered architect with a background in professional practice and academia and his doctoral
research won plaudits including the RIBA President's Award for Research and the International
Bauhaus Award.
“It has been interesting to watch this debate unfold and mutate because, rather
surprisingly, it seems to be the case that no one saw it coming. This is particularly ironic in
the case of the Southbank Centre. In recent times the Centre has actively addressed the
project of reconceptualising itself with a view to engaging with new audiences: with those
who are younger, who are ethnically and economically diverse, who do not necessarily see
themselves as ‘cultured’ or part of an intellectual elite. In their efforts to rethink and
rebrand their offer they have, quite brazenly at times, adopted edgy or ‘counter-culture’
tropes – such as covering the buildings in graffiti seemingly transplanted from Shoreditch,
or turning the promenade into something resembling Notting Hill market.
These strategies suggest that the institution wants to embrace (and even appropriate) the
forms and values of those who have traditionally been, or at least felt, excluded from what
it stands for. And yet, when push comes to shove, the Undercroft – that symbol of edginess
and counter-culture that the Southbank Centre is lucky enough to have embedded at its very
core – appears to be expendable. It is beyond belief that nobody at the top of the Southbank
Centre managerial tree appreciates the irony of setting out to destroy it when it is the one
that makes the institution credible to an audience that has, for so long, been beyond its
grasp.
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Dr Tim Snelson
Tim Snelson is a lecturer in media history at University of East Anglia. He has written widely on
youth culture and media and is currently working on a research project on the Long Live Southbank
campaign and youth political engagement.
“We are bombarded with media and political rhetoric stating that young people are
politically disengaged and disregard community and environmental concerns. The forty year
struggle to preserve the Undercroft as the physical and emotional hub of British
skateboarding demonstrates that young people are passionate and committed about
politics and heritage when it is relevant to their creative and emotional lives. Displacing the
generations of young people who have worked tirelessly and collaboratively to create and
preserve the Undercroft sends out a message that their interests and concerns have no
place in British political and cultural life.”
Dr Paul Sweetman
Dr Paul Sweetman is a Senior Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King’s College
London. He was previously a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Southampton and has
a PhD in Sociology and MA in the Sociology of Contemporary Culture from the University of York.
Dr Michal Garapich
Dr Michal Garapich is a social anthropologist, lecturer and Research Fellow at CROMM (Centre for
Research on Migration and Multiculturalism) at the University of Roehampton, specialising in the
issues of migration, ethnicity, nationalism and multiculturalism.
Sxip Shirey
Sxip Shirey is a composer and producer from New York City, and Music Director for LIMBO at the
Southbank Centre and in Syndey, Bogota, Paris and Brooklyn.
“There are places in every city that the residents bemoan don’t exist anymore. Places that
made the city unique and special. The story is always the same, they were razed to create
more apartments or commercial space or a new building that is not as functional as the old.
The people who destroyed them look like historical idiots. The question is always ‘Why did
we let them take that away from our city?’ The Southbank skate spot is one of those places.
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When I went to London for the first time and then to South Bank, it was the skate spot that
impressed me. The fact that the Royal National Theatre and the skate park were right next
to each other said something great about this city. Great art evolves from the street first
and this was a beautiful nod to just that.”
INTERNATIONAL SKATEBOARDING SCENE
Andrew Brophy
Professional Skateboarder, Australia
“Southbank has been the birthplace of many great skateboarders and to take that away
would be like taking a chunk of London’s sporting history. Preserve and persist for the future
of skateboarding in London.”
Andrew Reynolds
Professional Skateboarder and Founder of Baker Skateboards, USA
“It’s just a legendary skate spot that’s a big part of skateboarding, it has a lot of history in
skateboarding.”
Arto Saari
Professional Skateboarder, Finland
“Southbank is one of those few places left in the world that’s been around for a long time
and has a lot of history in skateboarding and in the purest form. Southbank is one of the
original skate spots that’s bred some of the best skateboarders in the world.”
Ben Powell
Co-founder and Editor of Sidewalk skateboarding magazine, UK
“This place is imbued with so much history and culture that if you get rid of it, all of that
echo goes. Culture is more important than money, and culture can’t be bought, it can’t be
sold, it just is. That’s 50 years of culture. Generation upon generation upon generation. Just
go and stand at the railings for 5 minutes and tell me that that’s not a culturally important
thing that’s happening there.”
Benny Fairfax
Professional Skateboarder, UK
Blondey McCoy
Sponsored Skateboarder, UK
“I came here first when I was 11. Everyone’s mainly here for the vibe and the environment
that's developed over 40 years. It’s the heart of British skateboarding. When you come here,
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you feel like you’re literally part of the history of it, which is a massive deal. I’ve grown up
here. I’d hate to imagine an 11 year old that didn’t have this opportunity”
Caswell Berry
Professional Skateboarder, USA
Chad Muska
“Southbank is a must when you come to London! It is just as important as Big Ben or any
other iconic landmark in the city. I love that place and it is the last of a dying breed of
natural streets spots that skaters can turn to. I remember seeing it in a magazine and being
like woah that place is rad. It’s one of those spots, when you see it it just sticks out, you just
want to find out where it’s at.
If this place is taken away from the kids, you know they’re not going to have this place,
they’re not going to have this inspirational place where young kids can come and see a pro
skate or see another guy rip and all this stuff and give them the inspiration to go ‘hey man I
just skated with this pro here maybe someday maybe I could become pro someday’. To me
this is like the epitome of skateboarding and what it represents to us is going on down there
every single day. Skateboarding is Southbank. It’s the kids coming together, pushing
themselves, having fun, enjoying life and doing something positive.”
Chewy Cannon
Chima Ferguson
Chris Pullman
Skateboarder and Manager of Slam City Skates skate shop, UK
“It’s a free spot and it’s a natural spot where kids can come here and see people who are
going to be role models in a lot of ways. They are going to see people who are going to
inspire them to get off their arse and do something, they are going to inspire them to push
themselves, they are going to inspire them to maybe try and make skateboarding a job
which is perfectly possible, or if not they are going to be out and they are going to be fit,
they are not going to be sitting at home playing X-Box.”
Davis Torgerson
“Every big city that has a skateboarding scene has a spot that everyone can recognise […]
when you think of London, you think of Southbank immediately. An Iconic spot like
Southbank is important because maybe you’re a kid that lives like 20 minutes outside the
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city […] and you immediately want to come here because this is what you see in videos.
When you think of skateboarding you think ‘oh yeah I saw someone do a tailslide on this
ledge at Southbank and now I want to try and do that’.”
Dustin Dollin
Ed Templeton
Professional Skateboarder and Artist, USA
Eric Koston
Professional Skateboarder and co-owner of Fourstar Clothing and skate website The Berrics, USA
Gareth Skewis
Owner Palace Skateboards, UK
Geoff Rowley
Professional Skateboarder and Founder of Flip Skateboards, UK/USA
“It’s one of the most iconic skate spots in the whole world, as far as the cultural significance
in Europe, there is nothing that comes even close to Southbank. Places like Southbank are so
important for young kids. It’s a really positive thing for kids to do. Skateboarding is the
fastest growing pastime in the world. It’s really vital that the city acknowledges that.”
Greg Finch
Guy Mariano
Professional Skateboarder and co-owner of Fourstar Clothing, USA
Henry Kingsford
Skate Photographer, UK
Javier Sarmiento
Professional Skateboarder, Spain
John Cardiel
Joleon Pressey
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Justin Brock
“I think we need to keep Southbank around. I mean look at how many people walk past and
stop just to watch skateboarding and skateboarding has turned this spot that wasn’t built
for skating , look a now and look at how many people enjoy it. ”
Keith Hufnagel
Professional Skateboarder and Founder of HUF streetwear, USA
“It gives kids like a family. They are able to express themselves in art, in design in whatever
they see going on and it gives them a learning experience outside of the house.”
Kevin Parrott
Marketing Manager Volcom
Dr Lee Bofkin
Co-Founder and CEO globalstreetart.com
Lucien Clarke
"Southbank has had a massive, massive influence on me. I pretty much grew up there. The
amount of shit I've learnt from hanging around and skating at that place is unbelievable!
We would be down there every day, rain or shine, just having a good time."
Mark Gonzales
Skateboarding Pioneer, Professional Skateboarder and Artist, USA
“It’s a place where skaters from all around the world can go and meet other skaters from
other countries and it’s always been a great place for skaters to unite. It’s fun and friendly
for tourists to come across and maybe for the average person to mingle with skateboarders
on common ground. It’s got a lot of historical value”
Marshall Taylor
Owner Slam City Skates, UK
Marten Persiel
Filmmaker, Germany
Nick Jensen
Professional Skateboarder and Artist, UK
“It’s shaped me. I grew up skating here and it’s brought me so many good memories. It’s
free, you can have fun for free and I’ve made loads of friends because of it and I’ve travelled
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a lot because of skateboarding and skateboarding wouldn’t have developed if it wasn’t for
somewhere like Southbank. It’s so important for a city to have an area like that”
Paul Shier
Professional Skateboarder and Director of ISLE Skateboards, UK
Peter Randometta
“It’s rad because it wasn’t made for skating but it seems perfect for it.”
Rob Ashby
Secretary UK Slalom Skateboarding Association
Rob Smith
Robbie Brockel
“I’ve seen it in videos since I’ve been a kid growing up so it’s always been somewhere in my
mind that’d be cool to skate.”
Sam Ashley
Spike Jonze
Filmmaker, USA
Stevie Williams
“Southbank! The OG spot, all roads end at Southbank pretty much. It's really good knowing
the history of skating in London. I got the feel. It's like Love Park, EMB, Pulaski, Pier 7. It's
good to see new skaters still skating a piece of history. That's how I look at it. Even before I
started skating Southbank was there. It's great to get to skate there and be a part of it.”
Tas Pappas
Former World Champion Skateboarder, Australia
“Southbank, it wasn’t even meant for skating but it’s perfect for skating. Most skate parks
around the world copy places like this. Big money thinks they can come in and just take
over, do what they want, put this place to sleep ‘cos that’s what they want. They don’t think
of the soul of skateboarding or the soul that this place has, the attachment people have
because it’s been here for a long, long time. You wouldn’t go bulldoze the Acropolis.”
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Tim Leighton-Boyce
Tom Penny
Tony Hawk
Former World Champion Skateboarder and owner of Birdhouse Skateboards, USA
“It’s truly an historic feature of London street culture, and is as well known to skateboarders
around the world as Big Ben or Buckingham Palace. Preserve the integrity of Southbank, a
sanctuary for skateboarders, and an important part of London history.”
Vaughan Baker
Skateboarder, EU skate marketing and Team Manager for SUPRA Footwear & KR3W denim
Wig Worland
Southbank skate community of support.
Poster illustration by Rob Mathieson. © Long Live Southbank
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APPENDIX 1: LISTING DESCRIPTION
Description: Royal Festival Hall
Grade: I
Date Listed: 29 March 1988
English Heritage Building ID: 431968
OS Grid Reference: TQ3079780223
OS Grid Coordinates: 530797, 180223
Latitude/Longitude: 51.5058, -0.1168
Location: Belvedere Road, Lambeth, Greater London SE1 8XX
Locality: Lambeth
Local Authority: Lambeth Borough Council
County: Greater London
Country: England
Postcode: SE1 8XX
LAMBETH BELVERDERE ROAD
TQ 3080 Royal Festival Hall.
GV 2/D I
Concert Hall. Built 1949-51. Major additions and alterations 1963-4, including new river and
Belvedere Road fronts and recasting of side elevations. Some minor interior changes. Designed by
London County Council Architect's Department as the London County Council's contribution to the
Festival of Britain. Original design team headed by Leslie Martin under
overall control of Robert Matthew, with interior largely the work of a group under Peter Moro;
architect in charge of construction, Edwin Williams. Scott and Wilson, engineers; acoustic design by
Hope Bagenal, Williams Allen and Peter Parkin.
Additions of 1963-4 designed by an London County Council team under Norman Engleback
including David Wisdom, Harty Abbot, Tony Booth and Robert Maxwell.
Mass concrete foundations to a depth below 'Newlyn datum'. Basic structural concept of 'egg in a
box' ie separate enclosed structure for auditorium above and within the building envelope. Main
structural material reinforced concrete for all load-bearing walls. Auditorium is elevated above
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surrounding building on a forest of 'sleeved' columns (for sound insulation) and buttressed at
corners by the internal stairs of the foyers. Auditorium walls consist of a double skin of concrete
faced towards the outside with Derbyshire
fossil marble, polished on interior surfaces facing foyers, weathered naturally on exterior of
building where walls rise above surrounding envelope. Roof of auditorium is supported by a series
of 120-foot trussed steel girders of bowstring shape covered with a double skin and finished with
capper, with a curved profile rising fran back to front of building. Outside envelope of building is
largely flat-roofed.
Outside envelope of building, largely now of 1963-4, is faced predominantly in Portland stone with
passages in blue-grey mosaic and some small areas of cream-brown tiling. River (west) front takes
form of gentle curve, with double-height tier of windows above 'Level 3', on top of which is a
recessed terrace with five open bays in centre exposing columns of elongated form. North front
facing Hayward Gallery predominantly in Portland stone with former Festival entrance left of centre
and screen of glazing above; ends of this front are canted out above terrace level; three mosaicclad escape stairs emerge to right of entrance. Belvedere Road (east) front entirely of 1963-4, with
row of ten elongated columns unobstructed apart from mosaic-clad office area at ground level, and
upper Portland-stone-clad portion of elevation cantilevered out at 42-foot level; thin strip of
windows at a high level along front. South (Hungerford Bridge) front with slightly recessed centre of
five bays in which columns show partly on outside and partly behind glass screen, as on west front.
Building is entered from terrace level on south front, ground level on north front and from terrace
on ground level on west front, where current ruin entrance hall with box office and cafeteria is
outside main building envelope below terrace between west front and river wall.
From main west entrance, staircase rises and branches into two, having Derbydene risers and
Travertine treads. Furniture of stair here and elsewhere characterised by specially designed bronze
uprights and handrails, wooden side handrails and glass side screens. Main foyer is at 24-28-foot
level. Central area is paved in Derbydene and Derbyshire fossil marble. The sleeved columns
supporting auditorium are variously finished, chiefly in plaster in centre and with wooden strip at
sides between staircases. At sides and throughout upper
levels of foyers and stairs, specially designed 'net and ball' green, blue and grey carpet is laid, all
facing in same direction. Main foyer at 24-28-foot level is ceiled by the underslope of auditorium
with slats between lighting fixtures. At east end of building foyer (1963-4) has plainer treatment
with wood floor and flat ceiling.
Higher areas of circulation space include large double-height room, formerly restaurant of 1963-4,
facing river. Many details of circulation areas changed.
Auditorium, not greatly changed since 1951, is stepped to a depth of 100 feet fran slate floor in
front of orchestral platform and main cantilevered balcony. Orchestral platform also stepped, with
birch flooring. The hall is ceiled in fibrous plaster with openings for lighting and for acoustic system,
and has a suspended curved canopy of elm over the orchestra. Sides of auditorium are gently
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canted on plan and mainly panelled with strips of elm. Boxes with fronts of curved profile are
cantilevered off auditorium walls and connected by internal passages backed with red wool
hangings designed by Sadie Speight. Rear wall of auditorium is canted; organ in centre built in 19503 by Harrison and Harrison of Durham to specification by Ralph Downes and installed behind a
screen of pipes designed by Leslie Martin. Auditorium seating in grey fabric to an original design by
Robin Day.
Style of building best described as in the spirit of the Festival of Britain, amended in the 1960s in
accordance with Corbusian loyalties. Structural system of both original building and additions
emphasises distinction between supports and walls. Original conception strongly influenced by the
architecture of Berthold Lubetlein and of Gunnar Asplund, with Scandinavian influence specially
strong in the interior fittings and finishings.
The Royal Festival Hall has been Britains premier concert hall since its opening by George VI in 1951
and has been associated with countless famous musicians and others. The additions of 1963-4
completed the building by extending circulation and restaurant space at the front and adding
offices at the back, instead of the 'small hall' originally intended at the back in 1951, but abandoned
because of lack of time.
Building has significant group value with other public buildings along the twins, and specifically with
South Bank 'cultural' buildings to its north, with which it is linked by the 1960s terrace system.
Additions of 1963-4 were conceptually linked with the Hayward Gallery of Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Literature:
RIBA Journal, vol 56, August 1949, pp 431-8. Architectural Review, vol 109,
June 1951, pp 336-405. Architects' Journal, 17 January 1952; 24 February
1965.
Engineering:
Journal of Institution of Civil Engineers, no 7, 1950-1, 241-318.
Acoustics:
RIBA Journal, vol 59, December 1951, pp 39-51. Journal of Sound and
Vibration, vol 50, 1977, pp 163-82. Acustica, 1953, 3 (1), pp 1-21.
Listing NGR: TQ3079780223
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APPENDIX 2: QUOTES FROM UNDERCROFT USERS
The following quotations are from a selection of skaters between the ages of 18 and 50 who have
used the Undercroft skate space during different decades spanning from the 1970’s through to the
present day.
1. Evidential Value - What are the significant events over the 40 years tricks, physical marks left behind?
Image of Southbank Undercroft 1970s and 2010s. © Long Live Southbank
Greg Conroy: Just the general video parts filmed there, Ben Jobe’s tricks in blueprint
skateboards video first broadcast and Nick Jensen's opening tricks in Blueprint's Lost and Found are
interesting as they show us a physical elements that no longer exists. The first trick is performed on
a wall which was destroyed when the disabled access ramp that leads to the
Giraffe/Wagamamas/Eat was remodelled for the revamp in the late 2000's, a second trick on the
ground follows, then trick over a rail/barrier into the large bank which has since been completely
cut out and removed. The physical effects are harder to pin down because they're quite transient in
nature. What turns up one day might disappear the next. Maybe the most notable physical
changes have been the installation and subsequent removal of the rail barrier at the bottom of the
smaller banks (in the mid-90s possibly, I’m not sure, I started skating at Southbank in 2001) which
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were put in place to stop skateboarders using the banks, however it just added a new element to
the spot and skaters used them to jump over and found a new way to use the space.
Henry Edwards-Wood: Skateboarding is an art form based on realising possibilities based on
architectural anomalies. As skateboarders we see potential in the physical form and Southbank is
one of the earliest instances of this "re-appropriative practice". Every day there are moments of
inspiration added to its history - too many to mention.
As a young skater I was told stories by the older members of the community about landmark events
and tricks that took place that had never been done before and thus went down in folklore. As
technology developed many of these moments were captured on film, but there are many that
they were just witnessed by crowds and have become the stuff of legends. As a young skater (or in
fact a skater of any age) this is massively engaging and inspirational.
Jes: Since I my day, skating changed immensely. I had decks that looked like mini-surfboards; large,
with little nose and a big tail. Tricks were based around grabs, grinds, wallrides and inverts. Now,
they have a tail at either end, to enable a whole raft of kickflip-based tricks to be done. All the
moves have evolved into myriad of variations and extreme body/deck interactions. In terms of
‘physical marks’ - do you mean on the Undercroft, or on me? There are some on both!
Jin Shimizu: In relation to tricks – new ways of skating Southbank and new tricks are performed
there daily. It is commonplace for them to be recorded, either through film or photography, and
are disseminated in skate videos or in magazines. This creates a history of the space - people know
and talk about 'who did what trick and on what obstacle'. To see these images and be able go to the
spot itself is an amazing experience and also encourages a progression, by doing something
different or new there, or even finding a new way of looking at something.
Southbank changes aesthetically every single day as the walls are painted and new art appears. I
think physically, the changes are subtler. The skate area gradually changes over years and years of
skating - a tiny crack appears and years later it may become a slightly loose slab or a hole in the
floor. So many little details are acknowledged by the skaters and become something to avoid or
even to skate in themselves, even if it just a small crack. These little details are noted in the mental
map of a Southbank skateboarder and become part of their intimate knowledge of the space. These
details at a micro-level may not be important to most people, but have value to the users of
Southbank.
Joleon Pressey: Every part feels different. The marks from trick attempts at the bottom of the
stairs are interesting. Specific tricks such as nollie can heel flip down the stairs by Toby Shuall and
Gonz high jump over the bar.
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Louis Woodhead: I guess I am not as concerned about the famous tricks that have gone down
in the 80s and 90s as others will be. I didn’t start skating until 2008 and first skated at Southbank in
2009 so the tricks that are most significant to me are the tricks that have happened in the last 5 or
so years. Especially inspiring in my view is Andrew Brophy’s front 180 up the 7 stairs. More than
specific tricks and events I like to think of all the tricks I’ve seen skaters such as Casper Brooker,
Chewy Cannon and Lukas do first hand over the last few years. They mean more to me than
anything I’ve seen online or in a magazine.
Having said that one of the best days of my life as a little skate rat was the Emerica Wild in the
Streets event on the 20th June 2010. It was an event to ‘save southbank’ from the impending
shadow of coffee shops. Loads of skaters from Emerica (a big US shoe company) came down and
the day started as a jam at Southbank before everyone skated through the streets all over South of
central and had best trick comps along the way. I guess it summarises Southbank as a meeting point
for skaters from all over England. It has always been a place to begin and end the day.
All the other most significant events there in my mind are just personal memories rather than
things that would be significant to anyone else.
2. Historical Value - How important is the past and how does it influence
the next/future generations?
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Greg: The past generations of skateboarding are very relevant to future generations, rumours of
tricks done by local hero's and visiting professionals go down as legend and make people think
about the different ways the space can be used to skate.
Henry: The most important thing about legendary spots such as Southbank is that it is a bench
mark, a proving ground, somewhere where anyone can come and step up to the insanely high
levels of performance certain skaters have achieved here. The history of the spot and the events
that have happened here informs the future. The act of skateboarding is about progression more
than anything else. We strive to do something new and original and due to the prolific number of
tricks to have gone down in the Undercrofts history, this pushes us to think even more outside the
box.
Kids often go home from Southbank with "homework" in the form of a watching list, usually given
by older skaters who share knowledge of the space and encourage younger members of the
community to watch these videos and see if they can step up the mark write their own piece of
history into the space.
Jes: The UK enjoys a healthy tourist industry due to rich cultural heritage. As skateboarding edges
toward acceptability, to me it would seem a great oversight to obliterate one of its old, focal points.
Jin: It is amazing to see a whole history of the spot through visual media, and to be able to go to
the spot itself and see for yourself how hard the trick was and the thought processes involved in
skating there is an invaluable experience. People of all generations use the space every single day
and its history is made and evolves on a daily basis. I used to be look up to all the older guys that
skated and made history there, and I hope I can be like what they were to the generations of kids
coming through today.
Joleon: The approach of the past when reflected on, inspires the evolution of style in the future.
Louis: The past is significant and it does influence by generation at least. However for me as an 18
year old, although I do watch 80s or 90s videos a bit, the past for me is things like Hold Tight
London videos which I watched as a younger skater and encapsulate Southbank and the broader
London skate scene well for me. Karim’s nollie inward heel is particularly memorable.
I guess more than thinking about specific events it feels special to skate somewhere where you
know people have skated for 40 years and be continuing that tradition, even if I don’t have
anything near an encyclopedic knowledge of all the tricks that have gone down, I know from what
older skaters have told me how significant these tricks are and so it does add to the atmosphere
hugely. It also means you have to always look for new ways to approach the place to keep things
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moving forward. Skaters at Southbank, whilst being influenced by people from all the different
eras, do look for new ways of skating the place all the time.
I’m also influenced the atmosphere and attitude of the place that you pick up as a younger kid. I
remember the first time I went to Southbank really late, about 2 in the morning, and seeing that
people were still skating there that was pretty influential.
3. Aesthetic Value - How do you see the physical form and how does the
shape and topography affect/influence you?
Greg: The design of the Undercroft directly affects the techniques the styles of skateboarders who
frequent it. Because the Undercroft is/was a large open space with a fairly limited amount of things
that are naturally accessible to skate, people who use the area are pushed to develop new and
innovative ways to further their craft. In a purpose built skatepark options are limited because
everything is set out for you giving you a template of where you can go and what you can do.
Southbank is a blank canvas so skateboards develop unique styles and techniques when skating
there. If the space wasn’t so naturally open plan then there wouldn’t be such variety, individual
characters wouldn’t be able to flourish.
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Henry: The topography of the Undercroft was and still is the key factor that drew (and still draws)
skateboarders to the space. Its terrain satisfies almost every aspect of skateboarding. Over the
years the impact of wheels and wood have worn in smooth grooves to the banks, at the bottom of
the infamous 7 set of stairs thousands of tiny impact marks can be found. Artists have put paint and
pen to the walls and gradually the place morphed from a dark concrete Underworld into a vibrant
ever changing community art centre with no governing body or direction. wall-ride marks can be
seen on the pillars and walls and the beam and ledges have been worn in by the hundreds of
thousands of tricks and attempts that have gone down.
Jes: The physical form of the Undercroft is like a lot of other pieces of 'brutalist' architecture to me
- horrible to look at, brilliant to skate on. Hooray for 45 degree walls! Why are they there? For
skating on - certainly not aesthetics! Most brutalist buildings make me feel like there’s a
tremendous weight bearing down on me. They make me feel small and insignificant as a human. I
must be a bit of a traditionalist.
However, despite it being 25 years or more since I skated, whenever I see a smooth transition from
horizontal to vertical, such as Southbank and other architecture, my mind automatically decides
'How much air I'd get from it' and 'What sort of vert has it got?'
Jin: The aesthetic value is really important for me - in a society where consumption is a driving
force, I feel that there are less and less truly public and free spaces. Every high street and shopping
area is homogenised and looks the same. You can see it when people first come across Southbank,
they see the colours and feel the atmosphere is completely different from anything else around
there, even in London, maybe even in the UK. It is so unique to have such a vibrant space like
Southbank in the centre of London and I feel that it is important that this real, free, public space
exists and I think this is the reason why so many people have such a great attachment to it.
Personally, I have experienced the physical form of the area diminish greatly from when I first
started skating there, before they closed of a section, which is something that skateboarders did
not appreciate, but the fact that we made the most of it and skate as much of the remaining area as
possible is a testament to how much we love the space.
Joleon: The colours and geometries of the banks and pillars enhance the overall experience.
Louis: Southbank is far from perfect for skateboarding and feels nothing like a skatepark to skate.
However it also feels nothing like your average street spot – they often have only one thing to skate
with limited possibilities, or they have tonnes of security waiting to leap on you. Either way you
can’t properly explore all the possibilities of ways to skate it.
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Unlike a skatepark, there aren’t that many obvious possibilities and ways to skate Southbank so you
are always looking for the less obvious line. This influences people’s style of skating hugely. You can
tell a SB local skating Southbank from a mile off. When people aren’t local come to skate it they
usually just skate the ledges and the stair set (the obvious things), because they haven’t explored
more possibilities yet.
Southbank for me is as much a place to go and chill as a place to skate and obviously aesthetically it
is an interesting place to look at. Unlike some skaters I like the graffiti (probably because I grew up
with it all painted up) as I find it makes it more atmospheric, along with all the architectural shapes,
especially the pillars. This then influences the way I look at the world and the drawings I do.
4. Communal Value - What affect does the space have on creating
values, ethos and community and a collective experience?
Greg: The space has a significant effect on the sense of community. An open space with no rules
or boundaries makes for a culture which can only draw influence from itself and the individuals that
make up that community. In order to see the skateboarding community progress everyone draws
influence from each other and finds ways to further the progression of the skating, stylistically and
technically.
Henry: The Community ethos of the Undercroft is probably the most fundamental factor in its
importance. As a young kid I started going there because it felt like sanctuary. It is a linear
community that does not judge people in their appearance, economic, ethnic or social
backgrounds. Everyone is welcome providing they adhere to the unwritten rules which are to
respect the space and respect people in the space. You learn to coexist with people you may not
usually choose to share a space with, you learn to diffuse conflict through verbal diplomacy. Any
trouble makers are ignored until they change their attitude or leave. Older skaters become
unofficial mentors for the younger generation and as you grow older there you in tern become
guardian of the space.
It is not just about skateboarding, it is about inclusivity, and we talk to each other about everything
and provide a great informal support group for "the disenfranchised youth" who are often told
their opinions are not valid in mainstream society. I cannot stress enough how rare, unique and
important this kind of space is and how shocking it is that we as a community have had to do so
much to protect it.
Jes: The first time I visited the Undercroft, we tore around excitedly for 10 minutes or so before a
caretaker arrived with a bag of gravel. After spreading it liberally around, and giving us a good
ticking off, he went. We sat down, all skaters from different parts of the UK, and chatted. Shortly
after, to our glee, some local skaters arrived - with brooms! This was a daily occurrence for them.
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For me back then it was skating, all the way, till late; or at least until the last train back to Essex. So
yes, the area has an intrinsic history of bonding, and shared experience. Does this somehow seep
into the very concrete of the structure? I always have a look to see what’s going on whenever I'm
on the Southbank. Take that away, and I think a piece of me might be missing.
Jin: As the area is a free space, this creates a wide ranging demographic of users, which is selfregulating. People teach each other rights and wrongs, new skills and techniques, and histories etc.
5-year-old children on scooters use the same space as a 40-year-old long boarder and everyone
else in between, and this is something that is unique to Southbank.
Significantly, Southbank is not a skatepark. Although skateboarding may be the main practice there,
the area is simply a free space that all types of users share with one another for whatever activities
they want to do. This creates a unique collective experience, which cannot be replicated. I feel that
demarcating an area as a ‘skatepark’ or ‘skateboard area’ is restrictive and creates boundaries that
are not conducive to the community values that are upheld at Southbank.
Joleon: It's a free community where social barriers are broken down by expression.
Louis: Southbank is a place where a lot of skaters go when they first get to London and therefore
it’s got a pretty inclusive ethos. Go there 2 days in a row and all the locals will start nodding and
chatting with you. I’ve met people from all over the world there which has broadened my outlook
hugely.
It is also a bit of a hub for people who don’t really fit in anywhere else, whether they be homeless
people, or all manner of eccentrics. I’ve had some amazing conversations with people I would never
have spoken to otherwise. A couple dozen examples have just popped into my head. I’ve spent
hours and hours speaking to Jamie, a homeless alcoholic from Lancaster, someone who I would
never otherwise have bothered getting to know and someone who I have learnt a huge amount
about the world from.
It is a real community. All the locals chill with each other and you can make real friends there.
People come together because of the atmosphere of the space: the fact that it looks the way it
does, the fact that it seems outside the realms of ‘regulated’ spaces, the fact that it’s right by the
river, its history, its aesthetics, the smell of the spray paint. All of these things come together to
give it a unique atmosphere that attracts a certain sort of person which makes a well and truly
unique community and collective experience also.
The best thing about the Southbank community is the mix of local skaters who are there day in day
out mixing with the transient and sporadic people who come along as well, which keeps things
fresh and interesting.
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Additional Comments
The following quotations are from a selection of users of Southbank Undercroft.
Tim Leighton-Boyce, photographer
'A key point is that these specific banks have been skated continuously since the mid-seventies. As
far as I am aware, that makes the site unique in the way it allows us to see how each different
generation of skaters have interpreted the same found landscape to suit their own style of skating.
I don't know of any similar spot the world which has survived so long, all the way from the
seventies into an era where skateboarding has become almost established. A vital aspect of the
creativity of skateboarding is the way skaters use their imagination to explore the potential of
natural forms. Skateboarding in skateparks is a different thing.
Moving the South Bank skaters to a purpose built skatepark does not recognise this point. It
assumes that the only need is for 'somewhere to skate in Central London'. I'm astonished and
delighted by how many purpose built skateparks there are in the UK these days. But there is only
one South Bank. '
Kevin Vedina Lake, 24, model
'I’ve skated here for the past seven years. I’ve learned a lot here. I’ve broken bones, and seen other
people break bones but I keep coming back because I love it – skateboarding takes me to a good
place in my head. It’s a kind of meditation. Some do drugs or whatever, but I skate. People come
here [to skate] from all over – America, Brazil, China, everywhere. Everyone benefits from this
place, not just skateboarders, so it’d be a shame for it to go.'
Finn Andrès, 24, graduate
'This place is very well known, nationally and internationally – so when I started skateboarding at
14, you just knew this was the place to go. Almost all of the close friends I have now, I met here. I
have friends from very wealthy backgrounds and friends from deprived backgrounds. It’s a really
good example of an unprogrammed, uncontrolled space which is left to young people to use for
free. None of us are against a redevelopment of the Southbank Centre that improves access to free
events. What I’m against is the conversion into retail units. It's ironic that in seeking to redevelop
the centre to improve access to culture, the centre is destroying perhaps the most democratic and
vibrant example of culture anywhere on the South Bank.
The proposed space under Hungerford Bridge won’t work. The shape of it is wrong – it’s too square
– and it’s much smaller. We’re all just going to be hitting into each other. Also, it doesn’t have the
history. The whole importance of the Southbank is that it was organic: skateboarders appropriated
a disused space and over the past 40 years an entire community has flourished here. I think places
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like this are incredibly valuable to cities, especially when the general dynamic is moving more
towards the commercialisation of everything.'
Biko Dadzie Issah, 32, tattooist
'I’ve been skating here since I was 15. I love it - you've got the sound of the water, the view of the
city, the London Eye… people are happy to be here. It’s got vibe. I met my best friend here… he’s
pretty much a professional skateboarder now, and he cut his teeth here. If it wasn’t for Southbank,
he wouldn’t be what he is. It’s a training facility. Take that away, and they’ll be taking a chunk out
of us. Even if they move it to just five minutes down the road, the history of the place won’t go with
it.'
David Yap, 24, retail
'I was about 13 when I started skating. I used to live just outside of the city in Watford, and from
meeting people here I started coming down literally every day after school, all the way from
Watford. I live with four friends that I met here. You meet people from all over the world –
America, Japan, Australia… If we ever want to go over to their neck of the woods, we always have
somewhere to stay. It makes it feel a bit like a society. Whatever happens next, though, we’ll try to
keep it positive. Just being able to skate next to the river Thames is the most beautiful thing for me
and all my friends.'
Chris Bull, 24, tailor
'I'm a tailor for a company called Huntsman on Savile Row. They know I skate. I got them all to sign
the Save the Southbank petition. A lot of people judge skateboarders, like, "Oh they’re yobs", but
most of the people I skate with have all got normal jobs. In America, skateboarding is much more
appreciated. Here, it’s still seen as a child’s sport. I’ve been coming down here for 10 years. When I
used to come as a kid, I saw so much stuff done by pros you looked up to. And now I'm friends with
them because I've been coming here for so long. It’s also good because you don’t get hassled. If you
skate in the city, you get kicked out of everywhere. But not here. And now they want to rip it
down.'
Germain Alejandro Gonzalez Diaz, 19, office manager
'I’ve been coming here four years or so. It’s made me grow up quite a bit. This place can teach you a
lot that you can use in your life. When I was younger I was more in-your-face, but you learn to
accept people here. You get a lot of inspiration here. When you see someone doing some crazy shit
up the wall, or dropping down the stairs god knows how fast, you say, "Yeah I want to do that." It
pushes you farther. I’d be distraught if they took it down.'
Mwitwa Musumali, 18, student
'This place means everything to me. It’s the only place I skate, really. I’m here about four days a
week, even though it takes me two hours to get here from Hounslow. It’s the best spot in London.
It’s everything to skateboarders: it’s the scenery, it’s the area, it’s the people who come here. I
made a lot of my friends through skateboarding at the Southbank. I don’t see the point of them
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taking it away to build a Starbucks or something when you have those everywhere. This place is
important. The day they take it away will be a very sad one.'
Ben Marsh, 25, bartender and BMX rider
'I’ve been coming here for about three years now and the vibe here’s great for BMX. Everyone’s
really liberal about letting everyone have a go. You get little kids who come down and they hang
about too and that’s all fine as well. It’s an important landmark in London. A lot of people from
other countries know about this place from photographs online and in books. It’s known. Hopefully
the replacement will be good, but nothing will be the same. It’s like if they moved the lions from
Trafalgar Square.'
Pedro Emanual, 29, musician and graphic designer
'I would not say this is a skate park, I would say this is a temple. It’s a mythic place, not just for UK
or London, but for the whole world. Surf pros travel to Hawaii to surf: this is Hawaii in Europe for
skateboarders. This was where skateboarding was really born in London. If you could put a good
spot in a museum, this would have to be there. I first came to skate here on holidays in 1997. I was
living in Portugal at the time, although I’m from Angola originally. When I came to live in the UK in
2006, I had no English: zero. I started coming here to skate, and now the majority of my friends in
the UK are from here. In my view, this place is not transportable: it’ll never be the same.'
Luca B, 19, graffiti artist
'I’m from Italy. I’ve been living in London for four or five months. My first day in London, I came
down here. I wanted to meet new people, make friends. It’s legal to write graffiti here so lots of
writers come. The walls are always changing. If you do something today, it’ll be gone tomorrow. It’s
a bit less exciting here because it’s legal, but it’s cool in a way – you don’t want to take risks every
day so you just get some spray cans, come here and chill out.'
Sarah Wharton, 23, freelance illustrator
'I used to skate here a bit when I was in my early teens, but the guys were all better than me so I
mainly watched. It was kind of weird skating in the Southbank because you’d have lots of people
staring at you and you’d be like, “I’m really not very good, stop looking at me”. There was a lot of
pressure, especially for a girl. But I’d travel up from Kent just to come here. Now I’m just like any
passer-by. I come to the river to chill out, but I always come by this place. You know important
skaters are going to be here and it’s always going to be impressive: it’s not like going to any other
skate park. I love it here.'
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APPENDIX 3: QUOTES FROM MEMBERS OF PUBLIC
When Southbank Centre submitted their Festival Wing plans in 2013, Long Live Southbank began to
collect objections from members of the public concerned about the loss of the Undercroft. 14,000
individual objections were delivered to Lambeth Town Hall on the 4th July 2013, forcing Southbank
Centre to withdraw their proposals. In November2013, Southbank Centre resubmitted their plans,
with minor alterations, as well as a new application for a ‘replacement’ space under Hungerford
Bridge. On the 2nd January 2014, a record-breaking 27,286 objections were delivered to Lambeth by
LLSB, making the Festival Wing proposals the most unpopular planning objection in UK history. A
further 7,000 objections were delivered to Lambeth in the week following the 2 nd January.
Bojana Bajzelj, Landscape Architect
The current use of the Undercroft is an absolutely brilliant coincidence, a happy marriage of
brutalist architecture with an unpredicted and colourful re-purposing - skateboarding. It illustrates
the understated quality of brutalist architecture, which created unique spaces for different groups
of society to re-purpose.
The uniqueness of how the undercroft was organically re-purposed sets the site apart. As does the
historical value of this space as the birthplace of UK skateboarding. Both the architectural
importance and cultural importance mean that the skate-park cannot be moved or replicated.
For the millions of people that use, or even walk past, the South Bank Centre the skaters are a
demonstration of real living democracy of culture - and set the South Bank Centre apart from any
other cultural venue in Europe (World?).
It is incomprehensible that the SBC management does not realise the value of that - it by far
outstrips any potential revenue that the restaurants would have.
Felicity Murphy and children, Marlena and Theodore; founder of Zioum, France
'I grew up in Hammersmith and this was always a place that I came – one of the first places I used
to come to on my own in central London and just wander about. Back then, it was much greyer and
there was no graffiti, but the skateboarders were there. It’s overwhelming bringing kids here. It’s
just such a positive area – it’s great. It’s a chance for them to see such a variety of different people
all doing their own things. I don’t know many places that are even similar'
Collected here is a selection of quotes taken from members of the public who filled in objection
forms. To protect their personal information, they have been made anonymous.
- ‘The area is and continues to be a very important part of the global sub culture of skateboarding
which helps to breed some of the most creative and talented people in the world which far
transcends the sport itself into many other aspects of modern life and art.’
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- ‘It is part of the soul of London, that indefinable quality that makes a city a place to live not just
exist and work.’
- ‘I like to watch the skaters when I walk along the south bank ....it's art in motion. I find it inspiring
and uplifting. We should encourage people to follow their passions and master a skill. It promotes
all kind of values that we need in this society.’
- ‘The activities are the living spirit of the Embankment. It created energy and dynamics. The area
will be killed by further commercial premises.’
- ‘I lived in London many years before moving to Scotland. On every visit back to London I always
go to the Southbank due to it being one of many unique cultural centres in London. The highlight
for me is always the skate area where i sit for an hour or so watching people freely expressing
themselves and developing their own ability in their art form, whether it be on the BMX or skate
board. I have never skate boarded myself but by observing the sport you can see it is more than a
board with wheels and teenage boys trying to escape - it is a culture, a culture in fact that has a
long history that has never lost its following and inspired generations. I would miss this diversity to
the Southbank as much as i would miss the book market under the bridge, or for that matter the
commercially successful enterprises such as the London eye. Southbank is made by the sum of its
parts. Take away the diversity of the Southbank and you will kill the charm. Please save the skate
area. Embrace this culture, it's important to the spirit and soul of the Southbank.’
- ‘My husband & I visit the South Bank with the purpose of viewing young people enjoying this
particular culturally significant space. It is not a vacant lot ripe for redevelopment but rather part of
London's rich tapestry which makes it a top tourist destination as well as a fantastically diverse area
in which to live. This heritage must not be ignored in planning terms.’
- ‘Skating in the Undercroft was hugely important to my son and his friends when they travelled to
the South Bank from Lewes in East Sussex from the late 1990s onwards - a brilliant example of
people creating a real place for themselves in the city, making friendships, animating a dead space,
and connecting it with all the other excellent things going on at the Hayward, the NFT, and the NT.
It would be tragic to remove this opportunity for young people in future in the name of retail!’
- ‘I am a 76 year old man and I have no connection with skateboarding. However, I can see that this
is a unique and irreplaceable cultural assert, like the Tower of London or Stonehenge. This
proposal, which represents nothing short of cultural vandalism, must be stopped.’
- ‘Part of the reason London is such a great city is due to it being unique, diverse, energetic and
interesting: all of which are encapsulated in the skate park. Not only should this area be protected
as a community and cultural space, but it is representative of London at its finest to the wider
world: a talented, vibrant, interesting city that does NOT place homogenisation of our centre at the
top of its priority list (or one which puts the need for a skinny moccachino over and above the
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needs of its young people). Plus, as someone who works in the local area, I gain personal pleasure
from taking a few minutes at lunchtime to watch the skaters and some of the extraordinarily
talented artists in action, and would argue that this is also an important tourist site. It is part of the
history and vibrancy of the area and not only provides an important community function and
actively demonstrates respect for all different parts of the capital's demographic mix, but adds an
energy and vibrancy to the area that cannot be replaced by another panini/coffee/burger joint.’
- ‘The significance of the Undercroft skate area to skateboarders from all over the U.K and beyond
is tremendous, not to mention the local skateboarders who use the spot practically everyday and
keep it thriving. This significance transcends the physical act of skateboarding because of the
inherent social aspect, which allows important relationships to form, and in turn helps young
people develop their art form in a healthy environment. To overlook the importance of this site is
frankly ignorant and its removal would be contradictory to the "artistic" ethos of the Southbank
area.’
- ‘An organic, raw and human community was formed within the cold, brutalist forms of the space.
This is the essence of the best elements of human nature and should not be destroyed.’
- ‘It’s a valuable space for the skateboarding community to congregate. We are from Nottingham
and my son sees it as a place of pilgrimage.’
- ‘As a regular visitor to London, and the South Bank in particular, I always enjoy seeing the
Undercroft in use. It is amazing how it has grown to become such a unique part of the South Bank.
The way it has grown organically, responding to the needs of the users but without any overall
authority in control is an inspiring example of how democracy can work. This will all be lost if it
moved to an "official" site and hedged in with bureaucratic restrictions. Please allow it to continue
as it is now.’
- ‘The Southbank Centre is intent on a level of managerial control that must be resisted by those
that value true spontaneity and culture 'from below'. I very strongly believe that appropriation of
the Undercroft for retail units would be a violent betrayal of social and democratic values. Like
many thousands of people I rejoice in the autonomy, skill, responsibility and mutual support of the
Southbank skateboarding community and I want its living tradition to be authentically passed on for
the participation and inspiration of future generations.’
- ‘Young people have created this space for themselves over decades. It is much loved by
Londoners, as well as by tourists, who are delighted by this spontaneous and free expression of
youth culture, as an integral part of the more institutional arts centres on the South Bank. It
belongs to all of us.’
- ‘This site has an important place in skateboarding's history. In a time where public spaces in
London forbid activities of skating and bmxing, that skate spot is one of the few central places for
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young people to engage in a free, creative, and healthy activity. It has a positive effect on visitors to
the Southbank who watch them.’
- ‘As a skateboarder in my early teens back in the late seventies I was aware of the undercroft as a
focal point for the local skateboarding community. Today, as a 51 year old skateboarder I am
amazed that after the intervening decades, with all the highs and lows of skateboarding popularity,
it is still going strong. Please do not underestimate the importance of this organic spot, nor its
reputation around the world. I personally cannot see the justification for discarding all the years of
history tied up in the undercroft to provide more retail spaces. Skateboarding is still as exhilarating
and challenging to me as it was back in the seventies, so please, please ensure that the undercroft
remains the cultural centre of UK skateboarding for decades to come.’
- ‘I am a member of the Southbank Centre but don't agree that we need more commercial space,
especially at the loss of the skate park. The proposed replacement is not a realistic alternative, and
we need to keep what we have now.’
- ‘I live in Bradford, 5 hours away from the south bank. i wish that there was a local equivalent of
the South Bank up north. What a truly wonderful grass roots community project. Whenever I stay in
London I visit the south bank as a tourist. What a shame it would be to take that from the
generations of kids who have used this free space.’
- ‘I have been skating in Southbank since the early nineties. I met all of my friends there, it kept me,
and thousands of other kids out of trouble in a time (which has worsened now in my opinion)
where youths are constantly bombarded with temptation to go down the wrong path. All of my
best memories come from that place. There have been several attempts to take the Undercroft
away from the skaters and I don’t understand it. I have travelled a lot and have never found a place
quite like it. It’s unique and makes me proud to be from London where culture and self-expression
is still encouraged and celebrated. When I was a little boy (this would have been the late 80's) my
mother used to take me to the Southbank Centre to see ballet, opera and plays and it was
entertaining but if given the choice, I would have only gone there for the Undercroft.’
- ‘This is a rare and unique area of London's varied and diverse cultural heritage. Festival Hall was
created for all the people, the Undercroft should remain in this vain.’
- ‘The undercroft is simply beautiful architecture a fine example of London's history and culture at
the time of it being built. If it were destroyed London would just be a horrible, plan emotionless city
with no life in it.’
- ‘This is an internationally loved spot. It's a spot were many young people have spent their days.
Many became part of an amazing community. A community were creativity and skill are promoted
and encouraged. The Southbank was where this community could flourish and lead young people
on to bigger and greater things. It's more than just skating tied to this spot. Taking away
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somewhere that encourages so much creative progression and replacing it with more retail outlets,
is working backwards. I think the world has enough retail outlets in it.’
- ‘My children love me to take them to Southbank to watch the skateboarding, we will spend a
good hour viewing all the amazing tricks, this is what is special about London that we can have
cultural activities accepted and shown to the tourists. I don’t think I would bother visiting
Southbank without the skaters!’
- ‘We are very regular visitors to the South Bank and National Theatre complex. Crossing
Hungerford Bridge many times a year for the last 25 or more, we have always thrilled at the
diversity encompassed in this area. Always proud of our young people showing their skills on
skateboards as well as the musical and theatrical elite performing in hallowed halls above. Their
loss will be ours and our tourist visitors. Please don't do it.’
- ‘The Undercroft is a beacon of diversity and organic community activity in a city which has
otherwise been mercilessly commercialised to the exclusion of community 'breathing space'. I am
not a skater and have no interest in skating, but the sight of young people coming together and
taking part in a sport together in an organic community space in the middle of the city brings a
smile to my face every time I walk along the Southbank. To lose this in this unique location would
be a disgrace for the Southbank, and a disgrace for London.’
- ‘When I visited London this summer with my family, one of my favourite things to do was walk
down to South Bank and just watch the skaters. While watching them I could tell that the place was
alive, it was full of passion and it gives kids my age a place to blow off some steam and hang out. I'd
sit next to the sand pit and just watch for hours.’
- ‘On my visits to the Undercroft I find people with the utmost amazing personalities and personal
views. I lost my mother to cancer and didn't know where to go, I travelled the whole of London to
escape the truth but I found peace and reflection easier to pursue at a place as creative as the
Undercroft.’
- ‘We preserve many of the aspects of British life over the centuries but seem determined to
airbrush small but incredibly powerful spaces like the Undercroft out of them.’
- ‘Although I am not a skateboarder myself I am a frequent user of the many outstanding cultural
facilities on the Southbank including the Sourhbank Centre, National Theatre and Festival Hall. As a
regular visitor to the Southbank and a resident of London I feel passionately that the skateboarding
culture that has thrived in the Undercroft area is a vital and historic aspect of the cultural
experience of visiting this world class cultural precinct. To remove, destroy or modify the
Undercroft is insensitive not only to the skateboarders who use it every day but to the many
thousands of visitors to the area who benefit from the opportunity to watch the skating on display
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in this unique place. I have visited the South Bank Centre frequently for many years and the
undercroft area as it exists is an integral part of the site. I look for new graffiti each time I pass.’
- ‘I found this was a place to help me escape from bad things that were happening in my life. I was
able to meet many people there and form great friendships. It would be a great shame to see this
amazing place be ripped out and replaced for our consumerist habits. We have Oxford Street for
that. The reason why people love the South Bank area is because it is filled with artistic places and
this includes the skate park. It seems highly unreasonable that anyone would try to get rid of
something that is not just beautiful but allows young people to have a place to go.’
- ‘This is a simple issue of protecting the parts of our culture that are created by the people
themselves. We don't want spoon-fed culture by the art establishment. This is about protecting
truly relevant street culture. Spaces for young people are rare and tend to be on the outskirts of
communities. This skate park represents a positive presence for young people right at the heart of
an important shared community space. Spaces like this are an essential part of ensuring young
people aren't demonised and excluded from society.’
- ‘As a post-graduate of cultural heritage studies I am shocked and appalled that an institution such
as the South Bank Centre would actively seek to destroy such a unique cultural centre and
important landmark. At a time when many brands and institutions are looking to recreate lost
cultural centres in order to provide sanctuary in troubled communities, it is disgusting to think that
such an important site will be lost to make way for yet more commercial retail space.’
- ‘This is not just a local community asset, it is a London wide asset with an international reputation
that brings huge cultural value to the area.’
- ‘The skate park provides valuable cultural diversity and has provided colour and vibrancy for
decades. It helps break up a strip that can often seem a tourist driven, economically middle class
and culturally elitist area. It reminds tourists and Londoners of the diversity of Londoners’ passions.’
- ‘The slogan; "You can't move history" is very appropriate. I have visited London several times over
the last few years and the primary reason for each visit was to see the Undercroft (and skate it!). I
have grown up watching videos of the Undercroft, reading magazine articles, looking at photos and
even playing video games which feature the Undercroft. It is an absolutely vital part of British
culture that truly transcends class, ethnicity, age and gender in a way that almost no other place in
the UK (maybe the world) is capable of. There are not many places in London where a 28 year old
northerner can turn up and chat as an equal with Southbank locals, photography students,
teenagers, kids, hip-hop groups, street artists, foreign skating visitors and tourists in the way I am
able to at the Undercroft. The huge crowds of people that watch the skaters every day would not
spend their time marvelling at the fancy new retail units planned for the Undercroft and the knockon effects of removing it as a free cultural space will be massive.’
September 2014
Page 118 of 120
“The right to the city is not merely a right of access to what the property
speculators and state planners define, but an active right to make the city
different, to shape it more in accord with our heart’s desire, and to remake
ourselves thereby in a different image”
David W. Harvey FBA, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography
Southbank Undercroft 1970s. Image © Brian Gittings
September 2014
Page 119 of 120
Email: info@llsb.com
Website: www.llsb.com
Facebook: LongLiveSouthbank
Twitter: Long_Live_SB
Instagram: @savesouthbank
September 2014
Page 120 of 120

southbank undercroft - Long Live Southbank

Transcription

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