The destruction of The Green Park must not be allowed
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2010-06-04 10:41.A battle of wills and emotions - Bomber Command memorial in The Green Park
We see that the proposal for a memorial is contentious, clouded by conflicting interests, yet where few if any are opposed to the notion of a memorial to the airmen who died in the cause of defending freedom.
On the one hand there is the unique ‘countryside in the city’ (The Green Park), and on the other, there is the determination to take over a piece of that countryside to build Bomber Command Association’s huge structure. One is intent on maintaining a centuries old decision to keep an area green, as woodland and undulating ‘natural’ countryside. The other sees it as an opportunity to impose their will on a piece of open ground. If the first succeeds in preventing the take over, the parkland remains for this and future generations. If the second prevails, it has overridden and destroyed the essential bequest of open space for the citizens of London
Surely the sense of the argument is very clear. The Green Park open space is established and immovable - there is no alternative: it cannot move. On the other hand, the memorial structure could be located in a number of different appropriate sites. There is absolutely no essential reason for it to be constructed in The Green Park, with irrevocable loss.
The conclusion is that there is no fundamental necessity for the Bomber Command memorial to be built in The Green Park; nor in the huge form that is proposed. Therefore, we the undersigned urge that those responsible, withdraw from The Green Park and seek an alternative site. We also suggest that the memorial to the Bomber Command airmen, takes a more appropriate form
Tom Ball Member of the Thorney Island Society, Architect and Planner
10 Paxton Terrace London SW1V 3DA