Losing King Charles…

Published: 1 October, 2010

• CONTRARY to the suggestion made in your article (Who cut down King Charles and Jermyn? September 24), we take public art extremely seriously in Westminster and value the contribution it makes to our rich heritage.

We are looking back through planning records stretching over the last 40 years to check whether permission was sought for the removal of the bas relief in Jermyn Street, as currently we, like the buildings’ owners The Crown Estate, are unaware as to who removed this relief. Once our investigations are complete we will inform the St James’s Conservation Trust and, of course, will be more than happy to share that information with the West End Extra. If it has been removed without permission it looks like it is immune to any enforcement action so all we can do is ask the owners to pursue its reinstatement. I would appreciate any information your readers may be able to provide. 

I would also like to correct an assertion made at the end of your report that the council refused to comment. That is not true. We would never refuse to comment on something which affects the history of our city’s buildings.

JOHN WALKER
Operational Director of Development Planning

Editor’s note: Our reporter contacted a Westminster City Council press officer for a statement on this story one and a half days before our deadline and made a follow-up call to the press office a day later. The article correctly stated: “The city council was unavailable for comment.”