The public inquiry into the ghastly 2017 Grenfell tower block fire in West London, in which 72 people died, concluded in 2024 that the construction and development industry is not fit for purpose. Charles Knevitt and I concluded the same thing in our 1987 book Community Architecture. This was based largely on the experience of living and working in Limehouse in London’s Docklands, including another public inquiry. In the light of the damning Grenfell inquiry verdict the experience of Limehouse campaigns over development in the 1980’s should be recorded and revisited.
As a start, and as a tribute to one of London Docklands’ most celebrated community activists, Peter Polish, who died in 2024, here are a few photos of Peter in action and links to a few campaign archives. More to follow.
Links to a few archive downloads in chronological order
Routes, Limehouse Motorway News, First Issue, 27 September 1979
‘Developer wants doomed council flats’, The Observer, 23 August 1981
Article in The Architects’ Journal on the proposed Docklands Northern Relief Road, 24 June 1981
Prince Charles’ East London housing tour, 26 March 1986, photogallery
The Limehouse Petition, June 1986
‘Cities that destroy themselves’, chapter 3 of Community Architecture, 1987
