BALLOON DEMO SHOWED CAMDEN TUBE PROPOSALS, TOO HIGH, TOO LARGE, TOO OBTRUSIVE

12.01.00am GMT Mon 8th Mar 2004

Simon inspecting the Camden Tube redevelopment proposals

Following his visit to Camden Tube Station where Simon got to witness the extent of the size of the proposed redevelopment with the raising of balloons to match the height of any building, Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate Simon Hughes said:-

"The inspector was right to highlight the size of the redevelopment by deploying the balloons as it showed just how obtrusive the proposals are. I am sure that having seen how much the building will dominate Camden, the inspector will think twice about accepting them.

"While there are few doubters that Camden Tube Station needs redeveloping, these proposals are too high, too large and too obtrusive. The balloon demonstration showed that the redevelopment would be overbearing and overshadow the rest of the community.

"I will also be putting these points to the inspector when I give evidence to the inquiry on Thursday."

ENDS

The inquiry inspector ordered LUL to raise a series of large multicoloured balloons at key points around the Camden 'triangle' in order to allow those affected to get an idea of the real height and extent of the towering block of shops and offices.

The balloons were raised at 11am on Monday 8 March and stayed in place for around an hour.

Simon will also be giving evidence to the inquiry on Thursday 11th March 2004