London’s Southbank skaters to stay as undercroft redevelopment plans axed

After a long and hard fought campaign, skateboarders on London’s South Bank will be able to remain where they are for the long term, as plans to redevelop their undercroft into shops and restaurants have been shelved.

The Southbank Centre had originally wanted to shunt the skateboarders 120 metres upriver to a space under the Hungerford Bridge as part of a £120m redevelopment.

However, the skaters were in no mood to be pushed around, and launched a passionate campaign to be allowed to stay where they were.

They ended up attracting the support of London’s Mayor Boris Johnson, with Lambeth council received more than 27,000 objections to the centre’s planning application.

Here’s the full statement which was released yesterday on the Long Live Southbank campaign page.

JOINT STATEMENT:
LONG LIVE SOUTHBANK AND SOUTHBANK CENTRE SECURE
FUTURE OF UNDERCROFT FOR SKATEBOARDING AND URBAN ACTIVITIES

Following talks that have taken place over the last three months, Long Live Southbank and Southbank Centre are delighted to have reached an agreement that secures the Queen Elizabeth Hall undercroft as the long-term home of British skateboarding and the other urban activities for which it is famous.

The agreement has been formalised in a binding planning agreement with Lambeth Council. In the agreement, Southbank Centre agrees to keep the undercroft open for use without charge for skateboarding, BMX riding, street writing and other urban activities.

On the basis of the protections secured by the planning agreement, Southbank Centre and Long Live Southbank have withdrawn their respective legal actions in relation to the undercroft. These include Southbank Centre’s challenge to the registration of the undercroft as an asset of community value, Long Live Southbank’s application for village green status for the undercroft, and a judicial review of Lambeth Council’s decision to reject the village green application.

Long Live Southbank is pleased to support Southbank Centre’s Festival Wing project for the improvement of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery, on the basis that the plans will now no longer include any redevelopment within the skate area of the Queen Elizabeth Hall undercroft.

Cllr Lib Peck, Leader of Lambeth Council said; “I’m pleased that Lambeth Council was able to work with both sides and find an imaginative solution to resolve this. Shared public space in London is precious and Southbank Centre is a great asset to the country’s cultural life. This agreement is a sensible way of protecting both and we can all now look forward.”

In addition…
Long Live Southbank would like to thank all our supporters and we would like to thank the Mayor of London for his intervention and Southbank Centre for its constructive approach to the negotiations that have achieved this outcome.

Congratulations to the skateboarders on their victory!