# Abandoned London, worst offenders



## DJWrongspeed (Oct 18, 2011)

This thread is about neglected properties in London and their lack of use over a number of years.

My current bugbear is 190 Strand, the old Abbey Life House. Huge block on corner of Arundel St. Empty for 10+ yrs. Latest planning application was denied because it included 200 parking spaces


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## Roadkill (Oct 18, 2011)

The 'Black Tower' in Collier's Wood.






My grandfather, who lived just down the road, complained vigorously when this was put up, and he's been proved right since it was a complete white elephant and has been empty for years.  AFAIK there've been all sorts of proposals to use it for this and that, but none of them have come to anything, and as it is it's a complete eyesore.

Or so I thought, but a while back I was dating a guy who lives nearby.  It was rather lovely, watching out of his window on New Year's Eve at the Chinese lanterns floating around it.


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## BarbedWire303 (Oct 18, 2011)

The owners should ensure that the buildings are occupied, or watch them become 3party venues... simples 

On a more serious note... _this_ is the sort of thing which should be considered a crime, not what you say on Facebook. Considering the shortage of adequate housing, public spaces, etc., there should be a "use it or lose it" law passed to deal with this sort of thing. Keeping buildings empty, in the hope that they will eventually be "worth" a certain sum, is criminal. Likewise, councils have way too much power when it comes to planning laws - if those laws actually made a difference, half the town "planning" disasters of the last 40 years wouldn't even exist. They should stick to emptying bins and maintaining public services; that's what we pay them for, not to decide that a building should stay empty because someone wants to build a few too many parking spaces.

Unisys Towers, Stonebridge Park. Still empty, I believe:


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## quimcunx (Oct 18, 2011)

Roadkill said:


> The 'Black Tower' in Collier's Wood.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
I expect lots of things look lovely with Chinese lanterns floating around, but it's no reason to keep them.


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## Roadkill (Oct 18, 2011)

quimcunx said:


> I expect lots of things look lovely with Chinese lanterns floating around, but it's no reason to keep them.



Oh aye, if they can't find a use for it they should just knock the damn thing down.  Bits keep falling off it anyway, apparently.  He thought someone might have torched it during the 'riots' as his flat started filling with smoke, but in fact it was the shopping centre next door...


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## WWWeed (Oct 18, 2011)

The Former Unisys 'Towers', Stonebridge Park:




Two massive buildings next to each other, and right by the North Circular. Has been empty for at least 15 years!

Edit: I missed your post BW303


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## BarbedWire303 (Oct 18, 2011)

WWWeed said:


> Edit: I missed your post BW303



No worries, lol


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## no-no (Oct 18, 2011)

I'm pretty sure this dirty bastard in west croydon has been empty since it was first built, BT moved in for a while but then moved back across the road.


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## DJWrongspeed (Oct 18, 2011)

bit of theme here, private corporate property the worst offender........


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## oryx (Oct 18, 2011)

no-no said:


> I'm pretty sure this dirty bastard in west croydon has been empty since it was first built, BT moved in for a while but then moved back across the road.



I drove by this for years and years and had no idea it was empty!

You can't beat this one:


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## bromley (Oct 19, 2011)

I think the dirty bastard looks quite nice!  Horrible location though.


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## Radar (Oct 19, 2011)

That big brown building behind Aldgate Bus station in the city, 15 Minories. Apparently built in 1980 !!


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## Bungle73 (Oct 20, 2011)

Ths must be an an obvious one: Tobacco Dock, which was supposed to be a "Covent Garden of the East End", but has lain unoccupied for years. I visited it on Tuesday, but wasn't able to explore much because they've cordoned off the lower section for some reason. It really is a tragedy that this lovely building is completely empty.


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## Radar (Oct 20, 2011)

Overpriced tat when it was open. Shops setup there thinking people would pay anything just because it's in Wapping, and got a rude awakening. Not the first time places have been caught out like that and I doubt it will be the last.

Combine that with savage rents for the tenants and (for the owners) the additional costs and restrictions of dealing with a listed building. For added flavour throw in the lack of a major draw like a supermarket and/or decent parking facilities and leave to simmer for 15 years..

Voila!, you have Tobacco Dock today !!

The only thing that happens there now (apart from the very occasional video shoot) is the annual London tattoo shindig


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 20, 2011)

no-no said:


> I'm pretty sure this dirty bastard in west croydon has been empty since it was first built, BT moved in for a while but then moved back across the road.



Gahhh, Croydon is full of empty office buildings yet still the council want to slap in a load of developments five minutes from here.

How about the council building itself? They are moving out, just across the road into a brand new purpose built block. Just across the road again behind it are a load of other blocks all with TO LET all over the windows.
Yeah lets shut down the libraries but in the wake of super tight budgets lets build a brand new council block.

The reason given on a poster pinned to the door? It's so that all the departments are in the same building and communication between departments can be more efficient. The only other building was only across the bloody street!! What about phones and emails? How many times did departments have to walk across that road anyway?

I was filming in their old building on an unrelated matter a few years ago and the 'off the record' reason I was given was that the lifts were slow and it was old and stuffy and needed a good clear out.
These are the people who are allowing planning permission applications across the borough.


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## TopCat (Oct 29, 2011)

Croydon Councillors are often selfish cunts.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Oct 29, 2011)

Bungle73 said:


> Ths must be an an obvious one: Tobacco Dock, which was supposed to be a "Covent Garden of the East End", but has lain unoccupied for years. I visited it on Tuesday, but wasn't able to explore much because they've cordoned off the lower section for some reason. It really is a tragedy that this lovely building is completely empty.



That's lovely


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## lang rabbie (Oct 29, 2011)

DJWrongspeed said:


> This thread is about neglected properties in London and their lack of use over a number of years.
> 
> My current bugbear is 190 Strand, the old Abbey Life House. Huge block on corner of Arundel St. Empty for 10+ yrs. Latest planning application was denied because it included 200 parking spaces



Mind you I wasn't convinced by what they were suggesting replacing it with - containing 200 "luxury" flats for City Masters of the Universe:


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## Bahnhof Strasse (Oct 29, 2011)

DJWrongspeed said:


> This thread is about neglected properties in London and their lack of use over a number of years.
> 
> My current bugbear is 190 Strand, the old Abbey Life House. Huge block on corner of Arundel St. Empty for 10+ yrs. Latest planning application was denied because it included 200 parking spaces



That one's even worse than when that picture was taken, all the ground level shops are now boarded up.

Shame, would make a cracking party venue, but bang opposite the Royal Courts of Justice, me thinks filth may take the cream puff at that.


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## Garek (Oct 29, 2011)

Convoys Wharf

I nominate it because it ticks some of the all to familiar boxes: petty local politics; shit, dull 'luxury' flats and quasi-public spaces proposed redevelopment; no sympathy to local history.


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## grit (Oct 29, 2011)

Roadkill said:


> The 'Black Tower' in Collier's Wood.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thats just down the road from me, its a poxy ugly fucking building.


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## Next2China (Nov 3, 2011)

Roadkill said:


> The 'Black Tower' in Collier's Wood.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is hideous.


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## ViolentPanda (Nov 3, 2011)

Next2China said:


> That is hideous.



It's actually been the focus of a couple of good horror stories too, one of them published by an Urbanite.

Always makes me laugh when people call it the "black tower", considering who it was used by for most of it's occupied life (Brown and Root, of Kellogg, Brown and Root/Halliburton infamy).


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