Covent Garden London
The heart of London's West End
Seven Dials Monument Charity
Readers will remember the unveiling of the Sundial Pillar ten years ago this June. What is not known is that, in order to make sure it was ready for Queen Beatrix to unveil, we had to complete it before we finished our Appeal: thus we ended up with a £90K deficit. Luckily this has now reduced to around £13K.
In 1991 the Charity commissioned an environmental study of Seven Dials which was completed in 1992 and supported by Camden. The traffic management proposals, however, were never reported on, though widely supported at the time. Kleinwort Benson, who funded the study, then invested over £450,000 in street improvements which can be seen in Short's Gardens and Earlham Street, and which are regarded as exemplary within Camden.
This year the Charity won one of the first Camden Environmental Design Awards. The original study received many plaudits from national bodies and was debated in the House of Lords, much to our surprise. We were then awarded a three year government grant to re-write it as a national exemplar for looking after historic areas. The new study and exhibition will be formally launched later this year and can be obtained via the Charity or from the CGCA office. After lengthy correspondence and a deputation to Camden's Streets Sub-Committee, the Council is finally looking in detail at the traffic management proposals, and we will be holding a seminar on the project for Members and Officers. Progress should therefore speed up, especially as we are soon to welcome back Barbara Field, our past administrator.
Further details and copies of the Study can be bought from Seven Dials Monument Charity, 68 Dean Street, W1 tel (0207) 437 5512.
David Bieda
[ Home | About | Advice | Cartoons | Contact | Gallery | Handbook | Links | News | Newsletters | Sponsors ]