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"But simple as the tale is there is hardly better historic training for a man than to set him frankly in the streets of a quiet little town like Bury St. Edmunds, and bid him work out the history of the men who lived and died there. In the quiet, quaintly-named streets, in the town-mead and the market-place, in the Lord’s mill beside the stream, in the ruffed and future brasses of its burghers in the church, lies the real life of England and Englishmen, this life of their home and their trade, their ceaseless, sober struggle with oppression, their steady, unwearied battle for self-government. It is just in the pettiness of its details, in its common place incidents, in the want of marked features and striking events, that the real lesson of the whole story lies. For two centuries this little town of Bury St. Edmunds was winning Liberty to itself, and yet we hardly note as we pass from one little step to another little step how surely that Liberty was being won."

John Richard Green (1837-1883), grandfather of British social and cultural history.

Green, J. R., (1876), Stray studies from England and Italy, Macmillan & Co., London p.218-9

Campaign News

Goddard's Pie Shop v Centros Miller

Centros Miller have also been responsible for building the controversial new Docklands Light Railway station at Cutty Sark at Greenwich in South London. Not everyone accepted that a DLR station was necessary at the Cutty Sark as the nearby Greenwich BR station was also a DLR station and an interchange point with the mainline railway system. However, the MP for Greenwich was and is New Labour's Nick Raynsford MP. Mr Raynsford was personally very keen on a new Cutty Sark station and actively lobbied for its construction even before New Labour came to power.
Debate at www.publications.parliament.uk/
Discussion at wwp.greenwichengland.com/

Centros Miller was chosen as the preferred contractor by English Partnership, a government quango that replaced the London Docklands Development Corporation, and charged with building the new DLR station next to the Cutty Sark under a Private Finance Initiative agreement. Centros Miller received planning permission from Greenwich council in October 1997.
Article at www.constructionmall.co.uk/

Of pressing concern to the residents and traders of Greenwich Church Street, Centros Miller's plan required the compulsory purchase and demolition of a number of listed 18th century building and the unnecessary construction of a shopping Mall at the station entrance. In 1997 local MP Nick Raynsford was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary (London and Construction), Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (5 May 1997 to 28 Jul 1999). This meant that Mr Raynsford was responsible for organising the Millenium the Dome and the infrastucture needed to support the Millenium Night celebrations along the Thames. He continued to lobby for the Cutty Sark DLR station, only now he was lobbying a New Labour government, for a Millenium project, run by his own department and located in his own constituency. However, English Heritage, local residents and businesses were horrified that when presented Centros Miller's plan which required the demolition of a number of listed properties, many of which contained viable businesses and which were located within an area being designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations.
News at wwp.millennium-dome.com/

This galvanised a local campaign that saw the Greenwich Council planning committee reject its previous decision, its officers own advice and voted 10-3 for an alternative plan from MAB Ltd. This alternative plan would have seen the station built without any listed buildings being destroyed but that did not include a shopping Mall.
Archive at www.ealingtimes.co.uk/

Unfortunately, because the area was within the London Dockland Development English Partnership demanded Greenwich Council find the extra money for the more expensive MAB Ltd plan. English Heritage's objections to the completely unnecessary destruction of these listed buildings could have been upheld by the Deputy Prime Minister. In Britain the Deputy Prime Minister is ultimately responsible for both planning and heritage issues. Perhaps not surprisingly Mr Prescott backed Nick Raynsford, English Partnership's and Centros Miller's plans. At this point most the campaign began to unravel and the unity that had previously existed amongst the residents and campaigners broke down. The owners of the properties affected by the development sort the best deals they could in the face of Compulsory Purchase Orders, while the Council and English Heritage quietly dropped their opposition to the development.

Despite the collapse of "official" organised opposition the Goddard family remained determined to hold on to their 100 year old business and save their grade II listed shop. Goddard's Pie Shop on Greenwich Church Street is a famous local landmark in Greenwich. It is just such independent family run businesses that give the a distinctive and unique character to so many British town centres, contrasting with the bland uniformity of shops so beloved by planners.
http://www.pieshop.co.uk/

Unlike the other business affected the Goddard's refused to be intimidated into selling-up and took the fight all the way to the High Court.
Archive at www.thisishertfordshire.co.uk/

Literally on the steps of the High Court, Centros Miller offered the Goddard's a deal to alter the plan so that Goddard's Pie Shop would not be demolished or compulsory purchased. As a result, solely down to sheer determination of one family, the plan was altered to protect this business and listed building. Goddard's Pie shop continues to thrive serving traditional London delicacies such as pie, mash and liquor as well as jellied eels. The morals of Goddard's story are; if you refuse to give in to developers like Centros Miller then you can win and that when threatened with a court appearance Centros Miller back down.
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