Brick Lane Being Turned Into Tarmac Lane?

Brick Lane being turned into Tarmac Lane?

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Resurfacing work is currently under way to cover Brick Lanes iconic cobblestones with tarmac, much to the disdain of many local residents.

Tower Hamlets Council is spending a whopping 300,000 to resurface the street, known for its rows of Bangladeshi restaurants. The scheme is being undertaken in order to make the area more tourist-friendly in time for the Olympic Games.

The resurfacing plan will introduce new lighting to the area and it is designed to make the road more distinguishable from pavement areas. Cynics are arguing that the plans are a scheme to continue last years crackdown on curry touts who approach pedestrians on the street in order to try to drum up business for the curry houses along the historic road.

Local resident Georgia Warren, 25, was so outraged by the works that she has started an online petition called Brick Lane, not Tarmac Lane.

She said: “I really want it to be stopped. It’s a historical, characterful street and the idea that it needs smartening up seems really perverse to me.”

The work to update the road started last month and will also introduce more lighting to the area. When the work has been completed, only a small patch of the beloved cobbles will remain, by the Truman Brewery.

Transport for London, which provided about 50 per cent of the funding for the resurfacing work, granted the money for public realm improvements that were intended to support the local economy, caf/club culture, restaurants, shops and street markets.

Ben Plowden, TfL’s director of planning for surface transport, spoke out against the planned resurfacing works, saying: “At no time did Tower Hamlets indicate that they would use our funding for this type of work and we are taking this up with them as a matter of urgency.”

Many councillors prefer covering up the cobbles than going through the process of brick restoration for the cobblestone on Brick Lane.

Shahed Ali, Tower Hamlets’ cabinet member for environment, said: “The new asphalt surface will be smarter, easier and cheaper to maintain and will help to distinguish space for pedestrians from traffic. It is just part of the work we are doing to ensure the area is as welcoming as possible to visitors this summer.”

Even though the cobbles have become part of the ethos of Brick Lane, the road actually gets its name from the kilns established in the area back in the 15th century. The current cobbles were actually only laid back in the Nineties to enhance the historic character of the street. Because the cobbles are relatively new, the council has argued that this means they do not merit conservation status.

The Ideal Group specialises in

brick restoration

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brick cleaning

, pointing, and paint removal.

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Brick Lane being turned into Tarmac Lane?