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Hackney Gazette
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The Foundry
Foundry faces bulldozer as Shoreditch art hotel gets green light
04 February 2010
THE GREEN LIGHT has been given to a 17 storey Art'otel in Shoreditch which will see the demolition of a popular arts venue which has hosted shows by Pete Doherty and Kate Nash and features art by graffiti artists including Banksy.
A packed Hackney council chamber heard the discussion considering the application to build the 350 bedroom hotel on the site of the Foundry at Great Eastern Street and Rivington Street.
Oliver Builleid from the South Shoreditch Conservation Area action committee told the meeting he was concerned about the scale of the scheme.
He said: "This is a key site that could be here for 100 years or so and we need to make the right decision."
Artist Pete Jones who has exhibited at the Foundry asked the planning sub-committee to help the venue find a new home.
He added: "It's so insulting having this ugly thing dumped in the centre."
Borris Ivessha, the chief executive of the Park Plaza hotel company which submitted the plan told the committee: "Art'otel is our flagship brand.
He added: "The art itself is part of the attraction."
He said he hoped building work could get under way within the year.
Nearby resident Philip Kenyon told the committee: "It will be a fantastic building for the area and will transform the look and feel of the area.
caption: Banksy's work inside The Foundry
