Canary Wharf Will Die Before You Do

By Rob Last edited 231 months ago
Canary Wharf Will Die Before You Do
wharf.jpg

Well that's according to 'property tycoon' Jonathan Lane, who's interviewed in the Telegraph today.

"Commercial property has built-in obsolescence, and the more intelligent buildings are, the more sensitive they are to technical change," Lane is quoted as saying. "We'll be around long after Canary Wharf."

Lane is the chief executive of Shaftesbury plc who own most of Carnaby Street (including Kingly Court), some of Chinatown, and a large chunk of Covent Garden.

It all sounds like the beginning of an evil monopoly, but (so far) Shaftesbury seem to be doing alright: Lane has been quoted as saying that he doesn't want "the likes of McDonald's, Next and Pizza Hut" in the areas he owns, and it's not Shaftesbury who are threatening certain areas of Chinatown (that's Rosewheel developments if you're interested).

However we're not sure about the Seven Dials Bag Boys initiative ("hunky men who have been specially chosen for their braun, charm and patience and will be on hand to carrying your heavy shopping bags").

In fact, now we've looked at that page we fear we may have nightmares about the one who calls himself 'Murray'.

Last Updated 02 December 2004