Morrisons on Chalk Farm Road: ‘A basic metal shed’

• CONGRATULATIONS to our councillors and planners for their perspicacious thinking in approving the new Morrisons supermarket, nearly completed, on Chalk Farm Road next to the legendary Roundhouse.

It has none of the silly egotistical decorations of the adjoining Victorian terraces, nor any of the boastful glass and steel frolics that modern architects play with. Instead it is a basic metal shed.

The planning department have hit the nail on the head. They are pathfinders for the new age of austerity that the Covid-19 era, with its massive public debts, demands. I urge readers to take a look. It is a showpiece of simple design.

The message to Camden developers is clear. Cut out wasteful attempts to make a building look good. Architects are no longer needed in Camden.

Just get out a ruler and an agricultural building catalogue. Camden’s planners will pat you on the back. And you will celebrate all the way to the bank.

SIMON NEAVE
Gloucester Avenue, NW1