Members of the armed forces past and present are launching a campaign to stop developers erecting a giant office block next door to their historic club in Waterloo.
The Union Jack Club charity site in Sandell Street has been a safe haven for Service men and women for 115 years, but now faces being overshadowed by the huge “incongruous" tower proposed by developers Bourne Capital.
UJC Hugh Player, CEO of the UJC, said the plan would have “a catastrophic impact” on both the local area and the services we can provide to non-commissioned members of the Armed Forces community and Emergency Services.”
The charity had hoped their own plans to use the neighbouring site to create “sympathetic” low-rise buildings with roof-top gardens which “step down” to the Old Vic, another historic building across the road.
Player added: “We do not object to a redevelopment of our neighbour’s site, but are shocked and deeply alarmed that the scale, height and mass proposed is architecturally incongruous and commercially excessive.”
“This is a sadly missed opportunity for long-desired improvements and a masterplan for the whole Waterloo triangle and immediate surroundings.”
The UJC has provided accommodation and a meeting place for veteran and serving non-commissioned members of the armed forces and their families since 1907.
The charity says Bourne’s proposals are “excessive in terms of its height, scale, bulk, and mass, and would result in a significantly detrimental impact on [our] environment”.
Founded in 1904 and opened on its current site in 1907, the UJC has given refuge and support for millions of enlisted military personnel for decades, and today also welcomes London’s ‘blue light’ emergency services.
The UJC has 65,000 registered members who can use the club house as their home or meeting place when in the capital. It is also a focal point for many military charities meeting in London.
Bourne has been contacted for comment.
